Zombie Island

by Gamboa, Allen

  “Bloody ‘ell.” Arton had to steady himself or he’d also collapse, a weeping, blubbering mess. “What the fucking hell?”

  Wiping sweat from his brow he glanced down at the dead woman. The side of her face was a bloody mess. Exposed skull and brain matter along with an eyeball that had popped out from the force of the blows was all that was left of a once attractive face. That was too much for the security chief. Arton bent over and puked all over the re-dead woman’s smashed in remains.

  “Fuck me!” Arton cursed, as he wiped his mouth and stood straight up, not daring to look back down at the mess in front of him. He didn’t need another round of vomiting. Shaking, the chief looked back over at where the dead rookie lay sprawled out. Arton just could not grasp what the hell was really going on here. As he tried to catch his breath, and not slip into shock, he saw a crowd of crazed cannibals had suddenly taken notice of him and were slowly stumbling in his direction.

  “For fucks sake!” The chief mumbled to himself. Yep, they definitely were not paying him enough for this kind of bullshit. Before any of the crazies could get closer to him, Arton turned and ran for the perceived safety of the elevated security tower. Maybe he’d be safe there. He remembered he had his off-road security vehicle parked nearby and headed for that instead. Maybe he could just make a break for the pier and escape the nightmare of this fucking island. His life was worth more than any stupid pay cheque. Worst they could do was sue his arse for abandoning the job, at least he’d still have his arse. All Arton knew right now is he’d rather be alive than eaten by some fucking crazed hipster. Before he could get to his off-road vehicle, two more of the hungry, undead things staggered in his direction. The two crazed men had succeeded in cutting Arton off from his parked CanAm.

  “Move the fuck outta the way!” He shouted at them knowing full well they weren’t going to. When the ravenous undead men continued in his direction, Arton raised the bloody baton over his shoulder. “I’m ordering you to move aside!”

  The two zombies replied to his orders, letting out bone chilling moans, clawed hands outstretched, reaching for him. Without another word, Arton struck the bigger of the two, hard in the neck. The undead man let out a gurgle and staggered to the right a little. Arton struck him again, on the side of the head. There was a loud crack and the zombie slumped to the ground. The second creature almost grabbed Arton’s left arm, but the Chief was quicker and brought the baton down on the top of its head. Arton had never heard a more sickening sound as the thing’s skull crushed in on itself. The zombie let out a low keening sound, then collapsed on top of its partner’s unmoving body.

  Satisfied they were both not going to get back up, Arton glanced around to make sure he wasn’t going to get jumped by anymore of those things. Seeing he was clear for now, Arton holstered the baton and then ran for his CanAm. Jumping inside the off-road vehicle, he started up the engine and tried to remember which direction the pier was.

  SHITTY MORNIN’

  Cockatoo Island

  Samantha had waded into the middle of the crowd that had been watching Mental as Anything’s performance on the stage. It was easy for the scantily clad swim-suited girl to make her way through the throng of sunscreen splashed festival goers. Despite all the pervs feeling her up, Sam figured she’d be able to get all the way to the front of the stage, maybe even backstage. Not that she really cared. The band was just a bunch of old geezer fucks her Grandad and Mum listened to. Maybe she could get some good selfies though and even some swag. She had to get something good after all her recent troubles. Maybe even score some good E.

  “Hey, luv, you alone?” A shirtless, blonde-haired surfer type asked, as he flashed her a big white-toothed smile.

  “What’s it to ya?” Samantha flipped her hair over her exposed shoulder. The surfer was built pretty muscular, not as big as Joshua, but he’d do. “You alone?” She fired back.

  “Naw, I’m here with me mates.” He pointed to three other surf rats who all gave her lewd smiles. Samantha thought they could be triplets; tanned, shirtless and board shorts. They also looked like they’d be broke, and annoying as fuck. “Nice lookin’ bunch but I’m not interested.” Sam shrugged them off figuring they’d be more trouble than they were worth. She’d already done broke with Joshua.

