The Beginning of the End (Book2): Road to Damnation

by Kidd, Sean

  “I know you had your heart set on the ferry, but I’d rather just get there sooner than later. Besides, I don’t like boats. I can’t swim.”

  “You can’t swim?” I giggled.

  “I’m from Texas; it’s all desert. What’s the point?”

  “Hell with it then, let’s take the vehicles. I don’t want to take a chance of losing you overboard, not being able to swim and all.”

  Back at the gift shop, we met up with the girls. They were sitting at a table drinking warm bottled soda.

  “What are you guys doing? You’re supposed to be grabbing supplies.”

  “They’re all gone. These are the last of them,” Sidara said, holding up her drink.

  “Gone? What do you mean they’re gone? Like they were closed down for the season early?”

  “No,” Sidara said, “like someone’s been taking them. The only thing left is some Vermont Maple Syrup and maple flavored candies. It looks like someone’s been coming here every day eating the food.”

  “If someone’s been stealing food, then where the hell are they now?” I asked.

  “Sidara’s right.” Mom said, “someone’s been coming here, and I’ve had the strangest feeling we’ve been being watched since we stepped out of the Humvee. I think it’d be a good idea to get out of here as soon as we gas up. I’ve had Sage watching out the windows since we realized it.”

  The side screen door slamming open startled us. Chevy ran in screaming, “We need help! Hurry, Luther’s holding them off.”

  The rhythmic sound of Luther’s AK-47 firing started and repeated until he changed out his mag. A second of silence followed by more firing. I ran outside to help. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. At first, I didn’t see anything. I followed Luther’s gun barrel as it pointed to the top of the hill. My worst fear had come true. We were trapped. A horde of more than a hundred zombies was making its way down the hill. Luther swung his Kalashnikov away from the pack of zombies and toward the bottom of the hill.

  “What are you shooting at, Luther?”

  “Runners!” he screamed.

  “Runners?” As I watched closer, I noticed about one in ten zombies moved like living people. They were fast and agile. They ran like Olympic sprinters.

  “Holy shit! Kill them, kill them all!” I screamed.

  Chapter 14

  Daniels chased after Cooper screaming for him to stop as he raced through the lobby. It was too late. Daniels caught sight of something in the shadows as the rookie took off. The sound of Cooper’s boots clomping on the tile floor alerted the cloaked demon as he stalked the shadows. A mangled hand appeared from the void behind the men’s watch kiosk and latched onto the back of the rookie’s collar. His feet were still moving at full speed when they came out from under him. Cooper saw a flash of light when his head struck the floor. He remained conscious but groggy.

  The weight of whatever was connected to the arm knocked the wind out of Cooper as it pounced on his chest.

  Panicked screams reverberated through the room as the creature sunk his teeth into Cooper's neck. Arterial spray splattered the walls.

  Daniels raised his M4 as his finger found the trigger. He paused, not having a shot. There was no way to shoot without hitting Cooper.

  In a desperate attempt, Daniels screamed at the zombie, “Bite me you son of a bitch!”

  It was no use, the vicious attack continued as Daniels charged toward the attacker.

  Cooper’s screams turned into gurgles and his arms collapsed at his sides. His eyes rolled back, and his body let out an unconscious quiver.

  Daniels crossed the room and kicked the creature’s head flipping him over onto his back. Clear of Cooper, Daniels pulled the trigger on the M4 and didn’t stop until Bunker grabbed his arm.

  The zombie’s head was riddled with bullet holes.

  Daniels slung his rifle and fell to his partner’s side, “Cooper, can you hear me? You’re going to be okay. Just hold on.”

  Daniels squeezed against the wound with his hands trying to stop the bleeding. The last few beats of Cooper’s heart spurted out the rest of his blood through Daniels’ fingers.

  Daniels couldn’t stop the bleeding. Finally, it stopped on its own. He bent over clutching his friend’s patrol shirt trying to give words of comfort to his deceased friend. The only thing that came out was, “I’m sorry.”

  The realization of Cooper’s death set in, causing Daniels to feel light headed as he collapsed back onto his ass. He raised his arms looking at his blood-covered hands. Dropping them to his thighs, he tried to wipe the dead man’s blood off on his pants.

