The Real Night of the Living Dead

by Mark Kramer

  I didn’t give the sorry bastard a chance. I tackled him, the blood from the bites on his stomach smeared on my neck and shoulder as he was lifted off the ground. I ran with him a few feet before pushing him off, sending him crashing to the ground.

  The other two went for Dallas.

  I ran to him as he began to fight off one of the two creatures, both of which were women, with his sap, but it looked like he wasn’t trying to hurt her. He was swinging the wooden stick at her legs and arms, wanting to avoid any serious injuries to the patient.

  “Go for the head, boss-man,” I shouted as I pulled the one, trying to sneak up on him, by her long wet brown hair and yanked her back to the gate where I started smacking her head against the wrought iron. She scratched at my forearm, trying to free herself, but I was merciless. I was whacking her petite little head as hard as I could.

  The infected man on the ground was back on his feet. He jumped on me, and I fell, with him on top, to the ground. I was still holding the lady by her hair and dragged her down with us. She was still alive, but the beating from the gate split her forehead. Blood was escaping from the fresh gash and was running down her face.

  The man on top was trying to bite into my bicep. I was lying with the rain beating against my face. I opened my mouth, to let some of the drops fall in, and swallowed. First damn drink I had in hours. Then I used my legs to push the guy up a few inches and, once there was room between us, I gripped him by his neck and threw him to the side.

  He was off now.

  I felt the woman clinching onto my pants, so I got to my feet as fast as I could. She was still on the ground. I looked down on her small frame to see those yellow eyes gazing hard at me. I lifted my right foot and slammed it down on the top of her head. I continued. I heard bones crunching, but I didn’t stop until I saw that she wasn’t moving.

  I glanced outside the gate and could see the rest of the small group moving slow, but still getting closer to the opening. I knew I had a chance now to shut it and prevent them from coming inside. I ran, grabbed the end of the gate and pushed it, sliding it, the wheels in the track, rolling, and the opening, shrinking by the second.

  I heard footsteps slapping the rain on the ground. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the infected man charging at me, again. The determined son of a bitch screamed as he reached out and grabbed my shirt. I had no choice ― guy had some strength to him ― I let go of the gate and began tussling with the creature. He was pushing his head toward me, while I was trying to push him back with one arm and landing blows to his face with the other.

  The opening was only about two feet wide, but the slow movers were near the edge. The fear was building inside me as I saw them inching but, at the moment, I couldn’t do a thing to stop them. I was about ten feet away from the gate, doing my best not to become one of them.

  I didn’t know what the heck was going on with Dallas. I couldn’t afford to even peek in his direction. All I can say is, he was grunting, and the woman was screaming.

  Then the wheels screeching against the track were heard. My eyes darted to the opening. I was shocked and disappointed to see the slow movers flooding through the gate.

  It was time to go.

  Fighting this creature now was pointless. With all the strength I could muster, I shoved him back, and he dropped to the ground, tearing part of my shirt along the way.

  I stole another look at the five entering the parking lot and turned, running toward Dallas. He was still taking it easy on the infected woman, hitting her arms and legs with his sap as she was held back by his stretched out arm.

  Running up behind her, and approaching fast, I grabbed her gray hospital gown and threw her to the ground. Dallas gave me this look like I was crazy. I shoved him and shouted, “Run!” He didn’t move until his eyes focused behind me and saw the group closing in. That’s when he ran.

  We made it back inside N-7 and shut the door.

  “Do you have the keys?” I said.

  He nodded, seemed a little nervous, grabbed the key chain from his belt and began searching for the key.

  I was looking through the small window in the door and could see the five slow movers halfway across the parking lot. The guy that I was fighting, and the woman that Dallas was dancing with, were running and almost at the door.

  “Find that damn key, fast,” I said.

  There was a loud crash at the door. The two runners collided into it. I was close to losing my stance against the door, but I pushed as hard as I could. Sweat was running down my forehead as my face turned red. The creatures were screaming as their pounding rattled my eardrums.

