by Olah, Jeff
Mason nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Stopping dead in his tracks he heard Randy in a hushed tone whisper, “Let’s go, I’m right here.”
What Mason didn’t know was that Randy was about to be put to the test since the majority of the Feeders were coming at them from behind.
As the pair moved out into the hallway, Randy grabbed the twelve inch hunting knife he had shoved into the drywall outside Mason’s apartment. He left it there knowing it would be useful as they exited the building. It proved to be a very effective weapon for eliminating those things quickly and quietly at the same time.
Randy made sure Mason cleared the doorway before he stepped out. He then guided Mason forward continuing to stay close. He knew he had to deal with the growing crowd behind them or they wouldn’t have enough time to get into his apartment.
Looking over his shoulder, he could see that there were only a few Feeders that Mason had to get past. Randy decided now was as good a time as any and told Mason to keep pushing forward slowly and he would be right back. Right back? Mason thought. Where was he going?
Taking three quick steps forward Randy shifted his weight to his rear leg and leaped into the air kicking the first in the chest and knocking it to the ground. Two other Feeders tripped over their fallen comrade in the narrow hallway and stumbled to get up. Randy took advantage of their awkward nature and inability to stand quickly. He used an underhand grip, stabbing forward at them multiple times, rendering each one motionless the instant the blade was pushed to the back of their head.
Looking back at his neighbor, Randy saw Mason struggling to maneuver around the small crowd. The door that they had originally thought would be a good shield simply became more of a hindrance as Mason tried to awkwardly carry it and push their attackers back at the same time.
Randy hurried back to meet Mason as they reached the halfway point between the two apartments and helped him push the barrier as they moved forward.
The Feeders on the other side of the door didn’t put up much of a fight as they continued to make progress, even though they were outnumbered two to one. Mason and Randy needed to step up their pace because at the other end of the hall where Randy had laid to rest the four or five lifeless monsters, a new group of those things began to form. They were now climbing over the pile of bodies and the pair didn’t have more than ten seconds.
“Drop the door,” Randy said.
“Are you crazy?”
“Mason, look back.”
Mason turned and saw what he estimated to be eight Feeders. They would be on top of them in just a few moments. He was surprised when he looked back at Randy and saw that same grin he had earlier.
“One last push,” Mason said.
The pair dug in and gave one final push knocking down all but one of the Feeders that stood between them and Randy’s front door. Mason dropped the door on top of the three that had fallen as Randy slid in front and took out all four attackers, each with a single blow to the head.
“HELP…”
“What’s that?” Mason said.
“Sounds like a woman.”
“Where’s it coming from?”
“Someone HELP me!”
“Mason, it sounds like it’s coming from my apartment.”
“Let’s get in there.”
“We have some bigger issues to deal with first… Look”
As the voice continued to shout from the inside of his apartment, the pair turned their attention to the horde now upon them. Mason tried pushing them away as Randy used the knife to try to take them down one at a time.
“This isn’t working, we need to put some distance between us and them,” Randy shouted.
“OK?”
Randy slashed an arm off one of the Feeders like he was cutting through a watermelon. Freeing himself and dropping the knife to the ground Randy opened his jacket, leaned to the side and withdrew both fifty caliber pistols. He unlatched the safety and handed one of the two weapons to Mason.
“You know what to do…”
“I already said yes.”
To Randy’s surprise, Mason raised the gun without hesitation and rattled off six quick shots, each one connecting with its intended target. The Feeders went down instantly, one by one, adding to the body count in the hall. The sound reverberated back and forth off the narrow hallway walls and both men shook their heads and rubbed their ears.
Surveying the damage the two had inflicted on their attackers, the place they once called home now looked like a warzone and that is exactly what it had become. Mason figured there must have been twenty-five of those things scattered around the floor on all sides. With the gun still smoking, Mason looked across the hall at Randy and now they both had them same slightly evil and somewhat frightened grin on their faces.
“Randy, I think I get it. I’m not proud of it, but I get it.”
“Just don’t let all of this change you. Just like you need me for certain things, I also need you. The real you, and so does your family.”
“Do you hear that?” Mason said.
“I don’t hear anything. This is actually the most quiet it’s been all day.”
“That’s the point. Where’s that woman’s voice that was coming from your apartment?”
The two navigated through the short maze of downed Feeders and now they stood at the door to Randy’s apartment. They both held their weapons tight as Randy pushed open the door, not knowing what to expect.
Sitting in the fetal position, rocking back and forth on Randy’s couch was a young woman. She was sobbing quietly and didn’t notice that they had entered. She had long red locks and when she finally did look up at both men, the most beautiful green eyes that were now lined with blood-red streaks. Mason instantly lowered his gun as Randy’s jaw nearly hit the floor.
