by Thomas Baker
"You must be on drugs, there is no one here but me." He took a step closer to the group who were all lined up on the far wall now. "Are you here to rob me for your drug money? Last warning, get out or Betsy here will blow holes clean through you."
Rapid footsteps announced her presence. A young lady raced down the stairs. She looked to be about Hannah's age and her blond hair, fashioned into a braid, bobbed with each step. Dressed as if Smokey the bear had swallowed her, she had to stand on her tiptoes as she, with a deft touch, grabbed the barrel and pulled the shotgun up and out of the old man's hands.
"Just who do you think you are miss?" the old man protested, reaching for the gun.
"Grandpa it's me, Amber."
The old man paused for a moment then grumbled. "Right, Amber. Is lunch ready yet?"
"Go back into the kitchen, Grandpa. I 'll be there shortly." Amber shooed him along. She watched him go back through the swinging door before she whirled back around to face them. She pointed the shotgun up to the ceiling.
"You need to go now before those things know you're here. It's just me and Grandpa. We'll never be able to fight off a pack of them. Who am I kidding, it would just be me doing the fighting."
"Please," Hannah stepped out, hands up, palms facing Amber. "We are not sure they are even still following us. We encountered them up over the top of the mountain pass. Where the road cuts through."
"We can fight," JT came forward beside Hannah. "We've had to more than once. If it comes to that, you and your Grandpa won't be harmed. We can protect you."
"No, leave. We have survived this long by not drawing attention to ourselves." Amber looked hesitant, but she didn't dropped the shotgun. It remained trained on them.
"Whoa, whoa miss," Gus said. "No need for violence. We could help, clear these things out once and for all if they come but we will leave if-."
There was a crash against the door. It shook but held. Then there was another crash against the wall. Then two more. Linda was closest to the window and peaked out.
"Looks like a pack of six Runners by the waythey move," she informed everyone, moving away from the wall.
"Damn you people," Amber said, looking as if she was about to burst into tears.
"Hon, don't worry," Gus said, pulling a pistol from its holster. "We got this." He hoped his cocky attitude was convincing in calming her. Because he had learned when tackling these things, it was never a sure deal.
"A pack made up of Runners, that's new." Gus said, sliding up next to JT.
"Yep." JT was taking off the safety.
"As they say, the faster they are, the faster their dicks drop in the dirt."
"Gus, I've never heard that saying."
"Amber, I'll go back in the kitchen with you," Hannah offered. "We will protect you and your Grandpa with our lives."
Amber looked hesitantly between them all, shotgun still pointed at them. With a sigh of resignation she lowered her gun. "Guess it's too late. The zombies are already here. You can follow me into the kitchen."
Amber looked scared to death. Hannah put her arm around the young woman's shoulder and led her off, following her grandpa's route.
Gus turned to Linda, keeping up his swagger. "Linda, are you locked, cocked, and ready to rock?!"
"Gus you're such a stud. You're making me wet," Linda grinned.
"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Gus chortled.
"Gross." JT made fake heaving sounds through a big grin. "It's like listening to my parents make out."
The zombies kept thudding against the door and now the walls. It was time to get serious. Gus was about to say so when one broke through a window. While it struggled, its torso was caught on some jagged glass, JT took two steps forward and blew its brains out.
"You two stop with the bedroom talk. Let's get this done."
Wind and sparkling snow flurried through the busted window. JT stalked to the window, kicked the zombie back out, and took shots out the opening. Gus was glad a sober JT with them today. He would not like to be shot, stabbed, or bitten.
"One down, five to go," Gus said.
"Look, Gus can count," JT said. He fired again. "Make that four."
There was another door rattling thump then a quieter thud.
"Three. Get the other window open and startcrackalackin', Gus."
Gus unlocked it, lifted the window, and then jumped back, just about tripping over his feet. A Runner lunged at that moment, startling him. It was half in, half out the window. It twisted around like a demon possessed it. Linda came up beside him and finished it offwith her shotgun. The sound still rang in his ears as Gus hesitantly grabbed the thing by its rotting shirt and pulled it all the way in, clearing the line of fire.