  Daniels didn’t realize he was bawling until Cecilia touched his shoulder. He wiped away his tears, leaving streaks of blood on his face, “I’m sorry, Cooper. I couldn’t take the shot.”

  * * *

  “He’s alive!” Kaden screamed.

  Daniels jumped to his feet and moved away. Cooper lifted a bloody hand and touched the open gash on his neck. A gurgled moan came from somewhere deep inside of him.

  “Stay back. Look at his eyes, they’re turning blue.” Bunker said pointing at the reanimated corpse.

  The rookie’s eyes transformed from brown to swirling blue as the group watched in amazement.

  “How are you alive?” Daniels asked.

  “He’s not,” Bunker said, “you know it, Daniels. Snap out of it. It’s not your fault. He’s one of those things now. We need to take him out before he turns one of us into a zombie.”

  Daniels lifted his rifle and centered the sight on Cooper’s head, “I’m sorry, my friend.”

  Daniels tried to pull the trigger, but his finger wouldn’t move. Fear surged through his body as he watched Cooper transform from a corpse to a hungry zombie, in less than thirty seconds.

  The bright red blood around Cooper’s wound had turned into black coagulated ooze.

  Daniels knew Cooper had turned, but didn’t want to admit he was gone, “No, you can’t be one of those things. Cooper, it’s me, Daniels. You can fight this thing. Be strong. Look at me.”

  A long extended groan came out of the dead cop’s mouth. He stepped toward Daniels reaching for his throat.

  Daniels pushed his hand away, “No, Cooper, please. Please be okay.”

  Cooper reached out again taking a hand full of shirt. The rookie’s head lurched forward fast, biting at Daniels.

  A crack of thunder sounded off. The noise pierced Daniels’ ear. He snapped his head around, looking at the barrel of Bunker’s M4. It was pointed at Cooper’s skull.

  The smell of burnt gunpowder filled the room.

  “You didn’t have to kill him!” Daniels screamed as he collapsed onto the floor next to Cooper’s body. Bunker didn’t have a choice. Cooper had turned into a zombie. There was no denying it. Daniels had lost his partner. There was nothing worse for a veteran cop. More tears ran from Daniels’ eyes. Cecilia bent over and tried to comfort him, but it didn’t do any good.

  Daniels sat next to the body with his hands over his face for the next few minutes. Nobody said a word. They knew Daniels was on the edge of losing it and gave him the time he needed to mourn.

  When Daniels was ready, he stood up, and wiped the last of the remaining tears away. He turned to address the group, “I need to get home to my family. If any of these motherfuckers get in my way, I’m going to kill them. I don’t care who they are, or who they were. Daniels dropped the mag out of his AR-15, inserted a fresh one as he stormed away from the group. He kicked the glass exit door open, stepping outside into the street. The group watched the madman firing his rifle in every direction while screaming, “Die, you motherfuckers. Die!”

  Chapter 15

  The mass of dead staggered down the narrow ferry road. Those who were too close to the edge of the embankment tumbled off the road into the lake. Panic coursed through the group of survivors as their nerves pushed to the limit. The urge to flee was overpowering, but there was nowhere to run. It was fight or die.

 
“We can’t get them all; there are too many!” Sidara screamed.

  “Just keep firing and hold them off for another minute. I’ve got an idea!”

  I made a break for the Humvee and found what I was looking for inside. Sidara left her MOLLE vest on the floor of the back seat. I searched the pockets until I found one of the grenades and sprinted back to the front line. The horde was closing fast and almost upon us. I fought the urge to pull the pin and throw the grenade. I needed to wait for the right moment, “Concentrate on the runners and let the group get closer.” I ordered.

  The runners dropped as the horde neared. Thank God my friends could shoot.

  Our guns slaughtered half of the Dead, but it used up most of our loaded ammo. We had plenty of ammo in the vehicles, but it didn’t do us any good. It was all loose rounds, it would have to be loaded in the magazines before we could put it to use. It would take hours to reload the hundred magazines in our cache. This grenade had to work or we were all going to be dead.