  Dallas found the key. Took him a few tries to fit it in the keyhole, because his hand was shaking so damn much, but he got it in and locked it.

  I eased off the door, slow, inch by inch. I was scared if I let go, they would push it open. But it was locked and stayed that way.

  We stepped away, both of us, staring at each other.

  “You all right?” said Dallas.

  I was breathing heavy. “Yeah…Tired…You?”

  “I’m cool.” His eyes went down to his left hand. Mine followed. There was blood dripping from the web between his thumb and index finger.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  My eyes widened as Dallas said, “She took a little bite, but nuthin’ some first aid from one of these sweet honeys can’t fix.”

  “Christ.”

  “What?”

  “I told you, don’t let them bite you.”

  “It ain’t nuthin’ but a scratch,” he said, like it was no big deal. “I be fine.”

  “No.” I was shaking my head. “You don’t understand, goddamn it. You’re going to become one of them.”

  “One of what? They crazy. I ain’t gonna be crazy ‘cause she bit me. They just a bunch of crazy suckers trying to escape. Relax, Veimer.” He took another look at the bite, then back at me. “Let’s go back to the ward and see if we can get the police on the horn.”

  He started walking back down the hall. I watched him as he relaxed, his muscles not so tense. I saw the sap sticking out of his back pocket. He was talking to me as he walked ahead, but I couldn’t tell you a thing he said, I wasn’t paying any attention.

  I followed behind him, closing the gap between us.

  When I felt I was close enough, I reached out, grabbed the sap from his pocket, and whacked him in the back of his head before he could react.

  He stumbled and cursed.

  I was raising my arm to hit him again, but he charged at me. He sent a jab into my face. It was enough to bust my lip open, but it was a weak punch. I could tell he was dazed.

  He threw himself on me, and we fell to the floor.

  “You should’ve killed her,” I said, struggling with the husky older man. I struck at his side with the sap, and he went limp for a split second, but came right back, trying to grab the weapon from my hand.

  “I ain’t no murderer. That’s you. You the murderer.”

  I turned, and we rolled. I was on top of him now. I gripped his neck and slammed his head against the terrazzo floor. His arms dropped, but he was still awake, staring at me with glassy eyes. I was in a rage. I swung the sap back and whacked it against his temple. I did this until I couldn’t feel his chest rising. Then I put my head down and listened for a heartbeat.

  Dallas was dead.

  Killing him was something that I couldn’t avoid. He had been bitten and was locked in the building with us. It was a matter of time before he was attacking our group.

  I left his body lying there in the middle of the hall. A small puddle of blood was forming around his head. I began walking back to the ward and could hear the banging continue back at the entrance behind me.

  My mind wandered as my legs moved, my tired feet dragging across the floor. I thought about Clara again. I had to leave fast. She may be dead, and I could be wasting my time. No. Don’t think that way, Veimer. She’s alive. You feel it in your heart. But time is running out.
It’s time to scram.

  I ran back to the ward.

  As I approached the entrance, I saw Buster and a few nurses walking inside. I followed behind them.

  I shut the door and locked it. I turned back. My eyes traveled the room, wanting to see who was here. I was relieved to see that Hank was back with Doctor Cochran, the professor and Pearl. They were sitting at the nurses’ station, most of the mud had washed off the lower part of Pearl’s uniform in the tunnel, leaving it a dirty brown color.

  Buster said, “Where’s Dal?”

  I didn’t want to say anything to him. My eyes went to Hank, who was already gazing at me. I shook my head. He knew what that meant.

  Not Buster though. He said, “Where is he?” When he realized he wasn’t getting an answer out of me, he turned to Hank and asked him the same thing.