Gus could see two more out there, both scrambling at JT's side. Gus hung out the window, fired, and missed. The zombies both turned as one, drawn by the sound. Cursing himself, Gus fired again, hitting one in the side of the head. It jerked back then kept coming. Gus went flying backwards again as within a second they were on top of him. He had forgotten how fast the son of a bitching Runners could move. JT leaned out the broken window and took a shot.
"One."
"Save the last for me. I don't want to look bad in front of my lady friend."
"Go ahead, I have to reload."
JT backed away from his window and did just that. If those things could think, Gus wagered, the loss of its friends would confuse the last one. Its compadres all gone, attacked from two directions. Gus was ready to put it out of its misery. The door banged for a third time and the wood on the door frame splintered. The last zombie used to be a big man's man. Gus chuckled to himself, imaging the zombie man as a stereotypical lumberjack.
"Lumberjack Mac," Gus cawed out the window. It turned towards him.
Boom. Right in the middle of the forehead. Gus cheered after he took it down. Its forward momentum kept it coming. It slammed into Gus and he fell back, hitting the wall hard. Gus felt like his bones in his back had been crushed. JT pulled it back outside. Gus slid to the floor gulping in extra air.
"Gus, you show off," Linda said, dropping to one knee. She looked concerned which made him smile.
"How's that for this old timer!" Gus crowed when he got his air back. "Hey ladies, it's clear."
In a few moments Hannah came back out with Amber.
"My God," Amber said, covering her mouth with her hand. "You people. Look at our house! Look what you've done!"Her face was turning red, and she stopped talking. Instead, she hissed and spit like an alley cat.
"Shit, she's going to pop her boiler. She's going to blow," Gus said. He regretted the outburst when she came at him, hands clenched into fists at her side. She stared up at him like a Medusa willing Gus to turn into stone. He would have took a few steps backwards, but he was already against the wall. Instead, he put his hands up.
"Guys, I have even more bad news," JT said, getting between Amber and Gus. "With all that noise, there's a slim chance the other zombies could come this way. Sound carries and echoes up here I've noticed."
After hearing JT's statement, all of Amber's anger seemed to evaporate and instead she cried into her hands. She plopped down on the stairs.
"As winter came we were bothered less and less by anyone dead or alive," Amber said between sobs. "Not that there were many people here in the high country to start. There were in Colorado Springs though. It was rough getting here, but this was the first place I thought of when this all began." Amber took a deep breath. "With my Grandpa, the way he is, I thought we didn't have a chance anywhere else. This was his vacation house when he was younger. We fled, we made it. I lost my mom on the way but we've managed to hang on all this time. I had thought, the last few weeks, that after a while...I thought maybe the zombies were gone for good. What a silly thought. What am I going to do?"
Linda went over to her, put an arm around her. She went into full caring nurse mode. Gus felt his heart swell at her compassion. "We're sorry. We never meant to be a burden. We
'll do whatever we can to help you."
"Really?" Hannah said, hand on her hip. "Linda don't you think we should talk about it first?"
"What, you think these two are a threat?" JT said.
Gus wished JT could have said it a little nicer. These two grumbling at each other was getting on his nerves. Hannah walked as far away from JT as she could and stood there. She crossed her arms and put a pout was on her face. Gus didn't have time to fiddle with them and their sensitive feelings right now. Linda was in the right and they needed to take action before they were overwhelmed with zombie assholes.
"You go on upstairs, hon," Gus said, softening his voice. He stepped up next to Linda. "Gather up what you need in case we have to skedaddle. I'll go in the kitchen while you're up there. Us geezers need to stick together."
Amber looked up at the two of them, her eyes wet. Linda held out both of her hands. Amber took them and the two went upstairs. JT and Hannah were having a staring contest. Gus thought it looked like a competition to see who could look the most pissy. He left them to it.Gus pushed through the swinging wood door into the kitchen. The old man was sitting at a table, staring off into space. He turned to Gus as he entered.
