David and Thaddeus are dazed and take their time to stand; most of the nearby zombies are on the black grass as well as if a plane of reinforcements crash landed on this field of battle.
David stands first and swings; an elbow cuts Thaddeus’s eyebrow.
On David’s next swing, Thaddeus picks up him with his hand in David’s lower back wound. David’s mask muffles his screams.
A man stops to watch, dying to help Thaddeus, suddenly a cone shaped arm with a shiny ember tip sears through the man’s throat, he gurgles up fire, falling to his knees. The zombie bites into the top of the man’s moist head like a juicy fruit.
Thaddeus exhales and throws David, “yaaa,” into the pointy arm zombie; David grabs at air, ripping the zombie’s face off like a plastic mask, stymieing its teeth. It snaps downward at David with half a face. David upward kicks the zombie’s head off, leaving only a chin with fresh brains capsizing out of its mouth.
David gradually stands tall; his legs shake like a newborn calf, patting his body, trying to remember what weapons he has left. Hunched shoulders, eyes affixed to the whites and blacks of the eyeballs of the dead.
Thaddeus runs up to David on wounded knee, and kicks for his throat. David makes an X with his forearms; the impact knocks him into a rolling metal barrel. More fire to avoid.
Thaddeus plonks down on David’s stomach, his limbs almost touch in the air, and he turns to one side after the second stomp. Thaddeus stops and punches a black skeleton in the chest; the zombie becomes a bag of bones.
Thaddeus axes his empty handgun into the nose of a zombie and it quickly steps away in a leaning tower of Pisa motion. Out of sight, out of mind.
David gasps for air and stretches for a burnt femur bone. Thaddeus slaps David’s hand out of his face and wrestles the bone out of David’s other hand. Thaddeus turns the bone sideways and slides it over David’s throat with his body weight behind it. David’s heels repeatedly slam into the ground. The soles of his leather boots are dripping black goo.
Paces away, men are crawling with one hand over their choking mouths, the aroma of alkaline from the dozens of smoking car batteries fills their lungs and kills their brain cells and common sense.
Thaddeus says. “This is for burning down my house. I’ll rebuild it with you and the others as the foundation.”
The enervated David clenches and unclenches the bone to a lessening degree, then stops moving all together, head goes limp and stomach sinks in. Thaddeus waits a beat then eases off David’s throat. Thaddeus combs his hair back with one hand and looks about. The mountain has red palms climbing up, metal canisters are rolling in every direction; men are flying off the carwall. Zombies have peregrinated their entire existence, to expire tonight like everyone else. Each is both a killer and a victim.
Eyes wide shut; David stabs Thaddeus in the hip. “Ahhhhh.” He skips backwards until he ultimately falls.
David looks at peace among the chaos. “That’s for my home fucker.” The last word is loud and crisp, Thaddeus crawls to all fours, his back arches high during each inhalation and cough.
David whirls open a car door into a flaming ghost of a zombie in the gut, steps on its throat, severing its head, on his way to Thaddeus. His pulse is a bullet on a target.
David bends over and repeatedly punches a cowering Thaddeus in the face, pulls out his knife from warm flesh. “This knife has taken hundreds of undead and just as many humans…take comfort in that.” Thaddeus is on the ground, walking on his elbow and dragging his wheelchair legs.
He tries to stand and David knees him in the spine. “This whole time I’ve been battling with myself about what I have to do. This is who I was meant to be. The man that kills you.”
David hunkers down low, removes his mask, and throws it in Thaddeus’s face. He sees a zombie with SOS craved in its chest, bear-hugging a man from behind, the man runs forward screaming. David winces in pain and rubs his ears. As the cries speed up, the zombie and the man have fused into one human s’more.
David picks up a gun and strafes around the zombies, ending all quickly, so he can have a moment of privacy with Thaddeus.
David turns his head and spits out blood lace with dirt. “None of this had to happen, but since it did, lets see it through.” He looks around and his knife passes across his face like a pendulum. “I traveled across the stars for this. Fought friends and foes just the same.”
