The Demented Z (Book 2): Desolation

by Derek J. Thomas

  Between shots Kelly yelled, “Found some stairs...directly...room.” Parts of the sentence were drowned out by the gunfire.

  “Go!” Hank yelled while continuing to fire into the swarming mass. A few shots later the weapon ran dry. He was ready for it and in one fluid motion hit the mag release and turned to follow Kelly. While moving through the darkness he pulled a fresh magazine from his chest pocket and slammed it into the rifle’s mag well. He never heard where Kelly found the stairs, but new they must be across the room somewhere. Running blindly, he cursed in anger when he caught the corner of a table with his thigh. The impact spun him sideways, nearly causing him to fall to the floor.

  Demented continued to spill through the doorway, racing down the hallway toward Hank. Their hungry growls were terrifying in the pitch black confines of the small building.

  Hank heard Kelly’s voice shouting “this way” from the top of the stairs. It was just enough to give him the direction of the stairs. He kept a hand out in front of him to avoid other obstacles while rushing across the room toward Kelly’s voice. His outstretched hand felt the wall and it only took him a moment to find the opening that led to the stairs. He had just made the first step when he heard demented crashing into the room behind him. Spurred on, Hank took the stairs three at a time, rushing up them as fast as possible.

  Kelly shouted, “Over here!” just as he reached the top of the stairs.

  Hank turned toward Kelly’s voice and saw her silhouetted form in a doorway at the end of a short hall. Moonlight spilled in a large window behind her. Hank sprinted down the hall and into the room with Kelly and Sam. He slammed the door closed and surveyed the room they were in. It was a small office with a desk in the middle and file cabinets along one wall.

  “Help me with the desk.” Hank said.

  The two of them slid the heavy desk across the floor and up against the door.

  “Won’t hold them forever, but at least we can breathe.” Hank said.

  Sam stood there, staring at the wall. Panic, exhaustion, fear, and who knows what else had taken their toll on the little guy. He had been a trooper through everything, and it was amazing it had taken this long for him to get to this state. Hank couldn’t worry about him right now.

  Kelly rushed over to the window, peering at the street below. Deflated by what she saw, she said, “They’re everywhere.”

  Hank looked out as well and when he saw the street swarming with infected he said, “I think we woke the whole city.”

  Chapter 14: Desolation

  It only took a few minutes for the demented to make their way up the stairs. From there they spread out like flowing water, eventually reaching the door Hank, Kelly, and Sam hid behind. That is when the pounding began...incessant, unrelenting, and terribly annoying pounding. The thick office door was holding up, the heavy desk barely budging. Hank and Kelly had time, but needed more than that.

  Sam sat in the middle of the room with his hands covering his ears. “Make it stop Mommy.”

  “I know Hun. We just need to get out of here.” Kelly said while still watching out the window.

  Hank was circling the room looking up at the ceiling. After having walked all the way around the room multiple times he stopped by the desk, deep in thought staring at the ceiling. He climbed up on top of the desk and reached up for one of the panels that made up the false, drop ceiling. Sliding the panel out of the way, he looked up at a pair of aged iron pipes running horizontally a few feet above his head. Hank stood up tall with his head in the open space.

  “Anything?” Kelly asked from below.

  “I can’t see a thing.” Hank responded. “Check the desk drawers for a flashlight.”

  Kelly began pulling out drawers and rifling through their contents. Hank was down on his knees leaning over the desk to see the contents. Kelly dug rapidly through drawer after drawer, finding them filled only with paperwork. She reached one of the large side drawers and found it scattered with miscellaneous junk. She quickly started digging through the items.

  “There.” Hank said excitedly. “What was that?”

  Kelly went back to the items she was just digging through and found the small blue keychain item Hank had pointed at. “This?” She asked while holding it up.

  “Yeah, squeeze it. It’s one of those LED thingamajigs.”

  Kelly pinched it between her pointer finger and thumb. A faint light shot out of one corner of the keychain. The meager light barely reached the ceiling above. Kelly started laughing.