"Do I know you?" the man asked.
"I'm Gus. Acquaintance of your granddaughter, Amber. I didn't catch your name."
The man continued sitting there, looking slack jawed. Then a little spark came into his face.
"Byron," he said, excited. "My name is Byron." He spoke with a slight English accent.
Gus joined him at the little wooden table. He was trying to decide what track to take with this guy. "It's nice to meet you, Byron. You know what is going on with the world right? What happened?"
Byron scratched his nose. Gus was afraid the man would start picking it too but Byron put his hand down in his lap.
"Yes. People went crazy. We came up in the mountains to hide. Me and my Amber. My daughter-in-law Lindsay, too. I wonder where she's gotten off to."
"Right!" Gus was happy to see Byron still had some gears grinding away. "Well, I got some bad news, pal. Some of those crazies are headed this way. I have a group of people here with me. We are going to help. Either drive the crazies away or get you and Amber out of here safely."
Byron just sat there, fiddling with his hands. Gus was afraid the lights had gone dim upstairs again. Then Byron surprised him by standing up.
"I need to get my things then. Just in case. Don't you fret though, I can fight too. I was in the British Army." Byron puffed out his scrawny chest.
Great, we traded in Dusty for an older model. Gus chuckled to himself. He humored Byron. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go out with the others."
Back through the swinging doors they went. The others were huddled together as far from the open window as possible. Except for Hannah, who was looking out the broken window. Snow and wetness gathered around her feet, puddling on the hardwood floor.
Amber came back down the stairs. She was carrying the shotgun in one hand and a large duffel bag in the other. She put them down to take Byron by the hand. She led him over to a closet by the front door.
"Grandpa, let's get you into your winter coat," Amber said, like she was talking to a child.
"You better hurry," Hannah said from her perch. "I see movement out there."
"I need to hit the bathroom now then, so I don't piss myself later." Gus bellowed at the others.
"Ugh," Linda and Hannah said in unison.
"No, really."
Amber pointed back towards the kitchen. "Right before you go in, turn right."
Gus gave a thumbs up. That was the hard part about being so funny, people didn't know when to take you seriously. After relieving himself, Gus came back out to the sound of gunfire.
"Gus! The undead wall is back!" Hannah shouted over the weapons.
"The hills are alive, with the sound of gunplay," Gus said, picking up his weapon, which he had left leaning against the wall.
"Quiet!" Hannah shushed. "Stop shooting."
Everyone stopped firing. Gus settled down and strained his ears. He had never been in the mountains or around snow much but he had of coursewatched lots of movies, like The Shining or Hot Tub Time Machine. He could swear what he heard now was the sound of snowmobiles.
Whatever the sound was, it was getting louder. Then he heard the rapid eruption of gunfire. With all they had been through, there was no mistaking that sound.
Gus squeezed in beside JT, trying to see what was going on. Between the mass of zombies and the thickness of the snowfall, it was tough.
"I haven't seen this much white powder since the eighties." Gus's commentary fell on deaf ears this time.
Gus could see the dead turning towards the sound. About every third zombie fell face first into said powder. They couldn't walk in the snow worth shit either. It was comical and horrifying at the same time.
Everyone got their weapons ready again just in case it was another threat. Gus was worrying about ammo if this was another attack. Two snowmobiles crashed through the undead line. Both had a person in a ski mask and a long coat driving them, semi automatics in hand. One rode right up to the porch.
"You people," he said in a hard tone, muffled through the mask. "What are you doing?"
Hannah stepped out the door and up to the man. "All we want is to be left alone."
The man answered back sarcastically. "You doknow there is a pack of dead heads coming this way, over the ridge? Besides the ones already here. Behind them we've spotted some kind of crazy people plowing through the snow with a dump truck behind them. We have someplace safe nearby. You should come. The sound of your gun fire attracted us. You can be damn sure it attracted everything else around too."
