Dead Evolution

by Tim Moon

  Ben glanced back at Nick and took a step back.

  Nick deflated on the back porch as hope evaporated. He fell forward and would have toppled onto the grass, if not for the hands clutching at him. The infected simultaneously pulled Nick backwards and crawled forward to dig into their feast.

  Ben couldn’t afford to waste the anymore time on the doomed man. He turned to Anuhea and said, “Go! Get over the fence.”

  “Watch out!” Oliver shouted.

  Ben spun and saw a thick infected woman climbing over the others in the doorway like a human spider. Damp hair matted to her skull, making her head look small and feral. Strands hung in stringy clumps that swayed hypnotically when she moved. The ragged shirt she wore barely clung to her body, exposing her pale flesh to the elements. She let out a howling scream as her dark, infected eyes glared in his direction. Ben suddenly realized she was one of the runners. A shock of panic traveled through his system. The infected woman paused for a moment on top of the others writhing beneath her, finishing off Nick, and tilted her head at him like a curious dog. He fought to form words, or sound, anything. Then she leapt.

  Ben saw it happening in slow motion and just had time to shout, “Go!” before jumping backwards. His hand lashed out wildly with Anuhea’s knife.

  She grabbed him with both hands and they fell backwards. Ben hit his head hard on the ground. They rolled a few times and he was nearly bit on the neck. He jerked her head back just in time. His other hand drove the blade into the zombie’s jiggling jowls.

  She made a gurgling sound as she reached for him, still in the fight and ready for a meal. Ben jerked his hand back and scrambled to his feet. The infected woman rose like a ghost and lunged for him again. Ben slapped her hefty arms aside and buried the knife into the side of her skull. The large woman tipped forward, sending Ben windmilling backwards. He tripped over something in the yard and toppled over backwards again. This time a jolt of pain exploded when his coccyx met something hard. A thought flashed through his mind that he might never walk again. Sucking in air, Ben rolled to his side.

  Ben sat up just in time to see Mark slip out of a window and drop into the yard with them.

  “Get that fucker,” Ben shouted, pointing at the rat fleeing the sinking ship.

  “Get up, you big baby,” Anuhea said. “I have Oliver.”

  Ben picked up his weapon and climbed to his feet. Mark looked like a cornered animal. He tried to climb over the fence but slipped and fell.

  “You’re dead,” Ben growled.

  “They made me do it,” Mark whined. “I’m so sorry. It wasn’t my idea.”

  Did he really think that mattered? Ben couldn’t believe it. He gritted his teeth against the pain still radiating from his coccyx and ran at Mark.

  He really wasn’t a fighter because Mark just shelled up and cried for mercy. Ben started kicking him, and then he hauled the man to his feet.

  “The infected are coming,” Anuhea said, a hard edge in her voice.

  “What the hell were you thinking taking Oliver?” Ben shouted in Mark’s face.

  In a blur of movement, Mark kneed him. His aim was off, but it was clear he’d aimed for Ben’s nuts. The knee landed in the side of his thigh, sending a shock of pain that almost buckled his own knees. Then a fist caught Ben on the jaw, just under his ear.

  “Fuck,” he gasped. Not a fighter, my ass.

  Ben kept his grip on the knife. It tightened after that flurry. All the attack did was steel his resolve. He threw an elbow at Mark’s face. Then he did it again. A cut opened on his cheekbone. Ben smiled at the blood dripping from the cut.

  Mark punched him in the gut. Ben struck back with his blade, burying all eight inches in the man’s chest. Mark’s eyes shot open wide and he clutched at the wound. With a savage twist, Ben pulled it out and slashed Mark across the throat.

  “Come on! Move your ass,” Anuhea implored. She held the side gate open, waiting for him.

  Without an ounce of remorse or sympathy, Ben stabbed Mark two more times under the ribs. Hot, sticky blood poured out over his hands like a faucet.

  Then he backed away, watching as Mark slid to the ground still leaning against the fence.

  Ben saw the infected falling down the stairs and ran to Anuhea.

  “Let’s go,” he said. “We’re done here.”

