The Demented Z (Book 2): Desolation

by Derek J. Thomas

  The sounds of the oncoming demented echoed loudly in the narrow alley. Needing no further incentive, Hank held the door open and said, “Get in.” This was plenty of encouragement for the group and they quickly raced into the darkness without hesitation. Zeus’s furry form was the last to rush through the doorway.

  Hank raced in after them, pulling the door closed behind him. He looked down for a way to secure the door, but the interior of the building was pitch black. Panic welled up inside of him. Telling himself to focus on a single task at a time, he began feeling along the door. He kept his eyes closed, using his fingers and mind to map out the shape. His fingers felt the round tube of steel that marked a crash bar. He continued along it in both directions, but found no locking mechanism. He began feeling along the side opposite the hinges, hoping there would be a deadbolt. Before he made it very far there was a loud scream from somewhere behind him. He had been focusing so intently on the door that he lost track of what happened to the others. “Where are...” He started to say while spinning away from the door.

  Unable to finish his question, gunfire erupted from inside the building, cutting him off. The loud shots rang out, echoing in the large space. With each shot a brilliant flash of light lit up what appeared to be an immense warehouse. Giant machinery stood on the cement in rows like sleeping industrial behemoths.

  Zeus began barking wildly.

  The gunfire revealed shadowed human forms a couple dozen yards off. With each flash it was clear there were more people in the warehouse than Hank’s group. It was like watching a horror film where you only got to see one frame every second.

  Another gun joined the fight, smaller, likely Philip’s pistol.

  The thought of returning to the alley flashed through Hank’s mind. It was quickly wiped away when something slammed into the outside of the door, causing it to bang and shake. Between shots Hank could hear angry growls from the other side of the door. It continued to rattle on its hinges and he knew it was only a matter of time before they figured out how to get the handle released.

  Knowing escape back through the alley was no longer an option, Hank raised his rifle and raced toward the others. The constant bright flashes ahead were very disorienting. His eyes were unable to adjust to the either the dark or the light. With each gun flash he tried to lock in on who was who.

  He was just about to the others when he either sensed or heard something to his side. There was only enough time to turn slightly, putting his rifle between himself and his attacker. The demented came rushing at him from the side. Whether he had waited patiently in the darkness or had finally got in on the fight, the demented had perfectly ambushed Hank. The attacker slammed into Hank, ramming his rifle up into his chin. Pain shot through Hank’s jaw. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.

  The demented’s massive frame knocked Hank from his feet, both of them crashing to the cement floor. The air was driven from Hank’s lungs. He tried to gasp for more, but couldn’t seem to get his lungs to work correctly. The demented showed no mercy, ripping at his neck and face. Using his rifle as a makeshift shield, Hank tried to push the giant man away. The effort was useless; Hank lacked the strength and leverage to even budge his attacker.

  The gunfire had died off, replaced by angered grunts and growls. Without their bright flashes the entire warehouse was shrouded in inky blackness. Unable to see the others Hank hoped they had survived the attack. Continued sounds of a struggle indicated otherwise.

  Something issued a low growl to Hank’s side. He stood little chance as it was and another demented would surely mean his demise. The angry growl rapidly grew louder as the second demented rushed his way. Using one last surge of energy, Hank shoved and twisted as hard as he could. It was barely enough to get one shoulder off the cold cement. It was over.

  The growl came in right next to his face. The thick fur of Zeus brushed up against his exposed flesh. Blood splattered down on top of Hank as Zeus ripped into the demented. If Hank could move he would hug the dog. The demented let out a gurgling gasp and went still. Zeus continued to rip at his neck, unwilling to call the fight over. Hank twisted and slid out from underneath the bloody mess.

  He scooped up his bloody AR15 and looked around. It was like staring out the window on a moonless night, only deep impenetrable black. There was no movement. There were no vague shapes. There was nothing, just pure black. He would do anything for a flashlight about now. Resorting to his sense of hearing, Hank narrowed out Zeus tearing at the demented at his feet. Across several paces of open space he could hear shuffling noises, but nothing else.