  The horde was about fifteen yards away now. I had never used a grenade before, but I had seen enough movies to know it was as simple as pulling the pin and throwing it at the threat. With another quick peek at the horde, I knew it was now or never.

  I pulled the pin on the grenade, and the silver spoon thing popped off. I hadn’t expected that to happen and watched it as is bounced onto the pavement. “Throw it!” someone screamed.

  I launched the grenade right into the middle of the zombie group and screamed, “Get down!”

  Everyone ducked and grabbed pavement.

  Waiting the three seconds for the device to explode felt like an eternity. When it did, I wished I’d never used it. With our close proximity, the force hit me with a vengeance. It felt like someone struck me on top of the head with a baseball bat and ran me over with a truck at the same time. It left me with a searing high pitched ringing in my ears, and my fingers searching the inside of my mouth for loose teeth.

  Smoke was clearing from the epicenter of the blast. All but three of the zombies were dead. The remaining three were mangled and on fire. The blast had disoriented them enough to leave them wandering in circles.

  In too much pain to get up, I rolled onto my side and reached for my Glock to finish off the rest of dead. I lifted my arm to shoot when one of the zombie’s heads exploded. How the hell had that happened, my finger wasn’t anywhere near my trigger? Before the body hit the ground, headshots took out the remaining two dead.

  “Stay down. It’s a sniper.” Chevy called out,

  “Yeah, but I think he’s helping us.” I returned.

  I raised my hands, made my way to my feet, and moved out from cover. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a zombie that I thought died in the blast. It tried to get up and move toward me. Before it was on its feet, a round took it out like the others.

  I followed the sound of the gunshot to the roof of a small building that doubled as the marina boat shop. There was a humongous man on the roof no less than 6’ 3” and 300lbs. He was jumping up and down cheering. It was hard to tell because of the distance, but it looked like he was wearing, what looked like a Batman mask with a little kid’s cape attached to it. Couldn’t be, the blast must have rung my bell. Maybe I was just seeing things. Then I heard it.

  “Na Na, Na Na, Na Na, Na Na, I’m Batman!” he shouted as he danced around the rooftop.

  I wasn’t sure if he was Batman, but today he saved my ass, and that made him my hero.

  A second male stood up from a lying position behind Batman. He was a few inches shorter and much thinner. He gave Batman a pat on the back and said something, but my ringing ears prevented me from making out what it was. Looking in our direction, he gave a friendly wave, “We’ll be right over!” he yelled.

  Chevy and I moved into the middle of the destroyed horde and surveyed the carnage. The grenade had done the job. The thought of the explosion brought back the throbbing in my head,

  “Is everyone else okay?” I asked rubbing my temples.

  “My head is killing me too,” Chevy said.

  My mom joined us in the middle of the pack and put an arm around Chevy as she answered me, “Yes, honey. All of us girls are okay.”

  “Hey, that’s not nice.” Chevy shot back.

  The two strangers were off of the boathouse roof and heading our way.

  “It looks like we’re going to have some company in a minute. Let’s start reloading all of our magazines. I’m sure everything for miles around us heard that blast. I want to be ready if it attracted more zombies. Cowboy, those two guys are on the way over here. Why don’t you grab the sniper rifle and set up on the ferry before they see you.”

  Cowboy looked confused, “They helped us, hoss. Do you think they will hurt us?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m not taking any more chances. I’ll give you a wave when I determine everything’s okay.”

  “You got it, Two-gun.” Cowboy said, grabbing the .50 cal and taking off for the upper level of the ferry.

  The two men crossed the parking lot with their hands up. They both had hunting rifles slung across their shoulders. When they reached the far edge of the blast radius, they stopped, and the thinner male called out, “We come in peace,” he said.

  As a sign of trust, I raised my hands, “Us too,” I responded.

  “I’m Batman!” the big man yelled again.

  The thinner man lowered his arms and gave Batman a light smack on the back of the head, “They know that, dummy. You’re wearing a Batman mask.”

  The thin man offered an inviting hand, and I accepted.