Zombies march past David and Thaddeus like the Gestapo toward the gunfire and small rebellion towards the back. “I had to take a beating everyday to get here…you never had the upper hand. I’m looking around and I don’t feel sorry for killers.”
David looks back at Thaddeus in the fetal position, relishing in his victory. “Are you the Boss…oh the strong silent type, I see…where’s Phillip, Abigail, Ava…tell your men to throw down their arms and leave now, I just want the Boss, it’s been over since this all started weeks ago.” Thaddeus became the Boss when the Boss disappeared. He’s not letting on though. David’s speculating that Thaddeus is the Boss because the men during their fight died trying to help him with such reverence. David knows the feeling well.
David grabs Thaddeus’s hair from behind and lifts his head towards the light by the steep mountain. “You and people like you did this, so don’t act surprise when your time is up.” He slowly shoves his blade in Thaddeus’s armpit.
The lull in gunfire is more sporadic, quieting down so to speak.
“This is not revenge, this is life.” David’s voice is astringent and far-gone. “Are you the Boss? Speak up now or forever hold your fucking peace.” He grabs the back of Thaddeus’s neck and cocks his hand with the knife far back, sucking in all the hot air.
Holding his thigh, Thaddeus falls forward and begins to flap on the ground like a fish out of water, reeling away from David. “Fire. Fire. Fire.” Thaddeus says with all the spit in his mouth steamed out. “Now.”
David takes a step over Thaddeus and stands over him with both legs, disregarding the feeble attempt to command and scare him. “Hello, Boss. I’m David.”
23
The one eye soldier with Thaddeus’s handgun from earlier, pulls the lever back on the Browning M2 machine gun that’s mounted on the back of the open bed Hummer vehicle, it’s as long as a child and stands taller than a man. Thaddeus entrusted him with this last resort task and he won’t let him down.
The one eye soldier indiscriminately fires the 50-caliber bullets in wide circles around David. The bullets look like ghost fireflies going through cars. He fires and explodes over a dozen flaming zombies and plenty of his compatriots. One eye fights to stay open.
The thunderous sound activates everyone and everything’s acoustic startle reflex, frightening some and enthralling others. The dead walk towards the flashing lights and men are deer in headlights waiting to become road kill. The aerial heavy machine gun shakes the three-ton Hummer like a baby’s rattle and bobbles the shooter’s head like a man fighting a wicked possession. Zombie torsos cartwheel in the air and limbs rain down hard into the cars like oversized hail. The gun shakes the men’s stomachs into nauseam and is the last sound for many. Soldiers run through the dead and into each other after the initial destruction.
The remaining paramilitary men have ashen faces and a look of exhaustion from ferrying across the lake of fire with flailing arms. Soldiers grovel, limp, and sob to the side of the Hummer.
“OO-RAH.”
“OO-RAH.”
David jumps on one leg into a backseat, the car’s roof is up in the wind, zombies are hurled back to the front entrance by the force of the large bullets, as if the mountain opened up its mouth and is blowing away all the evil.
Youngblood and Lou stare at each other from underneath cars on the opposite sides of the field. Zombies are liquefied, front of cars are punched in and obliterated; the three-sided carwall is cut in half in a array of places. Cars are crashing through the wall from the outside as if an earthquake has cut into the earth around the camp and
sunken the area.
The turret ceases and the shooter watches the zombies gather in front of him. The barrel of the gun is pitchfork red and the chain-link ticking sound is slowing down like knocking on a front door. Harried soldiers are banding to together once again.
“OO-RAH.”
“OO-RAH.”
All able-body men are standing directly behind the Hummer, near the bunker door.
David’s running backwards and collides with Lou crawling up from underneath the side of car. Lou falls back down; David has his hand on his knife, but relaxes when he sees the black ski mask. His first comfort of the night. He casually meets Lou’s eyes then pulls the assault rifle from his hands. “It’s time to end this.”
David ejects the clip, reloads it, and pulls the tiny lever. He loops the assault rifle over his shoulder and is drawn away by a primeval need. “Kill them all.”
