The mood settled as the weight of the conversation and the pain of the long march took hold. Silence blanketed the cave after Sarah and Michael said goodnight and tucked themselves away. Jafar took up watch and refused Chris’s offer to take a turn before he could get it out. Chris and Jenn quickly discovered they could no longer resist the need to sleep, and both were out the moment their heads hit the floor.
♦
Chris’s eyes snapped open as a distinct gunshot echoed through the cave. Several of the surrounding figures tried to get to their feet as a haze of confusion hung over the crowd. Jafar had his hand on his gun, his eyes focused on the tunnel the group used to enter the cave. The sound of stomping feet neared, and suddenly, two men burst into the lantern light. The new arrivals struggled to explain themselves between heavy panting breaths. The truth of the moment became apparent before they could gather themselves. Mr. Walker’s voice echoed clearly down the pitch-black tunnel, amplified for all to hear.
“We know you’re in there. Surrender now or I will kill each and every one of you.”
12
Chris was on his feet as he took in the terror of the moment. Jake pulled Alicen up, but there was no sign of Jenn. A general sense of dreaded disbelief washed across the faces dotting the cave. No one appeared capable of moving until Carlos finally spoke up.
“Let’s go people, move.”
Everyone started shifting at once, frantically grabbing hold of whatever meager belongings they had. Chris kept a firm grip on his shotgun as he tried to keep his hands from shaking. He scanned the crowd but couldn’t find Jenn. Sarah popped out of the moving sea of people with Michael attached to her hip.
“Come on, take my hand.”
She reached out for Jake, but the boy’s eyes were on Chris.
“Go ahead,” he said. “I’m right behind you.”
Jake hesitantly took her hand and did as he was told. Alicen was still watching Chris as her brother dragged her along with him. The rise in panic within the cave was increased by questions echoing toward them.
“Do you want to die in there?” Mr. Walker’s voice was calm with a hint of matter-of-fact to it. “Do you want to be fed to one of these things?”
The roar of several engines followed and the crowd of survivors pushed at one another. They were focused on a narrow opening on the opposite side of the cave. The terror was thick, and Chris could tell a maddening panic would soon take hold. He kept his eyes on the crowd, still searching for Jenn. Jafar convinced him to move.
“They will come in here soon,” he said, his gun trained on the entrance tunnel. “I suggest you leave while you can. Your woman went out with the others.”
Chris was going to explain their relationship but instead thought of a more useful purpose for the waning seconds.
“You’re coming with us, right?”
Jafar looked back at him as if considering for the first time trying to save himself. He watched the last of the survivors pour into the escape route and then nodded.
“Okay then, you first.”
Chris headed for the tunnel, peering over his shoulder to make sure Jafar was behind him. Carlos’s voice rose above all of the worried questions and frantic chatter up ahead in the darkness.
“Keep it moving, people, keep it moving.”
Chris was jogging down the slender path with little light to guide him. The sound of frenzied stomping thundered in his ears as the wave of people moved ahead of him. There was movement behind, but it was difficult to distinguish any one sound from all the others. A strong sense of fear crept up into the back of his mind, as the unseen walls grew tighter around him.
He tried to anticipate the wave of furious sound that was to come, but when it finally did, he shook with sudden fright. It started with a single gunshot from somewhere behind them. An explosion of light and sound followed as Jafar fired back in the darkness. The shots urged the crowded survivors to rush forward. There was an eruption of voices highlighted by sheer panic.
Chris did his best to avoid the crowd as they smashed into one another in search of an exit. If Carlos was still trying to calm them, his voice could no longer pierce the chaos. Jafar continued shooting and Chris thought to help him, before realizing he was firing blindly. An abrupt series of bends in the tunnel produced a wave of light over the space, bringing with it shape to the crowd. The sight of freedom drove Chris to press into the group.