  “Good meetin’ ya.” Samantha said, as she continued to push her way through the audience.

  “Wait!” The surfer grabbed her bare shoulder. “Wait!”

  “Let go!” Sam shook off his hand and spun around sticking her finger in his face. The crowd around her suddenly parted a little, now interested in what was going to happen between the two. “I’ve had one real helluva shitty mornin’ so take your fuckin’ mitts off me!”

  “Sorry.” The blonde boy raised his hands in surrender as all eyes were upon him and his friends. In a fast second the music had stopped and there were loud screams coming from up on the stage. Sam’s little drama was quickly forgotten as all eyes turned over to where Mental as Anything had been playing.

  “What the…?” Someone shouted, as the band seemed to be attacked by some crazed fans from the back of the stage. Some of the group’s blood splattered those that were pushed up close to the stage front. A few of the festival goers squealed with delight, thinking it was all part of the show. Others backed away, horrified at the sight. Samantha froze for a second, not sure what was really taking place. Loud shrieks of terror from behind her helped Samantha quickly recover from the momentary paralysis she was experiencing. As Samantha slowly turned around to look, she saw a group of what appeared to be crazed people charge the rear of the crowd and start attacking them. Disoriented, Samantha glanced around the mass of panicked festival goers looking for her way out to safety. Right now, she really wished Joshua was with her. He’d surely know what to do. People were frantically pushing and shoving each other as the crazies’ bit and tore at them. Almost everyone was now looking for an escape route. The screams and anguished shouts from the victims were deafening. Samantha pushed a young boy down as she tried to break free from out of the crowd. Five or six of the panicked festival goers trampled the young man to death as they ran to escape whatever nightmare was now starting to unfold in front of them. Samantha saw a bloody, naked woman jump on one of the surfer triplets back and quickly tear out his throat with her teeth. Warm, dark red fluid splashed Samantha’s bare stomach causing her to let out a high-pitched shriek.

  “Come on!” The surfer that had hit on her minutes earlier, reached out a hand to Samantha who, this time, eagerly took it. As the young man grabbed her hand, two of the blood-covered attackers gripped him by the shoulders and forcefully jerked the surfer backwards to the ground. Still holding Samantha’s hand tightly in his, the young man pulled her down to the blood splattered sand with him. The surfer shrieked uncontrollably as he tried to escape the two women that were hungrily ripping into his chest and face with their teeth. The surfer held Samantha tightly in a death grip. Using her free hand, Samantha tried to pull herself loose. The horrible scene in front of her was almost too much to handle, as the surfer was quickly being devoured alive by the two undead women. Trying not to draw the ravenous cannibal’s attention, she frantically tried to jerk her hand out from the dying man’s grip as the life swiftly drained out of him. With all her strength, almost dislocating her wrist in the process, Samantha was able to forcefully pull herself free. Holding in her terrified screams, Samantha struggled to her knees and looked for somewhere to hide. She noticed a recently abandoned t-shirt concession stand, its vendors had obviously fled when the crazies had first attacked the festival. Crawling like her life depended on it, which it did, she quickly slid under a blood-flecked banner covered table. Samantha, now hidden behind the thick fabric, clamped a hand over her mouth so her terrified whimpers wouldn’t give her away. Through a small slit in the banner she could witness the nightmarish, human feeding frenzy that was taking place a few feet in front of her. People were being eaten by the crazies, and those that were bitten got up
and attacked others. The horrifying screams and monstrous growls, along with the terrible eating and ripping noises, were almost too much for her to take.

  A screaming, terrified woman tripped over the remains of another and was quickly set upon by three of the crazed crowd. Samantha shut her eyes tightly as the woman’s screams turned to whimpers, then nothing but the horrible eating sounds. Shaking, Samantha slowly opened her eyes. A black eyeball stared back at her through the slit. Startled, Samantha jumped back a little, almost bumping her own head on the bottom of the table. Covering her mouth with both hands so she wouldn’t be heard, Samantha let out a muffled scream. After a round of terrified sobs, she realised the eyeball belonged to a decapitated head that one of the crazies was holding upside down. She hadn’t been found out. The dead face quickly disappeared as the thing holding it joined another group in hunting down more people to eat.