  Terrified to attract more demented, but knowing he had no other choice, Hank timidly said, “Anyone there?”

  Zeus heard his voice and immediately stopped devouring the demented. The shuffling noise continued. Hank could now hear the continual banging at the alley door. It was persistent, but he was relieved that they had not yet gained entry.

  Hank whispered into the darkness again, a little louder this time. “Guys? Anyone?”

  “I’m here.” Whispered a soft voice.

  “Kelly?”

  “Yeah, Sam and I are here.”

  “I’ll come to you. Keep talking.”

  Her voice was quiet, scared, but she kept talking. “I don’t know what happened to the others. They came out of nowhere.” After this she hesitated for a bit. “One of them hit Jenny first...I think it got her.” Her voice was getting more and more shaky as she spoke. “Then they just kept coming, rushing at us from the darkness. I could only hear them. I started firing at the noise and my flash gave them away. Philip started shooting...not sure what happened to...”

  Her last sentence was cut short when Hank reached out and touched her on the arm. “I’m here.” He felt Sam’s little hand grasp his pant leg. Kelly’s hand found Hank’s arm. All of them were relieved to feel the touch of another human.

  A loud clang of a metal object falling to the floor echoed through the large space. It came from somewhere further back into the building.

  Sam’s grasp tightened on Hank’s leg. “What was that?” He whispered in a trembling voice.

  Before anyone could respond gunfire erupted. The sharp pops sounded like Philip’s pistol. The bright flashes emanated from a set of office windows just beyond the last row of machinery. Just as fast as they came, they disappeared, the rattle of the alley door the only sound that remained.

  “We have to get out of here.” Hank said. “Hang on to me, let’s get out together.”

  With both Kelly and Sam grabbing onto his clothes, Hank began shuffling to the side of the warehouse, avoiding both the alley door and the back offices. He hoped there would be an exit along the outer wall. Zeus padded softly next to them, sniffing at the darkness.

  It took several minutes to reach the far wall. Without the bright flashes from gunfire, Hank’s eyes finally began to adjust to the darkness, allowing him to see vague shapes. Steel siding was mounted to large I-beams, marking the warehouse’s outer wall. Hank rested one hand on the slick metal and began walking the wall, using touch as his guide.

  They had moved a few dozen yards along the wall when the pounding at the alley door suddenly stopped. It was immediately replaced by shrieks, growls, and the sound of pounding feet. They were inside.

  Working to quell his rising panic, Hank continued along the wall. He resisted the urge to begin sprinting away from the noise. Both Kelly and Sam tugged at his clothes, panic surging through them as well.

  “We’re okay.” Hank whispered. “Hang in there.”

  The warehouse was filled with the sounds of the demented. Their angry growls echoed throughout the open space, making it sound as if they were everywhere.

  Before finding an exit door, Hank’s outstretched hand felt a textured interior wall that signified they had reached the back of the warehouse. On the other side of the sheetrock would be office spaces. He now had a decision to make; they could head back the way they came and hope to find a door or they could mo
ve along the interior wall in hopes of finding an exit through the office rooms. It sounded like dozens of demented had already streamed in from the alley, and surely more were pouring in. They would spread out like a stream hitting flat land.

  With his mind made up, Hank continued leading Kelly and Sam along the interior wall, feeling for an opening. He thought about shouting for Philip, but quickly dismissed the idea, knowing it would draw infected to them. The textured wall felt like orange peel, its contact offering little comfort. There was some relief when his hand felt the jagged edge of a door jam. The three of them rounded the corner. At the far end of a narrow hallway they could see the meager light of the moon spilling in through a slim window mounted in an exit door. With Zeus leading the way, they made for the door. They were partway down the hall when they heard the distinctive ring of gunfire. They were rapid, panicked shots. Hank counted maybe six or seven before the screams came. Horrific screams. They had found Philip.