The screaming frenzy increased, but it wasn’t until he reached the exit that he heard the gunfire again. The sun was hidden by a dark, cloudy sky. A grey light shone down on an open field of tall grass dotted by sparse outcroppings of pine trees. The survivors parted in a state of panic, heading in every direction at once. Small arms fire erupted from multiple patches of trees adjacent to the escape route.
Chris stumbled over motionless bodies as he tried to run for cover. He made a hasty effort to aim and fire off a shot at their attackers before searching for safety. Carlos was ahead of him, down on his knees, clutching a bloody pants leg. Angie was on the ground beside him, bleeding from a wound in her stomach. Chris rushed forward and slid down next to them.
“You have to get out of here,” Carlos yelled between shots.
“You’re not going to survive on your own,” Chris said as his eyes found Jafar rushing toward them.
Several figures broke from the trees in a loose formation and started forward. Jafar took one man down with a pull of the trigger, but there were more coming. Chris slung the shotgun over his shoulder and pulled Angie’s arm around his neck, ignoring her pleas for him to save himself. He drove his knee into the ground and lifted her up over his shoulder in the process.
Chris was running a second later. He kept the exterior of the hill on one side until the trees gave way to a lush green valley. The people ahead of him were running wildly, and he was able to guess their loyalties. It wasn’t until he was out in the tall grass that he recognized his mistake.
A heavy wave of gunfire was drowned out by monstrous screams. The first of the dead appeared across the valley floor. Lumbering out between the trees, the front wave caught the first of the survivors off guard. Chris came to a hasty stop as the undead got hold of several people and tore into them with vicious results.
The green grass was sprayed with crimson. They ate at a woman’s face as she screamed for help. They went down like cattle; their innards pulled out and grazed on in a feeding frenzy. Chris scanned the distant trees and the sight stole his breath. Zombies stepped out from beneath the foliage in a chain of uncountable measure. The decomposing corpses lurched forward in various stages of rot.
“Put me down,” Angie yelled in Chris’s ear. “Save yourself.”
Chris couldn’t will himself to move as the wall of walking dead started toward him. It wasn’t until Jafar spoke that he realized he’d come to a stop next to him. Carlos caught up and his eyes locked on what lay ahead.
“We must try to get through,” Carlos said. “We have to do it now before they gather.”
Several gunshots in the distance got them moving again. Carlos was limping badly as he tried to keep up. Jafar was out in front, leading them toward the thinnest point in the line of undead. He took carful aim and fired as they drew nearer. The first shot hit a zombie in the face and snapped its head back. He moved his gun with precision and dropped two more.
The line of the dead broke, the ends turning in toward a group of survivors stuck in the middle of the field. Chris picked up his pace and the muscles in his legs burned from it. The moans of the dead filled his ears as they closed in near enough to see their decomposing faces. The tattered remains of their clothing hung about them caked in dried blood and bits of half-eaten flesh. A wind swept across the valley from the west carrying with it their putrefying stench.
Chris stumbled and felt his knee give out. A second later, he was on the ground with the full weight of Angie on top of him. In a frantic struggle, he fought to get up. Angie’s legs flailed about, catching him twice acro
ss the face, and the blood from her wound smeared across his cheek. Carlos grabbed her and rolled her off as the chorus of the dead intensified. Chris caught sight of stumbling legs closing in as he got up to his hands and knees.
Jafar fired, but there were more zombies than any of them could count. He threw the gun at them after he pulled the trigger again and nothing happened. The dead were moving in from all sides, and by the time Chris got to his feet, they were lunging toward them. “Wait.” Chris heard Jafar and quickly discovered the source of his ire. Carlos had Angie’s arm around his neck, and they were making a run for it.
The dead were all around. Chris snatched his gun off the ground and stumbled back out of arm’s reach. He retreated several steps with Jafar by his side. They watched as Carlos and Angie were surrounded. The dead got hold of Carlos and pulled him to the ground, dragging Angie down with him. The full weight of two dozen zombies collapsed upon them and Chris could do nothing to stop the feast of flesh. Another wave of undead pushed past the human buffet and blocked out the full view of the bloody mess. Carlos’s horrible shrieks rose up from the tall grass and joined the death cries of the others trapped in the valley.
