Mace of the Apocalypse

by Daniel J. Williams

  Lisa smiled at her. “Good job honey. Now you stay right here, okay?” Chelsea nodded in return and Lisa got up off the floor and shook her head. “Some guard dog” she said to herself. She stopped moving as the smell of smoke hit her nostrils. Something was on fire. She cursed under her breath and took one last look at the bed before leaning her ear against the bedroom door. She heard nothing. She’d have to take a quick look around if they were going to escape.

  She opened the door slowly and the smell of smoke grew stronger. Little wisps of smoke were floating across the hall in front of her. She peeked her head out and looked left, seeing nothing but a smoky haze accompanied by loud shouts and banging somewhere down the hall.

  She turned her head right and almost jumped out of her skin as Gilbert was running swiftly towards her. He was completely naked and despite that obvious fact, something about him looked all wrong. He moved quickly towards her and she yelled out in fear as she tried to slam the door shut. He stuck his foot through and the door slammed against it. He screamed out in pain and ripped the door back open, his eyes bugging out as he snarled at Lisa.

  “I want Chelsea!! Where is she!?”

  Lisa backed up in the room, shaking her head as she tried to pull her .38 from its holster, completely unnerved. “You stay away from me. What the hell happened to you?”

  He snarled at her again as he moved slowly towards her. “Where’s Chelsea?”

  From under the bed, a growl emanated and Gilbert whipped his head in that direction.

  Lisa raised her gun at him and shouted. “Get out of here, you freak! You stay away from my daughter!”

  He turned back towards her and smiled, a twisted, infected smile that had the appearance of something dark and evil. He took at step towards her and she screamed “Fuck you!” and fired, his head briefly jumping back as the bullet clipped a piece of his ear off. He stood completely still and stared at her with a cold, demonic grin. He lifted his arm and rubbed his ear gently between his fingers, squishing the blood between them before moving it to his mouth and licking it off.

  “If I didn’t know better I’d think you were trying to kill me,” he said calmly as he twisted his neck around and eyeballed her, showing his teeth. He began to speak, pronouncing each word slowly and carefully: As he did so each word grew louder until he was screaming at the top of his lungs. “Give me Chelsea or I will cut your fucking head off!”

  Lisa was shaking as she kept the gun trained on him, scared to fire and miss. Afraid of what might happen if she ran out of bullets. From under the bed, a little voice could be heard. “Mommy, I’m scared.”

  Gilbert rushed to the bed and in one motion flipped it over. Lisa forgot that fear and fired three shots at him but was shaking so badly they all missed. Chelsea screamed at the sight of Gilbert and Buster let out a low primal growl before lunging at him, latching on to his genitals as Gilbert screamed out in pain.

  Chelsea got up and ran screaming to Lisa, who tried to shelter her with her arm and body while trying to keep the gun aimed at Gilbert with the other. She was shaking so badly she was afraid she would hit Buster if she took a shot. She was also afraid to waste any ammunition unless she was sure she would hit him.

  Gilbert began pounding Buster in the head and Chelsea screamed at him in indignation as Lisa held her back. “Don’t you hit Buster!” She turned to Lisa and continued to scream and cry. “Mommy, he’s killing him! Do something!”

  Gilbert threw his head back and let out an enraged howl as Buster clamped down harder, snarling, and tugging at his genitals. Gilbert finally fell forward and gripped Buster’s head tightly, trying to keep Buster from pulling any harder, and Lisa took the opportunity to rush Chelsea out of the room.

  “What about Buster, Mommy!? We can’t just leave him!” Chelsea was crying and tugging at her shirt. Lisa quickly glanced both ways down the hall as she rushed her out, the gun shaking terribly in her hand. She looked down at her as they ran. “We have to honey. Buster will be okay. He’ll catch up with us, okay?”

  They rushed down the hall and turned the corner, almost running into Shawn and his party as they moved quickly from the opposite direction. A bullet whizzed by Lisa’s head and she instinctively jumped on top of Chelsea, protecting her from any harm. Chelsea was screaming for her to get off when Shawn came running up, apologizing for the errant bullet. “I thought you were one of them. I’m sorry.”

  Lisa picked herself up and comforted Chelsea, who was now mad at her for leaving Buster as well as for jumping on top of her. She pointed to Chelsea and said, “Gee, do you think maybe the 3 year old might have tipped you off?”