  Hank could feel Sam’s hand squeeze his leg and the little guy started to slow. “Keep moving, let’s get out of here.” Hank said while reaching back and grabbing Sam’s arm.

  After pounding into the crash bar and bursting out onto the sidewalk in front of the building, they sucked in the cool night air. Moonlight cast a silver glow across the street and car hoods. It was a welcome sight after the inky blackness. The door closed behind them, blocking out the sounds of the demented. They would have to keep moving, it wouldn’t be long before infected were spilling out onto the sidewalk as well.

  Hank angled them across the street away from the alley they had crashed the SUV in. The sidewalk was lined with small storefronts, their black interiors hiding whatever contents remained.

  “Should we hide out in one of those?” Kelly asked while looking at a clothing store with one of its windows shattered out.

  Hank had wondered this himself. Should they hunker down in the back of some random building and wait for things to calm down? Once the immediate chase was over and there were no prey in sight the demented would go into a much more subdued state. On the other hand, Hank really hated to get pinned inside a building with possibly no way out. “Let’s get a ways away and see what we can find.” With no disagreement from Kelly he continued racing along the sidewalk. The street ahead was currently barren. Zeus followed a few paces back, sniffing at the air, and constantly glancing back at the brick building’s door.

  As they came up to the end of the block Hank slowed, easing up to the corner. He leaned around the corner peering down the street. There was movement far down the street. Hank continued to watch and decided whatever was moving was headed in the other direction. After taking one last look behind them, Hank made his way around the corner, staying tight to the cinderblock wall.

  The eerie silence was broken when the door they had exited the warehouse through burst open, slamming up against the brick wall. Angered growls immediately followed.

  Hank was relieved the three of them had turned the corner, out of sight. He also knew the demented would be fanning out in their hunt for prey. Still leading the way, Hank picked up the pace and whispered, “Hustle, let’s get to the next corner.”

  Zeus sensed their haste and rushed out ahead of them with his head low to the ground, rapidly sniffing at the cement.

  They were nearing the end of the block when Sam let out a sharp gasp. Hank and Kelly both slowed and looked down at him. Following his gaze they saw several infected staggering a down the middle of the street across from them. There were three of them just moving out of the long shadow of a corner diner. One of them, a young girl wearing tight jeans and a pink shirt, staggered along, staring absently at the ground. The other two wore shredded business suits and both were looking directly at Hank. Zeus came to a stop, spinning toward the infected. He issued a low growl.

  One of the suits looked skyward and screamed out a loud huff. Pink immediately perked up to the noise. Suit #2 was already in motion. Head lowered, he was sprinting directly at them. Pink followed in his wake, her movements awkward and slow.

  Hank quickly dropped to a knee and pulled his rifle up to his shoulder, peering down the iron sights. Kelly and Sam stood next to him, frozen in place. Realizing gunfire would only draw more infected, Hank abruptly stood back up and turned toward Kelly. “We have to run.”

  Suit #2 was already in the middle of the intersection, continuing his charge. Zeus let out a loud bark, tensed, and then raced toward the man, issuing angry growls. Hank watched only briefly before deciding this was their chance. He hated to leave the dog, but knew this might be their only hope. He grabbed Kelly by the arm to get her moving and then the three of them sprinted down the side road away from the intersection. The vicious collision between Zeus and Suit #2 could be heard as they raced away. It was a terrifying mix of grunts, growls, and shrieks.

  Before making it around the corner, Hank saw more demented out of the corner of his eye. It was the group that chased them through the warehouse. Suit #1’s loud huffs had tipped them off. His bark like noises would carry a long ways in the quiet of a dead city at night.

  The sharp yelp of a pained dog sounded from the intersection. Hank winced at the noise, but kept moving. Kelly and Sam ran next to him. Sam’s little legs churned as fast as possible, but they didn’t cover much ground and he was beginning to fade back. Kelly scooped him up, throwing him on her hip. They would be slow together, but faster than the little guy could do on his own.

