The Dead Walk The Earth (Book 4)

by Luke Duffy

  “Put two of your guns on point, and leave one here with me,” Stan instructed him. “When you reach the far end, go firm and wait for me to catch up.”

  Kyle nodded, and pushed into the enveloping blackness, leaving two of his men behind to act as a support group for Stan and the main body of survivors.

  Outside the cold air was thick with the smell of fire and the nauseating stench of burning flesh, but in the darkness of the subterranean passage and despite the claustrophobic confines, it felt strangely less constricting and the air tasted fresh in comparison to what was outside. It was much colder in the tunnel. A chill seemed to creep down from the surface and seep through the walls, bringing the temperature down to near freezing. The sounds of the gunfire and the moans of the dead melted away into the distance, seeming as though they had crossed through a porthole in space and descended into a different world.

  Kyle took in a deep breath and felt his lungs fill with the cool air as his troops closed in around him. He looked back at the entrance and saw Stan silhouetted in the light from outside, snapping orders and attempting to maintain control. The veteran turned to his group. He did not want to leave Stan to lead the evacuees on his own, but he had his orders and needed to follow them in order to ensure that the operation was successful.

  “Come on,” he said to his gun-group, turning away and breaking into a run.

  The fires had eased the pressure on the western gate, but the flames could not be maintained for long. The base was now out of fuel and despite the weapons of the guards, the dead continued to hammer at the gates. For now, with the extra heavy equipment piled up against them the barricades were holding, but the veteran knew that it would not last for long and he was just as anxious as anyone else to get moving. However, once at the far end his intention was to leave his gun team to protect the entrance while he returned to assist Stan.

  In the open the firing suddenly ceased and for a brief moment, a strange calm seemed to settle over the crumbling defences of the FOB. Stan looked up and saw the militia from the eastern gate stomping their way along the walkway with Paul in the lead and making their way towards the main body. It was time. The defenders were falling back, virtually out of ammunition and leaving the walls and hastily reinforced gates as the only means of holding back the army of infected.

  “Go, go,” Stan roared, stepping to the side and allowing Greg to begin leading the first group of civilians into the tunnel. “Get them in there and keep them moving.”

  He turned and grabbed the two men carrying the machinegun that had been left behind from Kyle’s group. They looked frightened as they watched the men and women begin to hurriedly file in through the tunnel’s entrance, clearly wishing that they could join them in the evacuation. Instead, they had been left behind with this strange, mad man.

  “Stay close, and do exactly as I say,” Stan ordered them.

  Up above them, with the air silent apart from the growl and bark of the dogs and the wail of the infected, Paul stopped abruptly before reaching the stairs and turned his attention towards the west. His face gradually changed from one of confusion to a look of complete shock and horror. He began to holler, waving his arms down at Tina and Stan and then pointing across towards the western gate.

  That is when they all heard it. There were other noises occurring from the far side of the base. The unmistakable grind and clang of heavy metal. There was no longer any gunfire coming from that area, and the noise was clearly not being made by the defenders.

  Flash suddenly appeared, sprinting towards them from around the far corner of the inner complex. His face was a portrait of fear, and he was screaming unintelligibly while frantically waving his arms. Another two figures shot out from behind him, instantly identifiable as members of the guard-force, except neither of them were carrying their weapons. They were running as fast as they could and glancing back over their shoulders at something that was evidently following them but not yet visible to Stan and the others.

  “The gate’s gone,” Flash howled between breaths, his feet sending up loose shingle around him as he charged for the safety of the tunnel. “It’s fucking gone. It’s collapsed. There’s hundreds of them coming in.”

  “Get them in there,” Tina roared, grabbing the nearest civilians and pushing them towards the tunnel. “Faster, move, move.”

  By now most of the troops from the east had arrived and began helping to drive the group of screaming men, women, and children into the dark passageway. Paul was still making his way towards them, bounding down the steps and screaming at the top of his lungs when there was another loud bang. This time, everyone could see as the eastern entrance bowed inwards and then collapsed, the huge steel gates along with a section of the blackened and charred T-wall falling to the ground with a mighty crash and sending up clouds of soot and dust as they slammed into the gravel. The hordes of corpses pushing from the outside instantly began to spew into the base like a crashing wave, tumbling over one another as they searched for the living people.

  “We’re too late,” Sebastian shouted in horror, pulling his dogs back as they fought against their chains. “They’re in. They’re fucking in.”

  Flash came to a skidding halt in front of Tina, quickly followed by the two remaining militia from the west who charged passed them and into the tunnel without stopping. It was clear that no one else from that section had survived, being overwhelmed and engulfed by the thousands of infected that had rushed through the broken defences.

  “You,” Stan growled, grabbing the machine gunner and his partner and then pointing to the mass of dead that were piling into the FOB from the east. “Keep those fuckers back.”

  The gunner and his assistant ran forward a few metres and dropped onto the ground, flipping out the bipod legs of the GPMG, and quickly adjusting their positions. Within seconds the gun opened up and began firing long, sustained bursts into the crowds. Dozens of them instantly toppled over as the bullets ripped through them. Red tracer rounds blazed over the ground, ricocheting into the air as they smashed through bone and flesh.