Lou says. “DAVID.”
David beckons Lou with a familiar confidence as he runs for the carwall.
On the left side parallel to David, yards away, Youngblood’s running under gunfire with his assault rifle. Man was chasing the lion, now the lion is chasing man.
24
Phillip puts the gun to the back of a soldier’s throat and blasts a hole through the man’s Adam’s apple; the skin is jagged like a rock falling through tissue paper. The gunshot splashes blood forward into Matthew’s face; it blinds him as he tries to get his gun. Phillip kicks Matthew’s flubbing hands and knocks him out with a forward leaping punch. He then runs around a car, opens a door, crotches behind it and aims, he sees a shadow move inside the car. Scaring the shit out of him. Phillip pulls the person into his thick arms and gently raises their head with one hand. He kisses her forehead and says. “Ava…I lost you again…” Every time he thought of Maria, he thought of her, he and Ava are forever connected, no one can tell him differently.
“You can’t lose me that easy.” Ava’s eyes slowly flutter open; she has tiny scratches all over her face. Phillip squeezes her harder, her chin rest on his shoulder. He disremembers the past weeks and solely focuses on her.
She says. “Not so hard, big baby.”
“Where’s David?” He looks behind her.
“He’s around here, I can feel it. Have we won? That loud noise scared me back to life.”
“About a third of the men are left and one big fucking gun. Oo-rah my ass.”
“Get out of my way. I can fight.” She sits up halfway favoring her ribs.
Phillip leans his forehead against hers. “Abigail is inside with a friend. Stay put until it’s over. I love you.” He slams the door.
Ava says. “What? Wait.”
The remaining men line up and fire on the last of the zombies bunching together. It quickly becomes a bonfire of roasting body parts. Most men continue to fire on the herd until their guns are empty out of principle. There’s a heavy gunpowder smoke cloud around the men, the fog and darkness hides them.
“OO-RAH.”
Thaddeus’s voice cuts through the fog of confusion. “We take, we don’t get taken.” He can barely stand, but fights the pain for the sweet taste of victory.
Ava rests her hands on the dashboard and watches through the shattered windshield. She’s damaged, not broken. Three car lengths away, Phillip stops with his hands high and a machine gun hanging from his shoulder.
About fifteen soldiers, twenty zombies, and a reloaded machine gun stand between him and his daughter. There’s also a field of bodies in his way, running and jumping over all that while shooting will be more difficult than running through a minefield blindfolded.
25
Phillip appears out of the darkness, “the Boss needs our help,” he cocks his head back.
Thaddeus stands with the help of a front bumper, presiding over the last hope. “Light that muthafucker up first.” He waves at the exhausted turret gunner.
Phillip turns, runs, and quarterback slides behind a car. The turret slices the front end of the car with one sweep of firing. Further back, Ava sticks her head through the windshield. “Phillip.”
Phillip runs and skims off a hood, the turret follows, blasting soccer ball sized holes into cars. Detached zombie arms reach from within the concrete as if to say hello from hell.
Lou jumps up with David’s foot in his palms, boosting him up. David climbs up for the ambulance roof and rolls over breathing in heavily. Blood from his back is loosening his jeans around his waist.
David stretches in both directions lying prone, he pans the sight of the gun to the target and shoots the turret gunner in the one good eye, blood sprays on Thaddeus’s face and neck. “What the fuck?”
Thaddeus comes up and down behind the Hummer as if on springs and rapid fires a shotgun into the ambulance. “Take him out.”
David continues to fire at the men by rolling to the side in a full rotation of his body. He hits a new man behind the turret, in the shoulder. Said person falls back, but his friends first raise their hands, pushing him back into the turret like a man about to fall off a stage. The shooter regrips the trigger as David shoots him twice in the chest, the man’s legs slide off the car, but his hands still remain on the gun for dear life, and continues to fire, creating a foot deep trail encircling the Hummer like a compass tool. Gravel fragments floats and creates a cloud around the men.