  ‘Zombies, fucking zombies!’ Samantha thought to herself. ‘This can’t be fucking real.’ She scooted closer to the slit and witnessed more of the living being torn apart by the dead. After a few minutes of watching festival goers being devoured by other festival goers, Samantha crawled away from the opening and curled up into a fetal position. The horrified girl tried to process all that had happened, as she bit down on her own hand to try and mute her screams and keep herself from drifting off into madness.

  TASER HANGOVER

  Cockatoo Island, Security Station

  Joshua awoke feeling very hungover, just like he did after the party his brothers had thrown for him before he’d left for University. That wasn’t good. He’d been sick for two days after that going away party. Slowly sitting up, the shirtless Maori groaned and ran a hand across his wet face. He found that he had drooled quite a bit while he was out. Wiping his chin with the back of his forearm, Joshua glanced around at his surroundings with bleary eyes. That was when he remembered he was in the security office, and that was when he noticed the needle like pain in his sides.

  “Aw, shite!” He groaned, and ran a hand down by his stomach. Joshua quickly found the two taser barbs in his side. “Fuck me!”

  He pulled the two small taser barbs out of his hip and tossed them to the dirty floor of the station. The spooked security guard had shot him with the damned taser gun when he ran in, probably thought he was some nut job. Joshua was sure that he must have frightened the shit out of the festival rent-a-cop. Chuckling, then wheezing a little in pain, Joshua moved to his feet in the same manner his grandfather used to step out of his wheelchair and into bed. That taser burst had really messed him up. Using a desk to help steady himself, Joshua scanned the empty office. He’d come in a panic, seeking some kind of help for his friends. Ryan had been savagely murdered, and Zoe and Emma were missing. He ran a hand through his hair, still groggy from the shock of the less than lethal weapon.

  “Ryan…” he muttered to himself. “Hello?” He shouted in the empty office. “Anyone here? I need some help!” No answer. Joshua found he was alone in the security office. Maybe they had all responded to his campsite after he passed out? The static of a walkie-talkie transmission made the big Maori jump. Looking over to the desk where the noise had come from, Joshua could see the small radio laying on its side.

  “Come in…” the voice on the speaker sounded hysterical. Joshua could hear what sounded like multiple screams in the background. “Chief, this is Wally… I’m... I’m... no, stay back! Stay back!” There was a loud ripping sound, then nothing but the ominous static silence. Joshua immediately grabbed up the radio and clicked the talk button. He and his brothers had always owned walkies as kids.

  “Hello! Hello! Anyone out there?” Silence. “Hello?” Again, static silence. Joshua dropped the walkie back onto the paper strewn desktop. Scratching his head, he wondered what the hell was really going on. The walkie transmission had sent a definite chill down his spine. A noise from outside the building drew his attention over to the blind covered windows. He slowly stepped forward and carefully lifted up one of the dusty blind slats, making a small enough hole, so that he could peer through without being seen.

  “Fuck me!!” Joshua quickly let go of the slat he’d been looking through and swiftly moved back away from the window, a foot or so. He acted as if it was lava, or some shit.

  “Naw. What the fuck mate?” Joshua shook his head, not fully grasping what he had just seen. Stepping back to his original position, Joshua made another opening in the blinds and, again, peeked through. Outside the security office the world had gone mad. The festival goers were rioting. Not just some football match rioting, no they were killing each other and... and... no, it couldn’t be. They were eating each other!

  Joshua could see four men bent over another. The men had their red stained hands deep inside the screaming man’s chest and stomach. They were pulling out coils of intestines and organs, shovelling them greedily into their mouths.