  27

  They ran and ran. Ben carried Oliver on his back, after Anuhea tired. A few stragglers had interrupted their escape, but they were able to skirt around the mass of infected.

  Anuhea turned to check behind them. “All clear.”

  Ben felt a swell of pride that the infected horde had not breached their perimeter wall yet. Given the size of the herd though, it was only a matter of time. He ran, with Oliver clinging to his back, towards their house and saw that the fire had spread to the roof of the garage. The main part of the house looked like a torch.

  Rain had been falling since they began chasing after Oliver. Ben mentally cursed that the clouds weren’t enough to extinguish the flames. All the work they had put in was wasted. The house was a total loss. They had to get the cars out of there, now to have any supplies. They had circled around the west end of the block and returned to the neighborhood from the north. They ran into a neighbor’s backyard and movement caught Ben’s eye. He set Oliver on the ground.

  “Take him,” he whispered to Anuhea. “And get the cars.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Someone is still back here,” Ben said. She clearly didn’t like the idea of separating but they had to get the vehicles.

  She nodded and took Oliver’s hand. They continued running while Ben went to investigate. He sprinted across the yard and climbed over the short chain-link fence. It clanked and rattled under his weight. In the distance he heard shrill screams.

  More runners, he thought bitterly.

  His thighs ached, and lungs burned from constant exertion. The air warmed noticeably even at that distance, still he pressed on. Two people struggling briefly came into view between thick shrubs. They were in shadow from where he stood, trying to take aim.

  “Chadwick?” he asked loudly. “Charlotte?”

  “Here,” said a strained voice. There was a loud smacking sound and a grunt.

  He barreled through the shrubs that snagged and pulled at his clothing and burst into the backyard. The glow of the fires bathed the area in a dull glow. The heat grew substantially too. His hand went up instinctively to shield his face.

  Charlotte was struggling against a man roughly Ben’s size. They were wrestling for control of a rifle. Charlotte was putting up one hell of a fight, hugging the weapon to her chest and kicking at him wildly with her boots. Ben took aim but quickly abandoned the idea. He couldn’t shoot for fear of hitting her. He’d have to wade into the brawl.

  Ben took two long steps and raised his foot to stomp on the man’s leg, when something amazing happened. Charlotte suddenly let go of the rifle right as the guy yanked on it. He smacked himself in the face with the gun. Groaning in pain, he reached up to his face. His hands came away bloody from the dripping faucet of his nose. Charlotte grabbed his arm and pinned it in her armpit. Her legs swung up and locked around the dude’s head in a triangle choke.

  Ben watched in awe as the man tried to pull back to slip out of her choke-hold, but she was tenacious. His free hand came down towards her head in a hammer fist. She turned away from and he missed but even one of those could do serious damage.

  Drawing his knife with one hand, Ben stepped forward just as the man planted one foot and started to stand up, so he could slam her down and free himself. Eight inches of steel tore into his side just under the ribs. His body froze, caught in a spasm of pain, as Ben twisted the blade and yanked it out. With a gasp the man sank back down.

  Charlotte let go and scrambled away, breathing heavy.

  Ben dropped onto the man’s back and drove the blade into his neck. Warm blood pulsed out of the wound coating his hand. Ben stood, staring at
the man clutching his neck, gasping in agony.

  After recovering her rifle, Charlotte grabbed his arm and tugged.

  “Come on.” She pulled again. “Ben, let’s go.”

  “Yeah.” He turned away slowly. She met his gaze and nodded her thanks. He remembered what had to be done. “Get to the cars.”

  “Where’s Oliver?” Her eyes wide with fear.

  “With Anuhea. Go!” Ben ran behind Charlotte as they sprinted out to the street and cut across the yard.

  Anuhea stumbled out of the next-door neighbor’s house with Chadwick draped over her shoulder. Both were covered in soot. Somehow that house had caught fire too. Smoke poured out of the front door over their heads. Anuhea sagged under his weight. Charlotte ran into the garage

  Ben ran forward to take Chadwick. “You okay big guy?”

  When he got control of the coughs wracking his chest, he said, “It’s a bloody riot, mate.”