  “Listen up, everybody,” said Hank. There were about ten nurses that Buster gathered from upstairs, they moved in close with the rest of us, wanting to hear what the high ranking security guard had to say. “We have a major situation on our hands. There is a sickness of some kind that started spreading around the campus a short time ago. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s making people want to hurt others. When I say hurt, I mean it’s making them want to eat other people.” The nurses gasped. Buster was staring at Hank. “This may sound ridiculous, but it’s the truth. Many people on this campus are ill, others have even died.”

  A nurse said to another, interrupting Hank, “I told you I heard screams.” Now the nurses were talking amongst themselves.

  “What we need to do is remain calm,” said Hank, raising his voice a little. “We are to stay locked in this ward until help arrives.”

  “Are these patients that are sick?” said one of the nurses.

  “No, doesn’t matter who you are,” said Hank. “Anyone can get this sickness.”

  The same nurse said, “How many people have been stricken?”

  Doctor Cochran spoke up, saying, “We’re not sure. It could be…”

  “It could be in the hundreds,” interrupted Hank, “and they’re headed this way.”

  The nurses began talking over each other; a few were scared and crying:

  “What?”

  “How could this be?”

  “Eating people? What makes a person do that?”

  “I knew I should’ve gone home today.”

  “What help are we waiting for?”

  “Yeah, has anyone called the police?”

  Hank said, “I’m not really sure if anyone else has called the police. Speaking for us in this group, we’ve tried, but the phones are out.” A few of the nurses began to panic. “Listen, if we stay in here, we’re fine. The door is locked. The windows are too high for them to reach, and even if they did reach, the screens are locked and are too thick for them to get through. We stay in here, keep checking the phones, as soon as they’re back, we’ll call for help. Don’t worry. Just keep calm and quiet.”

  “So what happened to Dal?” Buster asked again.

  Hank gazed at him.

  I approached Buster and whispered to him, not wanting the rest of the group to hear, “He came with me to lock the gate, and they got him.”

  “What? So he’s sick or…?”

  “No…He didn’t make it.”

  “He’s dead?” said Buster.

  I nodded, then grabbed his arm and said, “Don’t say anything. You’ll frighten the rest of them.”

  He looked at the scared nurses, some of which were crying. He turned back to me and agreed to keep quiet about Dallas.

  I walked to Hank and said, in a low tone, “When you picked them up at the tunnel did you guys seal the door, so they wouldn’t get through?”

  He shook his head.

  “Why?”

  “Hey, convict,” he said, “I didn’t have the time for that garbage. If we’re locked in here then what does it matter? Let’em roam the halls all they want. Let’em bang on the door. They won’t get in here.”

  “Yeah, let them bang away, right?” I said. “It may be all right to let a few ‘bang away’, but what happens when the rest of the monsters from N-5 come through the tunnel? Huh? What happens when you get an army banging on that door? You think it’ll still hold then?”

  Hank didn’t say a word. Just tightened his lips and turned away.

  I grabbed his arm and said, “We need to leave now. Let’s get moving to the guard house before these bastards surround this building too.”

  He nodded. He motioned Cochran over, and the three of us walked away from the group. Hank said to him, “We’re going to head to the boulevard. The guard house. Grab some weapons.”

  “What about us?” said the doctor.

  “Stay here,” said Hank. “Someone needs to stay and watch over the people in this building.”

  The doctor was shaking his head. “No. No, no, no. I’m coming with you both.”

  “Doc, just stay here,” I said.

  “Look,” Cochran said, “if I go, I can gather some weapons and bring them back to this building. Meanwhile, you and the attendant here can go to the children’s cottages.”

  Me and Hank looked at each other.

  “What if it’s too late when you come back?” said Hank.

  “Then I’ll take that chance. These people need some type of self defense to protect them. Right now, they have nothing in here.”

  “Okay,” said Hank.

  “You still have that baton?” I said to Cochran.

  He nodded and said, “I left it on the table there.”

  “Make sure you bring it.”

  “Of course,” said Cochran, then he walked back to the nurses’ station to retrieve it.