  “Get these people moving faster,” Stan barked at Sebastian and Paul. “Get them moving through the tunnel.”

  Paul was frantically searching for his wife and daughter, unable to see them amongst the mob of stampeding people. He was calling out to them, ignoring what Stan was ordering him to do and pushing his way through the crowd.

  “They’re already in,” someone shouted across to him. “They’re up at the front.”

  Paul disappeared through the door, still screaming the names of his remaining family.

  Tina was already sprinting towards the complex, hoping to find the other group from the recreation room before it was too late for them. The dead were spilling in from the east and west, and it was only a matter of time before they would be completely cut off.

  Stan followed, along with Flash, Ron, and Ben, the militia soldier who had injured his leg the previous day during their retreat from the sewers with Greg.

  He limped after the others, determined to help and ignoring the wound that ached and throbbed relentlessly. They were headed for the northern door leading into the living area, hoping that the machine gun and remaining militia troops could hold back the dead from the east long enough for them to save the others.

  Stan looked back and saw that there were still a lot of the evacuees within the base, pushing at the people in front of them as they trundled in through the tunnel’s narrow entrance. They were moving too slowly, the entrance way causing a bottleneck that stalled their progress.

  Tina reached the door and almost ripped it from its hinges as she pulled it open. There was still no sign of the infected from the western part of the base, but she knew that it would not be long before they made their way along the inner wall between the complex and perimeter and rounded the corner. She stepped in and looked along the corridor. She could see movement in the low and flickering light. It was them, the second group.

  “Gary,” she shoute
d, unable to see him but hoping that he was leading them. “Move your arses. The gates are down. You need to move.”

  “We’re coming,” a voice called back to her.

  She could now hear the sound of trampling feet and anxious voices bouncing along the corridor towards her as the large group made their way through the complex. A shiver ran down her spine as the bark of the machinegun to their left stopped for a few seconds, and the cries of the dead filled the sound vacuum. The gun started up again, drowning out the haunting wail of the blood-thirsty ghouls that were quickly filling the FOB.

  “Come on, come on,” she growled under her breath.

  She was now able to see Gary as he ran along ahead of the group, needing to stop every few metres to allow the others to catch up. He was shouting at them, trying to make them move faster while other members of the militia drove them on from behind. He was now no more than thirty metres away, but with almost a hundred people stretched out along the corridor behind him, Tina knew in her heart that they would be lucky to get them all out in time. She stepped back and glanced across to the tunnel. The first group were still there, their numbers steadily shrinking as they disappeared into the darkness while the machine-gunners and remaining troops laid down heavy wall of fire-support.

  Someone began to fire from close by. She turned and saw Flash and Stan pointing their rifles towards the right and the exterior corner of the complex. They were shouting back to her between their shots, urging her to hurry. From her position on the threshold, she could not see what was going on to the west, but she could imagine that the infected were now appearing from around the side of the cabins while Stan, Ron and Flash attempted to hold them back.

  She turned to call out towards Gary, but her words were instantly transformed into a horrified and shocked scream as she watched a blur of brown and grey figures emerge from an adjacent corridor ahead of the group. They saw the people and fell upon Gary and the civilians that were following him. The complex erupted with the screams of the living and the lustful howls of the dead as more of them appeared from around the corner to join in on the frenzy, completely blocking off any chance that Gary and the others had of escaping.

  “No,” she cried, raising her rifle as she saw her people becoming engulfed. She bounded forward. “No.”

  A hand grabbed her from behind as she began to move towards the dozens of bodies that were blocking the hallway, wanting to help Gary and the others with no thought for her own safety or survival. As the screams of terror and pain echoed around her, she thrashed and pulled at the man who had wrenched her backwards.

  “No,” she cried again. “We can’t leave them. We can’t leave them.”

  There was a blast beside her as a rifle barked. More shots followed, and a few of the surging corpses fell, but it did nothing to help the trapped people. There were more of the infected charging in from the hallways and rooms connecting onto the main corridor, and within seconds there were dozens of them completely blocking the view of Tina and the others. Gary had been swallowed up in the crowd, but his screams for help and cries of torture could still be heard over the gunfire.

  “We can’t help them, they’re gone,” Stan growled into her ear as he hauled her back. “There’s nothing we can do, Tina.”

  She kicked and pulled at him, trying to break free of his overpowering strength. She was screaming manically, seemingly losing control of her senses and becoming completely engulfed by her emotions.

  “Flash, help me get her out of here,” Stan shouted, struggling to keep his grip on Tina as she thrashed against him.

  A number of cracks snapped around them as someone with a rifle from within the crowd of infected began to fire. Some of the bodies fell and gaping holes suddenly appeared in the walls on either side of Stan and the others as the rounds easily ploughed through the flimsy plaster and aluminium sheeting.

  Flash let out an agonised cry and dropped to the ground, dragging Tina with him and clutching his hand over a wound in the side of his abdomen. The militia soldier, Ben, also tumbled, folding in on himself as he took a round through his midriff. He slammed into the floor and let out a scream that quickly turned into a rasping gurgle. Someone from within the mass of infected was trying to fight their way out and firing wildly as they bravely battled to create a path through the wall of corpses.