The turret is pointing low and blasting into the ground; with each second it rises closer to David. He continues to fire at the Hummer. A man is shot in the ear. The men reach for the turret like a woman alone at night. The turret fires into the side of the ambulance, collapsing the roof onto the car, David falls through the door of darkness outside the camp-wall. Two men pull the legs of the dead gunner and take his position and armament.
Youngblood sprints up firing into the men, running on empty, his bullets are bouncing off the metal canisters, a mini wall. The turret is firing into the ambulance again which looks like a honeycomb. Lou is pinned down behind the jumble of vehicles.
Akin to an impromptu firing squad, three men line up, kneel, then three more line up behind them, and shoot at Youngblood. Gunfire is battling on two fronts. The turret is a dream and a nightmare. Youngblood slides and fires hitting one man in the head.
Phillip stands up, closes one eye, and fires the rest of the assault rifle clip at the turret. The remaining heart and soul of the troops. One man jumps off and the other man turns the turret clockwise for Youngblood and Phillip. Teamwork versus teamwork.
Youngblood drops a clip trying to reload his assault rifle, so instead he keenly aims up his handgun for the turret.
Ava tackles Youngblood from the side. The turret digs a six-foot grave into the ground where he was standing. Phillip fires his last bullet from his handgun into a soldier’s chest, then throws it in their direction in frustration. “Ya.”
Ava picks up a gun and Youngblood, never looking at him “We’re even.” Her newfound gun is empty. He gives her a grenade like a rose, Ava pulls the pin and juggles it in her hand, and Youngblood cringes and pushes back into the car with his gun covering his face. Ava steps back and lobbies the grenade in a high arch. The grenade spins in fast resolutions. Thaddeus sees it because of the bonfire of zombies and grabs a man. The grenade explodes midair; sounds like BBs on metal siding, shrapnel rips off faces and goes through men’s hearts.
The turret is still firing. Youngblood remembers Lou gave him his suicide ticket/grenade to save the Chief. The two of them had to play catch-up with the plan, once the Chief and Ava went missing without a word.
“Give me my shit.” Ava snatches the last bandit grenade from Youngblood, throws it then crouches low behind the mangled half of a SUV, that’s rotating like a clock hand.
She looks at Youngblood, he says. “I’m out.” He pulls out his axe and a knife. “For family.”
This is the best shot you’ll ever get. Ava grabs a knife from his belt and runs around the corner into a handful of men aiming at her. Do you want to live forever?
Youn
gblood chunks his axe; it goes through the barrels of fire and into a man’s face. He gets shot in the chest and topples back. She runs towards the men, bullets fly past her. Her second grenade rolls under the Hummer, there’s a loud detonation, thrusting her downward. The breakdown Hummer downfalls to its side, the turret hits the concrete and fires straight into the last of the men with the last of the 50-caliber bullets. No time to even scream at the horror of people being ripped apart by an invisible giant.
A long silence of peace.
By the Hummer, a crater remains big enough to put all the dead bodies. Phillip’s running on dead bodies to get to the bunker door. Youngblood’s on the ground scooting on one elbow. “Uncle.”
Ava lays straight back and looks at the sky, so many stars and they’re only get brighter as the fires shrink back into nothingness. I’m a woman of my word, Maria. Abigail’s safe. Ava has a hard-earned and big smile on her face.
26
Unnoticed constellations eons old, light years up above are witnessing a new beginning for the victors.
Three acres worth of blacken killing fields is the reward. Spectators flock around to relish the tableau. The valley of sizzling and blistering corpses is a reflection of the night sky, the bodies illuminate the dark like sparkling embers. Dispersed bodies of the dead and the undead emanate steam that ascents into a whirl from the volcanic hodgepodge of flesh. In a matter of hours, the location has devolved from a junkyard safe haven into a concentration camp on its last day.
Phillip is dragging and sliding bodies over the salvo craters to one corner with a rod with the same mindset as David in his bunker. Who’s left alive?
Blood is dripping down Matthew’s face. “I’m on no one’s side, but my own, just like you.” Lou presses the handgun barrel to Matthew’s temple.
Genesis Virus Page 57