  “I’ll cover us.” Hank said.

  Kelly responded, “I can’t keep going like this.” Her words were strained between labored breaths.

  The street was lined with two story brick buildings. Most were storefronts, various mom and pop shops. Beyond these, at the far end of the street, was another wide intersection. There was a massive pileup of cars, taking up the entire street. Hank watched in horror as movement amongst the cars turned into infected climbing over and around them in pursuit of the huffing noise.

  Sam let out a sharp scream.

  Kelly shouted, “More!”

  Hank eyed the building closest to them. “Over there.” Hank said while pointing to a dry cleaning shop with a dusty white sign out front that read, “Drop and Clean.” It was one of the few stores that still had all of its windows intact. The others appeared to have been ransacked, likely looted or worse.

  The infected had cleared the piled up cars and were just entering the end of the street when Kelly flung open the dry cleaner’s door. Hank glanced behind them while Kelly and Sam were shuffling through the opening. Pink and one of the Business Suits were racing their way. Hank could see Zeus’s furry form behind them, lying in the center of the intersection. More demented were just rounding the corner.

  Hank raced through the open door. There was a large counter with clothes hung along a rod behind it. They still had tags with red numbers on them, left for customers that would never show. Kelly stood holding Sam in front of the counter. She spun around, panic on her face.

  “Now where?” She said.

  Hank surveyed the room and noticed a narrow door on the other side of the counter. It had an “Employees Only” tag on the front. Rushing across the small room, Hank flipped open a breakaway portion of the counter to gain easy access to the door. “This way, let’s go.”

  Hank flung open the flimsy door and charged through the opening, oblivious to any potential dangers. The narrow hallway extended into the darkness.

  “Close the door and lock it if you can.” Hank shouted.

  Kelly slammed the door closed, blanketing them in inky blackness. The handle rattled as she searched blindly for a way to lock it. Hank tried to blink into the darkness, hoping to see something, but there wasn’t a sliver of light coming from anywhere. He sniffed at the air. The air smelled stale and dusty, without a trace of the decay, rot, and death smells he had learned to fear.

  “It’s locked.” Kelly said.

  Hank sighed. “Good work. Let’s see if we can...”

  Before he could
finish, the sound of shattering glass broke the silence. It came from the front of the store and was quickly followed by the pounding of feet, and angered growls. Several of them began grunting. They were low, quick grunts, almost rhythmic. Hank swore it sounded like they were communicating with one another. The demented filled the front of the store, searching.

  With a quivering voice Sam said, “I’m scared.”

  He got the words out before anyone could stop him and the reaction by the demented was instantaneous. Several loud shrieks sounded from the storefront. Kelly had barely backed away from the door when an infected pounded into the other side. The sound of splintering wood made it clear that the door was not going to hold up for long. Another loud bang as the door continued to take a beating. Sam issued a terrified scream.

  Hank could not see a thing, but instinctively reached out toward Sam, using his scream to locate him. Finding his shoulder, Hank pulled him in close and lifted him up onto his hip while continuing to hold his AR15 in the other hand. He turned and headed for the back of the building.

  There was another loud boom on the door and the sound of cracking wood.

  Hank rubbed his forearm against the wall to help guide him. Several paces later the wall disappeared, signaling that they had found a room. He came to a stop and Kelly slammed into his back. Hank lowered Sam down to the ground and said, “Take him and feel along the wall until you find an exit. I’m going to buy some time.” He stepped out of Kelly’s way. She brushed past him and scooped up Sam.

  Another loud boom echoed down the hall, followed by an excited growl as the door gave way.

  Hank pulled his rifle up to his shoulder and began firing blindly toward the front. The roar of the AR was deafening in the enclosed space. With each shot there was a brief flash of light, revealing the angered faces of multiple demented trying to squeeze through the narrow doorway. Showing no mercy, Hank continued to squeeze the trigger, sending round after round into the infected.