  “I’m out of ammo,” Ron shouted from beyond the door as his suppressive fire ceased. “I’ve nothing left, and they’re getting closer.”

  Stan reached down and scooped up Tina, grasping her hard by the scruff of her neck and throwing her back through the door.

  “They’re gone. There’s nothing we can do for them now. We need to get out of here before it’s too late,” he screamed into her face.

  She stared back at him in shock. His eyes were wide and blazing with anger. His teeth were clenched, and his lips peeled back while his face was contorted with rage. She could feel his hot breath against her face and the power of his grip upon her as he handled her like a bundle of rags. The man seemed to have suddenly come to life, having shown no sign of emotion up until that point. But what she saw in his eyes now was more terrifying than the faces of the dead that were closing in all around them. Beyond the aggression and fury in his eyes, she could see something else. She could only describe it as lust. A love and yearning for the battle that he found himself embroiled in. The man was in his element, his dark soul feeding off the fear and chaos that had erupted all around them.

  “We need to move, Tina. We need to save the ones we can. Forget about the others. We can’t help them. Now fucking move.”

  She quickly regained her composure, Stan’s words rebounding through her mind like hammer blows. She knew that Gary and the others were gone. Over ninety of her people trapped and condemned to death because there was no way they could reach them without finding themselves surrounded and doomed in the same way.

  Tina and Stan began to fire, standing side by side and throwing everything they had against the rotted faces that were charging towards them from the western side of the base. More were making their way along the corridor, drawn to the sound of the voices and gunfire of the living and forgetting the screaming people that were being torn apart behind them. Everywhere Tina looked she saw the dead eyes and snapping teeth of the infected leering and staggering towards her with grasping hands.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Ron called as he clasped his hands around Flash’s harness straps and began to drag him backwards through the door. “Come on, get up.”

  As Flash climbed to his feet, bent almost double and struggling to walk, Stan reached down for Ben who was lying in an expanding pool of blood. He turned the man over and saw that he had taken a hit in the chest. He was pale and gasping for breath as his lungs collapsed in on themselves from a wound that was causing blood to fill his chest cavity and preventing the expansion of his lungs. Stan knew how to treat the wound, known as a hemothorax, but they had no time, and Ben would be dead by the time they made it back to the tunnel. Triage was driving Stan during those seconds and without any further consideration he raised his rifle and blasted a hole through the man’s pleading face.

  “Move,” he roared at the others who were standing in the doorway, staring back at him in complete shock. “Fucking move.”

  He pulled the HE grenade from his pouch, pulled the pin, and tossed it back through the door. The four of them began to fall back towards the tunnel, dragging Flash with them. There was a heavy thump and a portion of the complex roof shot up into the air as the grenade exploded. More debris and smoke spilled out through the main door, helping to cover their retreat as they headed for the tunnel.

  Most of the civilians were now inside, leaving just a few of the militia and the gun group behind to hold back the dead and keeping the path open for Tina and the others.

  “Get him out of here,” Ron ordered, passing Flash over to a cluster of soldiers who dragged him away into the darkness.

  The shuddering growl of the machineg
un abruptly stopped. Stan looked to his right and saw an ocean of staggering, rotting scarecrows filling the entire space between the complex and the wall on the eastern side. They were no longer falling from the sustained fire that had been slamming into them and were now gaining ground. The first of them were just forty metres away, and their haunting voices could be heard over the blast of the remaining rifles.

  “That’s us,” the man behind the machinegun yelled, jumping to his feet and flinging the GPMG across his shoulder. “We’re out of ammo. There’s nothing left.”

  Stan and Tina along with four of the guard force were standing their ground as the last of the evacuees disappeared through the doorway. Their fire was accurate and rapid, but it was doing nothing to stem the tide. The dead did not care for the numbers they lost. Their only thought was to reach and devour the living.

  “Go, go,” Tina ordered. “Fall back, and seal the door.”

  The last of them were inside and the noise in the tunnel was deafening. The people were screaming as they tramped their way through the darkness guided by the few lights of the militia around them and the shouts of Tina and the others from behind. Their progress was hampered by the dark, the amount of sick and elderly, and the panic that rippled through the crowd. People fell and were trampled underfoot while children screamed and called for their parents as they became separated in the darkness and confusion. The evacuation had turned into what they had feared the most—an uncoordinated retreat, quickly turning into a chaotic rout.

  Tina and Stan stepped away from the door, but within seconds it was rattling against its hinges as the dead pounded against it from the other side. They knew that it would not hold, but they hoped that it would delay the infected for long enough to allow the living to put some breathing space between them and the blood thirsty creatures.

  “You got the detonator?” she asked, turning to Paul who was standing behind her.

  He had pushed his way back from the front of the column, having confirmed that his wife and daughter were safe and now stood staring at the rectangle of light that encompassed the door. He looked at her and nodded, his eyes shining brightly in the dark as they reflected the lights of the others around him.