“Savannah?”
31
The light’s flickered for a half second and then the world went dark. While his eyes adjusted to the darkness, William made his way from the pantry to the garage and guided Karen back into the house. Her hands were shaking and damp with sweat. William put his arm around her shoulder and waited as she slid into the seat at the kitchen table.
“Everything is fine; I just need to go check on Joe.”
William needed to move quickly and hoped the explosion from the transformer hadn’t startled Joe too bad, as a fall at his age could do some serious damage. He didn’t want Karen to think he didn’t care about her, although if Joe was injured this trip would become a whole lot more complicated.
“William, what just happened?”
“I’m not too sure, but it looks like the lights are off everywhere.”
Rounding the corner to Joe’s first floor bedroom William stood in the doorway and couldn’t believe what he saw. Joe sat on the bed reading a book with a small flashlight illuminating the pages. His empty bags were still on the floor where William had left them hours before. He was so preoccupied with getting everything prepared that he never checked on Joe to see if he was making any progress.
“Joe, what are you doing?”
“I’m reading. Boy, for a smart guy you ask some pretty obvious questions.”
“Why haven’t you packed?”
“I don’t need to.”
“What… why?”
“I’m not going anywhere. You and Karen don’t need me and if anything, I’ll slow you down and put you in danger. I’m not going to do that.”
William knew this was true, although there was no way he was leaving his uncle behind. This man practically raised him and his brother. He wouldn’t have become the man he was today without Joe and this was not acceptable. He was coming, even if he had to tie him up and throw him in the truck.
“Joe, you are well aware that there is no way I am leaving you here right?”
“I was afraid you’d be all pig-headed about this and have a deal for you.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll go out there with you if you make me a pr
omise.”
“Ok.”
“If you or Karen get into any kind of trouble, I want you to take care of each other first. I’m seventy-eight years old and know that I won’t be able to keep up in certain situations, so do what you need to do. I know you’re a good man and you would do anything for me. Just don’t die trying to save me… OK?”
“Joe, we are going to get somewhere safe, somewhere free of all this stuff and you’re going to be with us. No exceptions.”
“Ok, Ok… I’ll get my stuff together and be ready in five minutes.”
“Thanks Joe!”
“Don’t mention it.”
Karen moved away from the table and met William as he exited the hall from Joe’s bedroom. They made their way back into the dining room and William explained to Karen that Joe wanted to stay behind and not become a burden to them.
“William, you told him there is no way we’re leaving him behind… right?”
“Yes, he agreed to go only if we promise to not put ourselves in danger just to protect him.”
“And?”
“And, I told him what he wanted to hear. We really don’t have a ton of time to debate what may or may not happen, although that man deserves better than to starve to death in this house or be eaten by those things.”
“Your right sweetheart.”
“I’m glad you agree.”
“What time is your friend supposed to be here, what’s his name? Mason?”
“Yes, he should be here within the hour.”
“How are we going to time the meeting? I don’t think we should just sit outside and wait for him to show up. Do you?”
He prayed Mason would show up and that they could travel as a group out of the city. The thought of doing it on his own made him ill. He had long since lost the opportunity to caravan out of the area with his neighbors and thought Mason’s idea of waiting out the initial surge of escapees was a brilliant plan. He couldn’t imagine getting stuck in a line of cars a mile long and being overrun by a horde of Feeders. It would be suicide.
“No, I don’t think waiting outside is going to be an option. Why don’t we finish packing up the truck and you and Joe can get inside and once they get here I’ll open the garage by hand and we can drive out together.”
“How will we know when they get here?”
“I’ll sit in the window of our bedroom and keep an eye out for them rounding the corner to our street and at the same time I can continue to monitor the area for any Feeders that head this way.”
“Why do you keep calling them Feeders?”
“It’s what the news started calling them yesterday because of the way they attack their victims.”
“I know, I just sounds weird.”
“It does, but it seems to have stuck. Anyway, let’s get Joe and his things into the truck. You can keep him company until we leave and I’ll head upstairs.”
Karen helped walk Joe through the darkness of his bedroom to the garage and finally into the backseat of the truck. William carried the undersized bags his uncle had packed and secured them along with the remaining items he and Karen put together.
After making sure Joe was comfortable inside, Karen came back around the front of the truck and wrapped her arms around William. She gave him a long kiss and hopped into the passenger side.
“What if Mason doesn’t show up by six?”
“He will.”
“Humor me.”
“If he’s not here, we’ll go get him.”
“You know where he lives?”
“Sort of…”
“Sort of?”
“Karen, don’t worry… He’ll be here. I know it!”
William pulled the keys from his pocket and handed them to Karen through the open window.
“I’ll be right upstairs if you need anything. We’ll leave in forty minutes either way.”