  “Well, hum my fucking balls!” The Maori gripped the thin slat tightly. He just couldn’t believe what he was seeing. A man dressed in only briefs ran past his window as a woman in a bloody security uniform tackled him to the ground. As the man struggled to throw the wild woman off his back, she pulled his ears off and shoved them in her mouth. The man let out a shriek as the cannibal grabbed his head and turned it to the left exposing his cheek. Screaming in terror, the man fought hard as the zombie security guard tore the flesh from his face with her jagged, crimson stained teeth. Joshua, to his horror, found this wasn't the worst of it. A thousand of these monsters were repeating what he’d just witnessed all over the island.

  Unable to look away, Joshua saw a young girl, no more than thirteen, staggering past holding a head in her small, blood streaked hands. Her face was totally soaked in red, as she dipped her mouth into the head and pulled out something spongy with her teeth. Joshua was just thankful she was too far away for him to figure out what it was. A naked woman, covered in blood, ran past her screaming as a group of crazies chased after her. The girl looked up as they passed, then returned to chewing on the head in her hands.

  Joshua saw a small fire break out near the food court as a man, dressed in a cooking apron, was shoved over a barbecue pit and the hot briquettes that spilled out caught a nearby tablecloth on fire. The crazed man ignored the flames as he jumped on top of the man in the apron and proceeded to tear out his throat. The fire spread quickly as a nearby gas can ignited. The explosion caught several of the undead crowd sending them flying, and on fire. The Maori watched unbelieving as a few of the men, engulfed in flames, got to their feet and continued trying to feed. The smell of burning flesh now wafted through the air.

  Fighting the overwhelming urge to throw up, Joshua let go of the slat and absently backed into the desk behind him.

  “Bloody fuckin’ cannibals?” Joshua grabbed up the walkie in a fright and shouted into it. “I need help! I’m in the security office. Anybody out there? Anyone?” Silence. Static was the only reply. Joshua shouted into the walkie a few more times, with the same negative results. The young man knew, as horrifying as it was, he was now on his own. As the sounds of terror and violence grew closer and louder, Joshua quickly arrived at the conclusion that he couldn’t stay in the office much longer. He would have to make a run for it, maybe Joshua could find the others and they all would be able to get to the ferry and escape whatever evil had taken hold of the island.

  There was a loud thump at the front door of the office that made Joshua almost jump out of his skin. He looked up to see a couple of the other festival goers pounding on the thick, frosted glass of the security office door. Joshua’s first instinct was to let them in, somebody might be hurt, then he noticed the black, gooey smears on the frosted glass as their hands repeatedly, and seemingly uncontrollably, slapped at the frosted door front. Strange moans came from the two shapes as they stood oddly, assaulting the door.

  “What shit is this?” Joshua quietly asked himself, not wanting those outside to notice him. Slowly he edged over to the frosted glass door and nervous
ly reached for the door lock. Holding his breath, with a trembling hand, he carefully and deliberately turned the knob to secure the door. The lock slipped into place with an almost deafening ‘click’. To Joshua it sounded like a bomb had just been set off; the total opposite of what he had intended. Now the hungry, angry things on the other side of the glass were definitely alerted to his presence inside. The crazed people began pounding even more violently on the door. More rioters, some on fire, quickly joined in with the others, and now they were even pounding at the offices blind-covered windows. The slats flew back and forth adding to the terrifying symphony of the starving undead.

  “Fuck me!” Joshua cursed, his adrenaline now through the roof. There had to be another way out of here. The fast-growing crowd of zombies at the frosted doors made sure that leaving through the front was no longer a viable option.

  MY TENT!

  Cockatoo Island

  “What the f…” Ben stood mouth agape, as Anastasia held his right hand in an iron death grip. Earlier, the two had left their campsite to look for help, only to be greeted by scenes right out of a nightmare. Ben and Anastasia thought seeing Ryan’s lifeless body torn to shreds and headless was the worst thing possible, sadly they were wrong. On their way to the security station trying to report the death of their friend Ryan, and the missing Zoe and Emma, the two ran head on into the violent and bloody chaos that had now taken hold of the island.