  Shawn was embarrassed and apologized again. “We really need to get moving. I don’t want to get caught naked in the hallway.”

  The comment made Lisa shiver as she thought of what Gilbert had become and what had happened to him. Chelsea screamed out “Buster!” as the dog rounded the corner, with blood covering the fur around his mouth and a few strands of something hanging from his teeth. Lisa turned and vomited, and from somewhere around the corner they could hear a horrific howl as Gilbert moved in pain and madness through the corridors of the hall.

  Chapter 73

  Kevin was panting loudly as he ran gimping through the hallways screaming, “Burn it down! Burn it down!” Shouts and gunshots were still ringing out from different parts of the hospital as the smoke grew thicker and it became more difficult to see. Kevin thought he saw something turn the corner at the end of the hallway and he yelled towards it. “Kill everything in sight! We’re going out in a blaze of glory!”

  The figure stopped and let out a piercing howl, and the hairs on the back of Kevin’s neck tingled. “What the hell?”

  The figure started moving towards him swiftly, and as it came closer Kevin saw it was Gilbert, running full steam towards him, his legs bathed in blood and his eyes wild with madness and infection.

  Kevin immediately turned and ran, a prickle of fear pushing aside any feelings of sexual power or excitement. He threw open the doorway to the stairs and began hobbling up them two at a time, the pain in his thigh being punctuated with each step. The stairway was thick with smoke and he started to cough, growing winded as his leg throbbed and bled. He thought about stopping but could hear the roar of madness a few feet behind him and a slight feeling of panic filled him as he continued to try to outrun him.

  Gilbert was screaming, “I’m going to pluck your eyes out!” as Kevin burst through the door to the roof. Smoke began billowing out the doorway as he looked back to see Gilbert right behind him. Gilbert’s face was twisted in a grimace of horror and rage and Kevin grew smaller as the fear began to creep deeper into his heart.

  Kevin realized he was going to run out of rooftop and turned to face Gilbert. Gilbert’s eyes looked huge and he shrieked at him in a frenzy. Kevin wilted a little more as he realized there was nowhere else to go. He put his hands out in front of him, trying to plead for a compromise, backing up at Gilbert’s advance. “Gilbert, hold on, let’s just talk about this for a minute.”

  Kevin looked behind him at the edge of the roof and tried to summon the anger and violence he needed to fight. Gilbert shrieked again and Kevin jerked back towards him, aware that Gilbert was still advancing.

  “I’m gonna pluck your eyes out!!” Gilbert was frothing at the mouth and grinning wildly, waiting for Kevin to make a move. “There’s nowhere else to go!”

  Kevin felt like a cornered animal and it sent a surge of adrenaline through his system. Feeling his confidence slowly returning, he pulled his knife from its sheath and waved it in front of Gilbert. “Watch out, freak show, cause I ain’t fucking done yet.”

  Kevin took the knife and sliced it across his own stomach, grinning as the pain and blood shrouded him in feelings of power and domination. He touched his stomach then lifted his bloody fingers in triumph. “Bring it on.”

  Gilbert was delirious with cravings for violence as he witnessed the self-mutilation. He lunged at Kevin and Kevin b
rought the knife up at the same time. Gilbert screamed as he impaled himself on the blade, shrieking in Kevin’s face, and in a rage, Gilbert plunged his thumbs into Kevin’s eyes. Everything went black as Kevin screamed in agony, clutching at the hands that were clamped like a vice to his face.

  Chapter 74

  As Jade helped Mace outside the doorway, she saw Jacqueline through the smoky haze and called out her name. “Help! Jacqueline! We need help!”

  Jacqueline ran over and grabbed Mace from the other side, looking from Jade to Mace. “What’s wrong, you couldn’t whip those candy ass wimps? I showed those fuckers a thing or two.”

  Jade just stared at her, not sure what to make of the comments. Jacqueline looked at her and shook her head. “Well, C’mon, we ain’t got time to waste.”

  They reached the front door just as Shawn, Lisa and the rest of their group, which now included a half dozen more survivors, were heading towards the door from a different hallway. Lisa looked at Jade and asked, “Is there anybody else?”

  Jade just shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t hear anyone. We were just lucky to get out ourselves.”