As he turned to head to the master bedroom, William had a strange feeling that things were going to get much worse before they got any better. He hoped he was ready for what the next few days held.
Entering the master suite, William grabbed a wooden stool from the corner of the room and set it down in front of the bay window. Looking out over the streets leading to his home, things had begun to change rather quickly.
William knew the Feeders would eventually make their way here; he just wished that it would have been a few hours later.
32
The rearview mirror proved to be an unwelcome distraction. The number of Feeders heading toward their house continued to grow at a pace more rapidly than before. April was sure this was due to the events of only minutes ago. She wished that scene hadn’t played out the way it did, although they might not be alive if it hadn’t.
April looked back at Justin one last time. His eyes were red and tears ran down his face. She didn’t know how to feel about what just happened. She wanted to apologize for making him cry; however, he needed to understand that this was not a joke and that they needed to be aware of their own safety at all times. April didn’t feel bad. He needed this to sink in and the sooner the better.
As the horde grew closer, April shifted the car into reverse and punched the gas, pushing Justin down to the floor along the backseat. He looked surprised and decided to lay lengthwise and avoid looking out at what his mother had to do.
The rear wheel spun for a second against the lone Feeder April had slid under the tire until it caught traction on the pavement and they continued down the end of the driveway. The car bounced upward when the front tire also made contact with the newly immobile creature. Neither April nor Justin bothered to look back at the house or garage, trying to forget the hell they just encountered there.
A group of four Feeders walked straight into the back of the car as April pulled out into the middle of the street and shifted into drive. They almost looked like bowling pins teetering a few times and then falling to the ground. The car hadn’t hit them all that hard; it just looked like their momentum carried them forward even after the car started to move in the opposite direction.
Looking up to the end of their street, April didn’t think she would have any trouble navigating around the crowd of Feeders and didn’t want to have to run down any of those things as it might slow them down.
As April began to drive forward and mentally plan her path out of the area, the streetlights, blinked and went out one at a time. She could tell that they were only minutes from the sun coming up over the hills and didn’t know if the power had gone out in the area or if the streetlights were just powering down due to the coming daybreak.
As they drove down the street weaving in and out of the crowds, Justin noticed that the power was also out in all the homes. Not a single light burned in the entire area and earlier most homes had at least one light on at some point.
“Mom…”
“Yeah?”
“The power just went out.”
“I figured.”
“What about Dad?”
“The sun will be up in a few minutes and knowing your Dad; he’s probably what caused them to go out.”
Justin let out a little laugh and kept peeking through each of the windows to see where they were. He was hoping he would see his father walking up the street so the three of them could leave the area together. He wanted his father back, not only because he was worried about him, but also because he didn’t like the feeling that he and his mother were alone.
Justin didn’t that think he and April could survive another night without Mason. They needed him.
It had become a game of rapid accelerations and halting stops. April had to punch the brakes just as quickly as she started. Weaving in and out proved to be more work than she anticipated. Every few feet there were Feeders bouncing off different parts of the car, a few trying in vain to get a hold of something that they could use to pull themselves onto the car.
“Mom, there are more of them now.”
“Yeah, it looks that way.”
“Can you
go any faster?”
“Justin…”
As April began to pick up speed once again, she slammed on the brakes with both feet coming to a complete stop. She was met by a very familiar face. Tony, her neighbor from only five houses away was standing dead center in front of her car.
Tony had become a great friend. He helped around the house during the few weeks that April and Mason initially split and weren’t talking. He was sort of a father figure to her and as he put it, “What else am supposed to do now that I’m retired.” He and his wife even brought dinner over during some of April’s loneliest moments.
The Tony she once knew was gone now. He had turned. She couldn’t imagine the horror he suffered as he left this world to return as one of those things.
Feeders began to surround the car and as each second passed so did their chance of getting out of the neighborhood alive. She knew what she had to do, although the thought of running over this thing that used to be her friend was too much to deal with. The car also couldn’t take much more abuse as those things were sure to break a window at any second.
April put the car in reverse and punched the gas pedal. Her old friend climbed onto the hood and started clawing its way toward her. She slammed on the brakes again throwing this thing that was once Tony off the right side of the car. It fumbled around trying to stand as April shifted back into drive and headed down the street.
As she made her way out of the area, April decided that she wasn’t going to stop again until the two of them were a safe distance from those things and this area. She wasn’t going to put their lives in jeopardy for anything or anyone. If she had to run down a hundred of those things, she would do it without hesitation.
“Mom?”
“What?”
“Was that Tony?”
“Yes, I didn’t realize you saw that. You know, I asked you to stay down back there. I don’t want to have to tell you again.”
“Ok, I just…”
“Not right now. I have to find that guy’s house. The one your Dad met yesterday. What was his name?”