Chris felt Jafar pulling on the back of his shirt, and he finally gave in. They ran south around the base of the hills, leaving a majority of the gunfire behind them. Fear and adrenaline kept Chris going, but he couldn’t be sure how much longer he could hold up. In his heightened state, his fears drifted to Jenn and the kids. In his heart, he knew they were dead and his gut churned at the thought, knowing he should have done more to help.
Jafar came to an abrupt stop and slid down on his knees. Chris followed his example as the sound of stomping feet interrupted the distant screams. He tried to catch his breath as his heart beat wildly in his chest. His legs ached, and he didn’t know if he could force himself to run again if he had to.
Jafar stood up and then turned to Chris, holding a finger to his lips. His eyes were wide, sweat streaming down the sides of his face. They were moving again, this time at a painfully slow pace. It was several minutes before Chris understood why they had slowed. The voices were low but close.
“We should go around the other side,” a man said.
“Let’s regroup first then move together,” another man countered. “We’re never going to be able to catch anyone alive.”
Jafar edged around a group of trees as he locked in on the direction of the voices. Chris scanned the dense underbrush, keeping close to it. He involuntarily dropped to the ground when he caught a glimpse of movement. Three men stood out in a clearing beyond the trees, each one armed and on the hunt.
Chris looked around for Jafar and panicked when he couldn’t find him. He called after him without thinking and regretted it the moment the words escaped his lips. His eyes went back to the clearing and found the men silent, all studying the trees in his direction. There were several terrifying moments when every breath sounded like a tornado in his ears.
One of the men whispered to another and it was only then that Chris realized he’d lost sight of the third. Chris held his breath as he considered what to do. He was about to risk a step when the snap of a twig pulled his attention back over his shoulder. He found the third man close behind, his rifle aimed directly at his head. The man smiled, his teeth parting a thick mustache.
“I got one—”
The thump that followed caused Chris to flinch. The man took one step forward and then collapsed to the ground. Jafar stood behind him, his eyes focused on the clearing. He snatched the man’s sidearm and pointed toward the rifle he’d dropped. Chris secured his shotgun in one hand and then grabbed the man’s rifle as Jafar started back in the direction they’d come. They didn’t make it far before the men in the clearing discovered their comrade.
Jafar was running. Chris pushed aside the pain in his legs and did his best to keep up. They burst from underneath the tree coverage out into the open. A quick look revealed the line of the dead farther to the north, but they were far from safe. A pickup truck sped across the valley toward them the moment they emerged from cover. Chris grabbed Jafar by the arm.
“Come on, let’s go back.”
Jafar jerked away. “No, we have to get across. Give me the rifle.”
Chris did as he was told, and Jafar got down on one knee. The truck sped up, and Chris found himself backing farther away. He reached the trees when someone pulled themselves out of the truck’s passenger side window and aimed a gun in their direction. Jafar fired first and the shot went wide. Chris was hidden behind a tree when the passenger returned fire.
Several shots went off in rapid succession, and the dirt flew up in a straight line a few feet from Jafar. He returned fire, this time with a solid strike that splintered the windshield. The truck swerved and then pulled back on course. The passenger gathered himself and fired again. The volley was wild, tearing into the trees. Jafar held his aim as the truck roared toward him. He pulled the trigger and the round struck the windshield directly in front of the driver.
The truck swerved hard, tossing dirt and grass into the air as it turned sideways. The motion pulled the vehicle forward, and a brutal noise followed. The tires dug in and the truck rolled. The first full flip tossed the passenger out the window and the second crushed him as it rolled over.
