The Demented Z (Book 2): Desolation

by Derek J. Thomas

  “Hear that?” Tom whispered.

  “Car horns.”

  “Hank and the others must be drawing the infected for us.”

  “We get back, I’m gonna owe them some beers.” Eddie chuckled.

  Occasionally the huff of a demented could be heard over the constant thrum of car horns. The speed with which they had developed some form of communication and group coordination was terrifying. Tom dreaded the thought of the infected adapting. They already had speed, unending stamina, and sheer numbers. To added intellect to the mix...nightmare.

  With Tom leading the way, they made their way around to the back corner of the shop. From there they eyed the nearby trees to their right and the half burnt house to their left. Seeing no threats, Tom wondered if the remains of the house would contain anything of worth. His belly grumbled in response.

  More important than his hunger was his parched mouth. His tongue and throat felt swollen and stiff from lack of hydration. The hot breeze stung his lips, digging at where they were cracked and splitting.

  “Let’s check out the house.” Tom said.

  After Eddie nodded his head they both made their way across the lawn. Nearing the house, they could smell the acrid smoke and stench of burnt plastic...and something far worse. Patches still smoldered, sending thick, white tendrils swirling into the breeze. The fire had been recent.

  Tom entered through the broken down front door. Stepping between bodies, he made his way into the home. The hall and stairs directly in front of him were littered with bodies. There had clearly been a last stand by someone. Both the dead bodies and the walls were riddled with bullet holes. Blood was spilled everywhere, covering the floor and splattering the wall. Chunks of flesh and bone were like small islands in the pools of blood.

  Swatting at one of the many flies that were busy feasting and laying eggs, Tom looked through the various openings to determine the location of the kitchen.

  Eddie groaned from behind him. “Ahhh man...that’s disgusting. There is nothing I need this bad.”

  Tom hesitated, wondering if anything was in fact worth this. Maybe Eddie had a good point. He was about to tell Eddie that he was right, when someone’s voice sounded from somewhere upstairs. It was muffled and unintelligible...maybe just the groan of an infected.

  Looking back at Eddie, Tom hoped to get some input.

  Eddie shrugged his shoulders and then shook his head.

  “Wait out front.” Tom whispered before turning for the stairs.

  Stepping over and on top of bodies, Tom made his way up the stairs. Reaching the top, he raised his rifle to his shoulder and listened intently. The house creaked and groaned, but nothing that sounded of the living. At the top of the landing dark hallways split in both directions. A trail of dead lead to the right and ended at a partially closed door. Several fist sized holes stared back at him. Dim light spilled out through the holes, forming an elongated triangle across the back of one of the dead.

  Rifle at the ready, Tom began tiptoeing between bodies. The hardwood floor was slick with blood. Flies crawled over the bodies, only stirred into flight as Tom stepped between their meals. Thick, suffocating stench filled the hallway. The heat of the afternoon had taken its toll on the rotting flesh.

  As Tom neared the door, he lowered his rifle and peered through one of the holes. Directly across the room sat a large bed, soaked in blood and gore. On the floor at the foot of the bed were several bodies lying in a tangled heap.

  Tom pushed his face up to the door, trying to make out something curled up in the far corner of the room. Unable to get a good view, he hunched down and tried looking through the lowest hole to get a better angle. He was holding his breath, listening, when something came right at him through the hole. Stumbling, he fell backwards, crashing over top of the piled up bodies. The buzz of flies filled the narrow hallway along with a huffing noise.

  From his back, Tom struggled to sit up and bring his rifle to bear. He could picture one of the demented charging he way, ready to tear into his flesh.

  Finally getting sat back up, he was surprised to see nothing bearing down on him, but instead only a long brown and black snout sticking out of a hole in the door. It huffed and whined. Claws scraped and pawed at the door. Tom breathed a sigh of relief and regained his feet. The dog sniffed at the air, sensing Tom’s movement. As Tom began to turn for the stairway the dog let out a low whimper. Initially he did not want to risk going into a room with a dog, but the dog’s crying was tearing at his heartstrings.