"I've heard that before," Hannah said, indignant. "Both times the people in those supposed 'safe places' killed my friends and tried to kill me."
The other snowmobile pulled up alongside the man talking.
"I'm not going to stand here and have a debate with you. That's my offer, you can come right now or not." Two more snowmobiles pulled up and stopped next to the man speaking. "Last chance."
Amber strode out between them, Grandpa in tow. "We're going with you. These people have left us no choice." They both straddled one of the snowmobiles, Byron between the driver and Amber, and took off. Three remained.
Hannah looked at the others. Gus could see the lost look of panic on her face. She was afraid of making the wrong decision here. Fearful memories of Albright and Harold had to be paralyzing her. He had tried to stay out of her way and not put his two cents in most of the time. Now might be a time she would appreciate his opinion.
"Look, Hannah. I know the last thing you want is gettin' mixed up with some group. Hell, I want nothing to do with the lot of them. Our choices aren't looking so good right now though. Didn't expect to find packs of undead up here. Didn't expect to be followed by lunatics in a dump truck. Let's go with them, with all of our antennas up, so we can at least get our bearings."
He could almost imagine seeing the wheels spinning in her head as he watched her struggle with it. She looked down at the porch for the longest time.
The man turned to leave. "Sorry, we gotta go. We aren't getting tangled up in this. I wouldn't even be out here if my Dad didn't force it on me."
"All right, all right," Hannah said, expelling it out in a rush. "Lead on and don't try anything funny. We're armed and we know how to kill."
"We could say the same thing to you."
JT was extremelywary of this idea as he climbed on the back of one of the snowmobiles.
"Hold on tight." The driver yelled back as he accelerated so abruptly he almost bucked JT off the rear. JT considered cuffing this guy across the back of his head until the vehicle Hannah was on glided by and he saw her smiling at his near misfortune.
Their little convoy navigated the terrain at a brisk pace, weaving in and out of the trees and the outstretched arms of the undead horde on the hunt. As they cleared a break in t
he trees, they saw the snow mobile carrying Amber and Byron stopped near the iced over lake they had passed in route to the cabin during their retreat. The driver was frantically giving hand signals bringing the other three mobiles to a halt.
Hannah looked ahead to see what the commotion was all about. A platoon of zombies headed their way. She guessed the dead were directly in their path and gathering.
"What's our move here?!" One driver yelled to another.
"Fuck! I knew this was a terrible idea!" Was his only reply as he lifted his goggles.
The driver of JT's vehicle fiddled with the holster housing his revolver. Nerves clearlyhad the best of him, his hands shook as he checked the cylinder of the weapon, nearly spilling the ammunition out of the chambers. JT had an idea but it would be dangerous. Fuck it. At least I would die doing something.
"Get back on JT!" Gus shouted at him. He threw a gloved thumbs up over his head.
JT walked towards the frozen lake with a purpose. He barely broke stride as he hit the slick surface and shuffled in long glides a few feet from the shore.
"What in the hell are you doing?" Hannah called to him, concern rising in her voice.
JT was about twenty feet onto the frozen lake when he fired his pistol into the air. The sudden noise drew the zombie's attention as they veered in his direction. He remained poised as he hit the safety and secured his pistol inside a coat pocket. He drew the rifle from his shoulder, bringing it into position.
The flock of zombies shambled onto the ice with the grace of a toddler just learning to walk. Some fell, others just slipped around in place like a stuck penguin. Hannah leapt from her seat, training her own rifle on the clamoring group.
"No!" JT called to her, then started loudly singing The Wheels On The Bus.
"Hell of a time to audition for Star Search." Gus mumbled to Linda.
The zombies kept slipping and sliding their way across the icy surface towards JT who was now firing shots at their feet creating little spurts of icy water as they burrowed through the ice.
"Any of you guys ever played Don't Break The Ice?" JT asked over the sounds of his gunfire.