Jafar jumped to his feet and dove out of the way as the truck spun toward him. Chris was running for his life when the vehicle smashed into the trees. He ended up flat on his face with his hands over his head. A sudden silence caused him to look back at the chaos. Jafar was lying on his back in the grass. Chris picked himself up and did a quick check for broken bones. Jafar was already up and moving in the other direction when he stepped out in the open.
“We have to go now,” Jafar said.
Chris looked over at the crumpled chunk of metal that used to be a truck. He realized he’d lost the shotgun somewhere in his desperate attempt to get to safety, but Jafar didn’t look willing to let him go back for a look.
“We need to get to the highway,” Chris said, as he started off after him.
Jafar paused for one look back. “Then let’s go.”
13
Jenn’s eyes were locked on the field. She was lying prone with one arm around Alicen and the other around Jake. Sarah and Michael were following some distance behind them, but she was too scared to look back to see if they were still there. They had all run out into the field after the initial wave of gunfire. In a panic, they had pushed into the woods across from the hidden tunnel exit.
It was only after the first frantic wave of fire that they realized they were separated from the other survivors. The shooting continued for several minutes, and Jenn tried to keep it behind them. She ran out of rounds in the fray and dropped her pistol somewhere in the woods. They headed west and that’s when the screams rose above everything else. They were out from under the tree coverage before Jenn realized what they had done.
Jake first spotted the dead out in the valley. A long line of them erupted from the distant trees in a wall of rotted flesh. They watched a host of the survivors get surrounded before a large group of zombies broke away and turned in their direction. Stricken with terror, Jenn fell to the ground, dragging Jake and Alicen down with her.
“I can’t see anything.”
There was a desperate dread in Jake’s whispered words. It was difficult to see through the tall grass, and Jenn was forced to peek at the state of their surroundings. Slowly, she lifted her head, holding her breath as she went. A shifting movement directly out in front of them grabbed her. The lumbering steps gave away the walker.
There was a break in the wind, and a slow guttural moan carried across the tops of the grass. Shifting figures caught Jenn’s eyes to the right and left and she knew the dead were all around them. The moans joined in a sick chorus that brought a shiver to her spine. It took all her willpower to keep from jumping up and running.
She lowered her head close to the ground and her eyes went from Jake to Ali
cen. Tears streamed down the little girl’s cheeks as she kept the side of her face buried in the dirt. Jenn prayed she wouldn’t cry out. She faked a smile and adjusted her grip on Alicen’s arm. Jenn turned her head back to Jake as a shadow swept across her face. The boy’s eyes widened.
Jenn felt Jake’s heart beating against her arm. She took hold of his shirt and tightened her grip, silently begging him not to move. She’d had plenty of close contact with the dead, and experience told her that they hunted by sight alone. The moaning continued but never rose to the lustful calls that came with a feeding rage.
The shadows shifted again, but Jenn never moved. She managed to keep both kids still. It was long after the moaning faded that she finally risked another look. The figures were gone. There was no sign of the dead behind them and only the mass of feeders in the south devouring the lost survivors. Sarah and Michael were close, both looking up through the grass at her.
Jenn didn’t say a word. She pulled at the kids and motioned for Sarah to follow. The group ran together and kept it up as long as their legs would carry them. They were forced to rest only once when Alicen collapsed, but they managed to reach the trees across the valley with no signs of being followed. Jake lurched up on his tiptoes and vomited the moment they stopped. He nearly collapsed before Michael grabbed hold of him and kept him up.
“I’m all right,” he said and jerked his arm away.
Jenn gave them a few minutes to catch their breath. The moment of clarity gave her time to consider what they were doing.
“We have to get back out on the highway.”
Sarah had her hands on her knees trying to take in as much air as she could get. “This is our home,” she said between gulps.
Jenn didn’t have time to argue. She was willing to leave Sarah and Michael behind, but she was certain there was nothing here for them. She took a deep breath and locked eyes with Sarah.
The Decaying World Saga Box Set [Prequel #1-#2 & Books #1-#2] Page 31