  Tom stepped over next to the door and softly said, “Hey boy...you friendly?”

  More whimpering and then the muzzle disappeared out of the hole. A streak of brown past the hole and then the dog’s muzzle poked out in the narrow crack between the door and the jam. Its tail slammed against the wall making a loud whump each time it hit.

  “You seem friendly. I’m going to ease the door open.” Tom put his hand on the splintered wood and gave a push. It didn’t budge. Putting his shoulder up against the door he said, “Stuck in there aren’t you boy.” Using his legs and hips for leverage, Tom pushed the door open enough that the dog came bursting through the gap.

  The large German Shepherd was very excited to be out of the room. Tail wagging rapidly, the dog licked and pawed at Tom’s hands. Usually known for their stoic demeanor, this one was overcome by the excitement to be set free.

  Kneeling down by the dog, Tom said, “Easy boy, easy.” He grabbed the collar and checked the tag. “What’s your name? Zeus. That’s a good name.”

  Standing back up, Tom looked into the room and could now see what lay in the corner. The man was wearing jeans and a dirty t-shirt, but also had a policeman’s utility belt strapped around his waist. He was curled up on his side, facing away from Tom.

  Zeus padded back into the room, sniffed at the man curled up, turned, and let out a low whine. He tapped at the floor with one of his paws and then turned, looking down at the man.

  Just to be safe, Tom swept into the room with his rifle at low ready. He quickly checked his corners. Nothing other than the dead bodies he had already seen. He slung the rifle behind his back and moved over to Zeus. “Whatcha got here?”

  Kneeling down, Tom could see the man was likely gone. His skin was pale and chest never moved. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, Tom reached down to check for a pulse and found the skin unusually cool in the heat. Not seeing any blood or wounds, he had no idea what the man died from. Heart attack. Dehydration. Fear. All the above.

  Zeus let out a low whimper.

  “Sorry boy.” Tom looked around the body and found a pump shotgun, breach open and empty. Right next to the man was an old service revolver. Tom picked it up and gave the cylinder a slow spin. Two rounds remained. Checking the utility belt he found two speed loaders fully loaded. He popped all the rounds out of one, topped off the 357, and dropped the two remaining rounds in his pocket. Unclipping the utility belt, he slid it out from under the cop and put it on himself. He holstered the revolver and shifted the belt around a bit, trying to get the weight balanced out. It was surprisingly heavy with the revolver, large flashlight, and remaining speed loader, but it felt good.

  “Let’s get out of here boy.”

  Zeus led the way out of the room and down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, instead of heading outside, he turned and began scratching at a closet door. Tom eased the door open, not sure what to expect. Sitting on the floor were two inverted plastic buckets. Each was about half full, one with water and the other with dog food. Zeus began excitedly lapping at the water dish, his tail wagging rapidly.

  Tom remembered food and water was part of the reason he had entered the house in the first place. Turning around, he walked through a doorway that led to the burnt out portion of the house. It was clear that it was the kitchen that had burned. Ruptured pipes from above were the only thing that had saved the rest of the house.

  The sound of crunching food caused Tom to turn back around. He found Zeus chomping
out of the food bowl. “Screw it.” He walked over and pulled the inverted jug of water off the tray and flipped it over. Some of the water spilled out on Zeus’s head. He turned and looked up at Tom. His eyes said, “Come on, be more careful.”

  “Sorry boy.” Tom said. He took a big swig of the water. It had a bit of an off flavor, but felt great in his dry mouth. He took another couple drinks and then cradled the jug to his chest. Zeus stopped eating and looked back at him. After a moment’s hesitation, he turned and padded outside. Tom followed after him.

  In the front yard, Eddie and Zeus stood about ten yards apart, staring at each other. Eddie started to raise his pistol. Zeus tensed and let out a low growl.

  “Eddie, lower the gun.” Tom said as he walked out across the grass. Looking at the dog, he said, “Easy boy...friend.” Zeus stopped growling and turned his head toward the woods. He paced several feet and sat down, watching the trees the whole time.