  Hank called Buster over.

  “What’s the scoop, boys?” said Buster.

  Hank said, “Look here, we’re going to get moving. We’re heading out for guns, the three of us.” Buster nodded, waiting for his part to come in. “I want you to protect these girls and the patients.”

  “How long you boys gonna be?”

  “Don’t know,” said Hank. “But keep this damn ward locked. Matter of fact, put some furniture or something in front of it. To strengthen it.” Buster nodded. “Who’s upstairs?”

  “About a hundred patients,” said Buster, “and maybe another ten twelve nurses. They locked themselves in the ward. They’re good.”

  “All right then,” said Hank. “You’re in charge. Remember.”

  Buster nodded.

  That’s when we heard Pearl raising her voice to Doctor Cochran, “Where?...No, you can’t leave us with those dead people.”

  “Calm down,” said Cochran. “We’ll be back fast.”

  “But they’re dead,” said Pearl. “Don’t you understand?”

  “What is she talking about?” said one of the nurses.

  Hank said, “Ignore her. She was attacked, and she just needs some sleep.” He paused for a moment, looking over the faces of the concerned nurses. “We need protection against these sick people, so a few of us are headed to the guard house. Buster here is in charge while I’m gone. Please remember not to open this door for anybody. I don’t care if it’s your best friend. If they’re sick, they will attack.” The nurses were scared. “Youse got that?”

  They nodded. Some answered.

  “Another thing,” I said. “If you see them outside the windows, or out in the hallway, then move away, out of their sight. If they see anybody in here, that will make them that much more determined to get in.”

  “Let’s go, doc,” said Hank.

  The doctor was walking toward us when the professor said, “Doctor Cochran, my good man, you are supposed to be responsible for my well being.”

  “I understand, Professor,” said Cochran, “but I will be back as quickly as I can. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here till I return.”

  “Well that’s not good enough, sir. I need to get to my bed in time for my wife’s visit, and you are the only individual who can take me t
here.”

  “Professor, please.”

  Hank interrupted, saying, “What is it that you want, nutty buddy? What, you want to come with us?”

  The professor chuckled, saying, “Well, I am certainly not staying here without the presence of the good doctor. He is responsible for my safety, and that comes into play now, especially now, in this time of crisis.”

  “Just shut up and move it.” Hank was upset, not wanting to bring the professor on our dangerous journey.

  Buster peeked through the window in the door. All was clear. He opened it, and we exited the ward; me, Hank, Doctor Cochran and the professor.

  “You boys be careful. I’ll keep trying to call for help while yall gone.”

  Then he shut the door.

  “We can’t go out the front entrance,” I said. “They’re already at that side.”

  “So how are we getting out?” said Cochran.

  Hank’s head was turning side to side, looking up and down the hallway. Then he said, “Around the corner, down at the end of this hall, there’s a window. We’ll have to climb out of it.”

  We followed him down the stretch.

  A few minutes passed.

  We were around the corner, at the five foot high rectangular window. Hank was unlocking the screen and opening it.

  It was silent.

  Then the moans began.

  We turned and saw the infected people from the tunnel, making their way out into the hallway. They didn’t see us. They were dragging their feet, moving in the opposite direction, toward the ward.

  “I don’t get it?” I said, watching them.

  “What?” said Hank, as he pulled up the window.

  “I’ve seen some run like madmen. Then I see ones like these. Look how slow they’re moving.”

  “It’s the rigor mortis setting in,” said Doctor Cochran. “The process begins after a body has been dead for a few hours. The muscles begin to tighten and stiffen.”

  “But they’re not really dead,” said Hank.

  “But they are,” said Cochran. “This vaccine may be driving their bodies as if they were still alive, but the bodies are dead. Even though they are moving around and eating, I would imagine they will continue to rot and follow the normal steps of decomposition as any usual dead body would. What I don’t understand is how their digestive system is able to operate? If it operates at all.”