  “Where’s my mom?” Ben asked Anuhea.

  “In the garage,” she said above the roaring flames.

  His neighborhood glowed orange. The heat coming off the house was incredible. Beams creaked inside the house, followed by a loud crash.

  “We need to hurry.” Ben pulled Chadwick’s arm over his shoulder, put an arm around his waist and helped him to the second car.

  Even stymied by the rain, the flames continued to spread. Time was running out. There was no stopping the inferno.

  Anuhea raised an arm to shield her face as she ran into the garage, cursing with such vehemence that Ben winced.

  “What she said,” Chadwick quipped.

  A bone-chilling roar startled all of them. Anuhea paused with the car door open and gaped at Ben, confirming what he instantly knew. It was the same roar that they had heard the night of the zombie attack, when they first fought the runners.

  “Come on, hurry,” Ben said, urging his friends.

  Charlotte screamed a warning as another bottle exploded in the driveway. The gasoline created a large fireball. Anuhea ran past Ben and Chadwick and fired in the direction it’d come from just as another spun through the air.

  “Watch out!” she screamed, ducking back inside the garage.

  The bottle bumped the roof and then burst in an explosion that shook the already damaged structure. Dust and cinders filtered down from the rafters above. Ben scrambled to the door and searched for targets.

  “Get in the car,” Ben shouted to Anuhea.

  Ben would drive the lead vehicle, leaving Anuhea in the back seat with room to shoot. Her job was to defend them against attackers, or the infected. Only the trunk was full of food and supplies.

  This might be the only part of our plan that actually works properly, he thought.

  Chadwick, Charlotte, Nancy and Oliver would ride in the second car with Charlotte driving.

  Once everyone was in their vehicles, Ben fired randomly at whoever was still out there before dashing to the car and climbing into the driver’s seat. He started the engine, feeling tension melt away when it started without a hitch. He put it into gear and pulled forward, speeding out of the driveway.

  Flames flared as dust and debris billowed out of the garage. Anuhea gasped. Ben glanced in the rearview mirror and all he saw was the hood of Charlotte’s car peeking out from the collapsed garage. The roof had buckled in the middle. His heart leapt into his throat.

  In half a second, Ben slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car, running towards the others. The heat of the flames was worse with half the roof collapsed inside. His throat burned, and the dust stung his eyes. It was so hard to see that he bumped into the corner of the garage, unsure he was going the right direction. Squinting hard, he found an open and gap and squeezed through. Heat poured off in waves. Sweat was already trickling down his back.

  Raising an arm against the heat, Ben found himself on the passenger side of the car. There was no way around since part of the back wall had fallen in too. The collapsed roof stoked the flames which burned wildly. He shuffled aside and opened the car door to help his mom and Oliver climb out.

  Chadwick hung halfway out his door. “I’m stuck. My bloody foot is stuck.”

  A heavy beam had come down across the car, crushing the front half. Ben ducked his head and looked across to Charlotte. Her face was partially turned away. Her face and jacket were covered with blood, lots of blood. The airbag had deployed but had since deflated. He fought the panic that threatened to overwhelm him and instead channeled it into helping the others. He couldn’t help her until he freed Chadwick.

  “Hold on Charlotte,” Ben said, not even sure she could hear him. She didn’t respond.

  Ben tried to pull Chadwick out, but he just screamed. “Sorry.”

  He reached down and tried to unjam Chadwick’s foot. It moved a little but was pinned by the glove compartment being bent down into the footwell. Ben stood up and tried to shove the beam. It was hot as hell, but Anuhea was suddenly next to him and they both heaved on the heavy beam. They both ignored the pain to save their friends.

  Giving it all his strength and with Anuhea pulling they moved the beam about six inches onto the hood of the car. Just enough for the result they wanted. Chadwick slipped out onto the floor.

  “I’m free,” he shouted as he backed away. “Christ, that hurts.”

  “The infected are coming. Hurry,” Nancy said from the driveway.

  As if to drive home the point, the roar echoed down the street. It sounded like a dinosaur from Jurassic Park.

  “Watch for shooters,” Ben shouted before diving back inside the car to free Charlotte. He wouldn’t leave her.