  “What is that?” Eddie said.

  “He was upstairs. His name is Zeus.” Tom held out the jug of water. “Water?”

  “Yes.” Eddie said while quickly tucking his pistol into the back of his pants. He grabbed the jug and took a large drink. “Whew...that is a bit nasty.”

  “Yeah...it was the dogs.”

  Eddie almost choked and spit the water out. He let out a bit of smile. “Seriously?”

  Tom nodded his head. “It’s alright.”

  Eddie gave a shrug of his shoulders and then chugged some of the water.

  Zeus’s ears perked up and he began walking toward the driveway past the shop. His tail remained low to the ground. Both Tom and Eddie turned and watched him. He made it to the gravel and stopped.

  “Let’s head for the hospital, we need to get back.” Tom said.

  ******

  They could hear them before see them. Even over the blaring car horns, the growls were unmistakable. It didn’t make sense. Why would Hank and the others draw infected straight to the hospital? Is the group still there? Did they have to move on for some reason?

  Tom, Eddie, and Zeus had made their way to within a couple blocks of the hospital and were now sitting on the pavement, crouching behind a compact car.

  “I don’t get it.” Eddie said.

  Tom turned and peered around the car’s trunk. Beyond the car barricade that surrounded the hospital was a massive horde of infected. There were too many bodies swarming the front to see if they had gained entry. Looking back at Eddie, Tom said, “I’m not sure either. Something went horribly wrong; they would never blast car horns at the hospital.”

  Zeus continued a low, barely audible growl, while he stared under the car at the infected.

  “We need to get inside the hospital, but there are way too many.” Tom said.

  “I know a way in.”

  Tom looked over at Eddie. “Spit it out.”

  Pointing at the ground, Eddie said, “Underground...there’s an underground access. We used to screw around down there. Around town there are a couple different access points. One of them is in the basement of the old part of the hospital. Friends and I used to sneak in at night, looking for...uh...meds and stuff.”

  “How do we get in?”

  Eddie sat thinking for a bit and then said, “Closest one’s down off Washington, near the post office.”

  “Let’s roll.”

  “I think we need more firepower.”

  Tom glanced down at the rifle in his lap and said, “We don’t have much ammo left, but we can’t carry enough ammo to stop all of them. On top of that...nearest sure weapon is your rifle lying in the school hallway. Want to go get it?”

  Eddie shook his head. “No way.” He quietly stood and said, “This way.”

  Tom mumbled, “That’s what I thought” under his breath as he stood and followed after Eddie. He could hear Zeus following behind.

  By the time they reached the post office, the sun was just dropping below the buildings that sat on top the hill. The going had been slow, but they were able to avoid any infected. It was likely that all the infected outside were up at the hospital, however Tom had learned weeks ago that being spotted by demented still inside houses could be nearly as deadly as running into ones outside.

  “Back this way.” Eddie said while ducking between a pair of overgrown shrubs.

  Zeus raced ahead of Tom, disappearing after Eddie. Tom followed the two of them through the thick foliage. Exiting out the other side, he found both of them standing above a flat steel trap door. The four foot square, hinged piece of metal was framed by a short cement wall. At one end sat a beefy padlock.

  “How do we get that off?” Tom said while pointing at the lock.

  Eddie smiled, bent down and pulled the pins out of the hinges. He then flopped the large metal door up and out of the way, using the padlock as a hinge.

  “Looks like you’ve done that before.” Tom said with chuckle.

  “Used to be a lot tougher to get the pins out.”

  Zeus peered down into the dark pit, sniffing at the air. He worked his way around the short wall, testing the smells all the way around. He let out a low grumble and sat down.

  “Everything okay Zeus?” Tom said while resting his hand on the dog’s head. His tail gave a couple quick swats across the ground.