  They spilled out onto the front parking lot, looking back in horror as an explosion ripped through the hospital and blew out several windows on the second floor. They heard a howl from the roof and looked up just in time to see Gilbert digging his thumbs into Kevin’s eyeballs. Kevin was clawing at Gilbert’s arms, but Gilbert held his grip tight as Kevin’s head thrashed from side to side. Gilbert roared again as another explosion ripped through the hospital and flames shot up around them. The group below watched in morbid horror as the flames consumed them.

  As they stood outside the hospital and took in the scene before them, they realized that their situation had once again changed dramatically and they all remained quiet and frozen, lost in their own thoughts and briefly paralyzed by the outcome. Several distant shrieks broke their paralysis. The infected were gathering in the background, away from the flames, waiting for their opportunity to attack.

  As smoke and flames continued to bellow out of the hospital structure and the building began collapsing, Lisa’s trembling voice broke their silence. She turned slowly towards Mace, shocked by his pale and pasty appearance as he held on to Jade for support. “My God, what in the world do we do now?”

  A tiny smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he thought about Father McCann’s words of leadership, before a sharp wave of pain brought on a grimace. “We head to the sewers to elude them. Then we survive and carry on: That’s what we do.”

  “But how?”

  “With faith, hope, and love.” He paused for a second, then added, “and some serious firepower.” Mace turned and whispered in Jade’s ear, knowing that there was no longer any choice in their next course of action. “Follow the yellow brick road?”

  Jade appeared worried as she looked up at him, studying his face carefully. “I thought you were going to die back there. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

  Amid the ruins of their fortress, a playful look spread across his face. “Oh yeah, I’ll be fine. I just need to get to a hospital.” He looked at the burning wreckage of their sanctuary and began chuckling. Slowly, they all began joining in, at first laughing softly at the dark humor and absurdity of their situation until Chelsea’s face scrunched up in confusion and she said, “You guys are crazy. I almost got a shot in that hospital!”

  That set off a wave of laughter that continued until tears spilled down their cheeks and they huddled around each other, swearing loyalty and vowing to survive.

  As the daylight slowly began to vanquish behind the setting of the sun, more shrieks could be heard in the distance, echoing across the landscape.

  Chapter 75

  In Overland Park, Kansas, Sarah Thompson lay in bed, staring at the blackness above her and feeling the weight of its depth and uncertainty. She nudged her husband, who was trying unsuccessfully to get some sleep. “Bo, I haven’t heard anything from her in weeks. Do you think there’s a chance they still might make it?”

  Bo, who had been awakened by her fitful sleep, stared into the same dark void and tried to offer some reassurance. “You’ve got to quit obsessing over this Sarah. Only time will tell.” He rolled over and put his arm around her body, feeling it tremble underneath the sheets. “Only time will tell.”

  Epiloque

  Mace stood in the middle of the street and looked reflectively at the road before him, pushing aside any thoughts of hesitation or doubt. What lay before them was their future. There was nothing holding them back anymore. He had healed enough to lead them on their journey.

  The ground they stood on had become soiled; stained by the blood and memories of loved ones fallen. What lay ahead of them was hope. It was all they had left.

  He looked behind him at the waiting caravan and locked eyes with Jade, who was waiting patiently in the passenger seat of their SUV, and she flashed a smile as their eyes connected. She was carrying his child: The child that he felt would fully redeem him. She was now four months pregnant.

  The time had come. They were going to Kansas. If Sarah Thompson was still alive, they would find her: Somehow. Since the burning of the hospital, Kansas had become their nirvana, their place for hope, and they left with a flicker of it burning in their hearts. Seven vehicles and 23 people, hospital survivors and a few others, were gathered and ready. They had all agreed on the next course of action.

  Chelsea, who had recently celebrated her fourth birthday, stuck her head out the window once she’d noticed Mace had turned back towards them. “C’mon, Mason Macaroboni, I’ve already got to pee!” She’d coined the new name for him after a chat one afternoon where he’d revealed his full name. Marconi had instantly become Macaroni. Somewhere along the line it had morphed into Macaroboni, and that’s how it stayed.

  A new journey had begun.

  Thank you for reading Mace of the Apocalypse. If you enjoyed this adventure, look for a continuation of the story in The Value of Jade, coming in October, 2012.