  Maybe the airbag knocked her out, he thought.

  First, he unbuckled her seatbelt and shoved away the airbag. He cursed at a beam just like the one that pinned Chadwick. It crushed the edge of the car and busted out Charlotte’s window. The frame bent like a straw. The car roof canted down, nearly touching the top of her head.

  Heat and the steady roar of flames filled the garage. His breath and heart beat grew frantic. The rest of the roof could collapse at any moment.

  Touching two fingers to the side of Charlotte’s neck, Ben felt for a pulse. Nothing.

  “No, no, no,” Ben snarled. That couldn’t be right. He was just too nervous. Too amped up by adrenaline. Maybe the hot beam had deadened his sense of touch. Yeah, that’s it. He tried again on the other side of her throat, which felt sticky with blood. Still nothing.

  Ben grabbed under her arm as best as he could to pull. Something in her neck moved. She had a strange bulge pushing through the side of her neck near the headrest. How had he missed that? The skin was pulled tight like something was trying to push its way through. Ben gasped and drew his hand back like she was a hot stove. He leaned in close and felt around the other side.

  The roof and door frame of the car had bent under the weight of the collapsed roof. His fingers probed around until he felt a large piece of splintered wood, as thick as two fingers, which had punctured her neck. The bulge in her skin was the tip of the massive splinter which had not gone all the way through. It had gone far enough though. Too far.

  An invisible hand clenched his chest and Ben cried out in disbelief. He hadn’t felt her pulse because there was nothing to feel. She was gone.

  Anuhea leaned in, shaking Ben, but he ignored her. Dizziness rocked him in the seat. He leaned back, wishing he could banish the sight of her wound.

  Slowly, he realized someone was yelling. The air was smoky and hot. So hot. It stung his eyes.

  Ben saw Anuhea staring at him.

  “Help me,” he gasped.

  “What’s wrong?” Anuhea shouted.

  “She’s gone,” Ben said.

  “Pull her out,” she snapped, slapping his face to pull him from his stupor.

  Over the next few minutes, they freed Charlotte from the splinter. A foggy haze overcame Ben. Numbness blunted everything. He didn’t even feel the heat as Anuhea helped him carry Charlotte’s body away from the infer
no.

  Suddenly, he was coughing acrid smoke. When that passed, he desperately gulped fresh air. Chadwick stood beside the car, firing his rifle at something moving between the houses across the street. Ben didn’t know or care what it was. Muffled voices around him sounded panicked.

  Ben climbed into the car, feeling woozy as though he were drunk. Smoke drifted across the road. His eyes still burned. He had no choice though, he had to drive.

  “Go!” Anuhea shouted at him, nudging his shoulder.

  So, he drove.

  28

  Great Falls, VA

  Vanessa awoke to a shrill scream. The sound came from outside, but it was close. Her breath billowed in plumes of condensation as she sat upright and reached out with chilled fingers for her shotgun. Her cold joints protested the sudden movement. As she stood, her achy knee popped loudest of all, a reminder of good old days playing basketball.

  Peering between window blinds, Vanessa searched for the source of the noise. As if on cue, a sharp crack and the muzzle flash of a gun snapped her attention to an intersection just down the street. It was dark and cloudy, but enough moonlight filtered through for Vanessa to watch thick, lazy snowflakes falling.

  Several dark shapes were visible below, moving in the street. The small group left an obvious trail in the snow. A dark mass of infected trudged after them.

  Don’t come over here, she thought, blinking rapidly to rid her vision of the muzzle flash. It flickered in her eye every time she blinked.

  The group ran across the street, away from her building. Several fast zombies broke through the crowd of infected and gave chase. Breath caught in Vanessa’s throat. One of the runners slipped and fell, but quickly scrambled back up and gave chase. Another piercing howl cut through the silent night.

  One of the group members stopped and began firing at the sprinters, while the other two continued to flee into the night. The gunman’s last stand ended a few seconds later when the three sprinters converged on them. Deep, angry shouts of pain split the night air and Vanessa’s heart. Just one more innocent person killed by Black Tide’s virus.