  Tom grabbed the flashlight from his utility belt and shined it down into the dark opening. He was surprised to see a fairly clean concrete tunnel extending east toward the hospital and west toward the river. A rickety looking wood ladder angled down to the floor below. “I pictured a dingy tunnel dug out of dirt. This thing must be tall enough to stand.”

  Eddie looked over at him and said, “I’d heard a mayor had it built back in the forties. Supposedly he was worried about being invaded and unable to get around town. Used to be a building on top of each one, but over time most got torn down. Now it only leads to the hospital basement and the old courthouse. The rest are outdoors.”

  “This going to be locked on the other end?”

  Shrugging his shoulders Eddie said, “I haven’t been through in years, but it’s never been locked before.”

  Tom slung his rifle onto his back, looked down at Zeus, and said, “I’ll climb down, then you...” Before he could finish, Zeus climbed over the cement wall and scampered down the steep ladder. Once at the bottom, he sat down and looked up expectantly. Tom and Eddie shared a look, and then climbed down.

  Shining the light in both directions, Tom saw nothing but cement. About seventy yards in either direction, the darkness swallowed up the light, finally winning the battle. Tom rested his free hand on his revolver and began working down the tunnel. The tunnel seemed to extend out to infinity. Tom was glad he was with someone that had been here before, because he could easily see how the confined space could get inside a person’s mind. While it was tall enough to stand, it was barely wide enough for his shoulders not to rub the walls. His mind slowly wandered to the thought of infected sprinting toward them. Eddie would be in his way for a retreat. What if infected were closing in from both directions? Stop it. I would hear them.

  Pushing the thoughts out, Tom focused on working along the tunnel. The air smelled stale as they moved further up the steady incline. Something brushed at Tom’s legs, startling him. Looking down, he saw Zeus’s fuzzy form pushing his way past. He padded several yards out in front and led the way. Tom was a bit relieved to have the dog between him and whatever might lie ahead.

  After several hundred yards the dog came to a stop, sniffing at the air. Catching up, Tom noticed the tunnel continued ahead, but also split off to the left and right. He looked back at Eddie.

  “Straight ahead. Not much further.”

  Tom pointed ahead and Zeus took off. The incline continued for another hundred yards or more and then leveled back out. At the far reaches of the flashlight beam Tom could see something breaking up the smooth gray cement. As they neared he could see it was another wooden ladder angling upwards. Just like the other entrance, the tunnel widened to
about four feet square and directly above the ladder was a large metal door.

  Eddie caught up and the three of them stood in the small space at the base of the ladder. Zeus stared up at the entrance, listening intently.

  “Hear anything boy?” Tom said. The dog let out a low growl in response and pawed at the cement floor a couple times.

  Looking over at Eddie, Tom said, “Are you ready for this?”

  “Yip.”

  “I mean really ready. If things hit the fan again, I can’t have you folding on me.”

  Eddie nodded his head. “I know...I’m here and I’m ready. I won’t let you down again.”

  Tom hoped he was right. Eddie nearly cost both of them their lives with his inability to deal with the fear and pressure. He was a good kid, but Tom worried this was too much for him. It was difficult to determine how someone would do when presented with a life or death situation. If they could not direct, control, and use the surge of adrenaline, it could easily overwhelm them. He’s going to be fine.

  Chapter 8: Inside

  Tom nodded his head and said, “Stay tight and don’t shoot unless you have to.” With that, he started up the ladder. Whispering a quick prayer, Tom pushed on the metal door and was relieved when it lifted a few inches. Tom could hear grunts, but they sounded distant. Easing the steel plate a little higher, Tom was able to shine his flashlight through the opening. No movement.

  Lifting the door up further, Tom was able to climb up out of the tunnel. He carefully leaned the metal up against the nearby wall, and then used the flashlight to survey the room. He stood in the corner of a large mechanical room. A giant generator sat in the middle of the room. It was dusty and quiet. The walls were covered with conduit, wiring, and electrical panels.

  From next to him Eddie said, “Original mechanical room. Old propane generator still works, but they only keep it in case the new one goes out.”