  “I’m Thurman,” he said, “and Batman over here is Herman. We’re brothers. Twin brothers.”

  I was astonished, “You’re twins?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I got all the brains and good looks. He got the brawn and superpowers. Life’s a trip, man. Don’t let him scare you. He’s a big teddy bear. Just about the only thing he hates in this world is zombies.”

  “Batman kills zombies. Batman hates zombies. Have you seen my mom?” Batman asked hopping around like he had to pee.

  Thurman reached up and rubbed Herman’s broad shoulder, “Mom’s not with them, buddy. We’ll keep looking, I promise.”

  “Is he okay?” I asked.

  “He’s okay. He just misses our mom. Oh wait, you mean the way he acts. Yeah, he’s fine. When he was two, he walked out into the road and was hit by a car. They thought he would die; he was in a coma for three months. I don’t remember any of it, being the same age. But mom said he was normal before the accident. The damage to his brain is also what made him so big. Something about a brain lesion, the doctor said. It turned into a growth, and it puts pressure on his Pituitary gland. As it continues to grow, he’ll keep getting bigger.”

  “So he’s going to get bigger than that?” I asked looking up at the masked marvel.

  “That’s what the doc says.”

  “Batman, kill pituitary gland,” Herman said stamping his feet.

  “So he pretty much acts like this all the time.”

  Sensing no threat, I waved the rest of our group over to introduce them, “This is Chevy, my mom, Jen. Sidara and Luther are over there, and that’s Sage next to the back of the jeep loading mags.”

  Thurman raised an open palm, “Hi, everyone. I’m Thurman, this big guy is, Herman. It’s a pleasure to meet everyone, but I still didn’t get the other guys name.”

  “Other guy,” I asked.

  “The guy on the ferry pointing the sniper rifle at me.”

  “Oh, sorry about that,” I said glancing back at the boat.

  I gave Cowboy the okay wave, “That’s Cowboy. I apologize for that but we’ve been through hell and back already today, and I didn’t know if you guys were friend or foe.”

  “Consider us friends,” Thurman said, “as a matter of fact, we want to know if we can join you. We’ve just about run out of supplies, and there’s nothing left for us here anymore.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I sai
d addressing the group, “All in favor?”

  Yes came from everyone, even Cowboy, who was almost back to the group.

  “There’s one problem, we’re kind of out of room. We to need to find you a vehicle before we can leave.”

  “Don’t you worry about that,” Thurman said, “We’ve already got one.”

  “The Bat mobile, Na Na Na Na Na Na,” cheered Herman.

  Chapter 16

  Bunker ran for the exit door to help Daniels. The firing became more muted. It sounded like he was heading away from the building. Bunker kicked open the glass door, and Daniels was gone.

  Hundreds of dead roamed the street.

  Bunker pursued the trail of carnage Daniels left in his wake. The mass of dead pushed, closing the gap Daniels created, cutting off access to him. There was no way for Bunker to help his friend. He was on his own.

  Out of options and nowhere to go, Bunker headed back into the building, slamming the door closed behind him, “He’s gone. Daniels left us.”

  “He wouldn’t do that,” Cecilia cried.

  “Well, he went crazy after his partner died. He must be going after his family. We’re on our own now.”

  “What are we going to do?” Kaden asked.

  “Hang on, kid. Give me a second to think,” Bunker said, “There’s dead everywhere out there. If they’re after Daniels, maybe we’ll have enough time to make it out of here.”

  Bunker peeked out the door expecting to see zombies, not the NYC commuter bus barreling backward toward the building. Bunker leaped out of the way of the door and yelled for everyone to run.

  The bus crashed into the building, smashing the glass exit door and filling the room with dust and debris.

  Destiny screamed as Kaden covered his head expecting the roof to come down on top of him. It took a few seconds for the dust to settle.

  The five stood up and patted themselves off, engrossed in the bus that was now a few feet inside the building.

  The rear emergency door swung open. Daniels stood there with a smile on his face, “Are you guys going to stand there all day staring at me, or do you want to get the hell out of this place. Cecilia climbed up the back of the bus and threw her arms around Daniels, “I knew you wouldn’t leave us.”