  Hank understood the release of pent up stress and normally would have joined in and made some wisecrack. Instead, with the pounding of demented directly behind him, he took the light out of her grasp. “It’s going to have to do.” Hank stood back up and used the light to peer into the space between the drop ceiling and the real wood ceiling above.

  He did not see what he was hoping for. He wasn’t really sure what he was hoping for, but this was not it. The space was mostly empty. There were some pipes running just above the false ceiling and some cabling strung in snaking coils across the tiles. Hank’s light followed the four large pipes. After about a dozen feet the pipes took a ninety degree turn toward the side wall and then disappeared through a dark opening.

  Hank ducked back down, hunching over the desk, and said, “There’s an opening above the wall there. He pointed the light at the wall and gave it a little flick. “It’s big enough we can squeeze through.”

  Kelly looked at the wall and then up at the ceiling as if she could see the hole above. “Where does it go?”

  “That’s the million dollar question now isn’t it. ”

  They both turned toward the door when the pounding suddenly got louder and much more agitated. The wooden door jamb was beginning to crack and split away from the drywall. Hank remained on the desk, his weight helping hold it in place. He felt the desk shutter with each pound on the door.

  “It’s got to be better than in here.”

  Kelly simply nodded in agreement. She feared going into the unknown, but also knew that they could not stay where they were much longer. She looked around the room, noticing that the faint moonlight was being replaced by the warm glow of pre-dawn. Not much longer and the sun would be up. Sam stood next to her. He looked down at his feet while holding on to her pant leg.

  Hank hopped off the desk and moved over to the filing cabinets that stood up against the wall below the opening he had seen. He pulled one of the drawers partway out and used it like a ladder to climb on top. From there he was able to reach above and slide one of the ceiling tiles out of place.

  “The desk is moving.” Kelly shouted.

  Hank looked down to see that the door jamb had splintered and broke loose from the wall. Each time the demented pounded into the door it caused the desk to slide a fraction of an inch. The widening gap excited them even more, increasing the pace they slammed into the door. Kelly turned and placed her hands on the desk, leaning against it in an attempt to slow their onslaught.

  Hank shouted from the top of the file cabinet, “Sam, come here.” He held his hands down, reaching for Sam. After pulling the little guy up beside him he said, “I’m sending Sam up...leave the desk.”

  “But they’ll get in.”

  “Their getting in no matter what, we have to get out.” Hank looked over at Sam standing next to him. “Okay Buddy, I’m going to lift you up on those pipes. Crawl through the opening and we will be right behind you.” He could see that Sam was scared so he added, “Like a fortress where we will be safe.” Sam nodded and let Hank lift him up through the opening. Despite the dark, he began crawling along the pipes through the opening.

  Hank looked over at Kelly. She still pushed on the desk, struggling to keep it from sliding. “Now! We have to move.”

  Kelly didn’t hesitate. She let go of the desk and raced over to Hank and the file cabinets. Behind her the desk began to slide across the wooden floor, making a loud scraping noise that could be heard over the angry growls of the d
emented. Hank grabbed one of her outstretched arms and helped pull her on top of the cabinet beside him. No sooner had she made the cabinet than the desk slid rapidly across the floor allowing a stream of demented to begin pouring through the opening. Their growls filled the small room.

  “Go, go, go! Hank shouted as he lifted Kelly through the open ceiling tile. He debated unslinging his rifle and firing into the oncoming horde, but knew it would never be enough. Instead he grabbed one of the pipes and used it to pull himself up through the opening. He was just pulling his legs up through when the first of the demented slammed into the file cabinet. The four large pipes were spaced out enough that they provided a fairly wide platform to crawl along. Hank turned and followed Kelly through the dark opening. He could hear her urging Sam on.

  Once he was through the opening Hank understood why she had to encourage Sam to keep moving – it was pitch black and demented could be heard below them. There was another drop ceiling acting as a barrier, but if any of them fell from the pipes they would crash right through the thin tiles. Hank reached into his pocket and pulled out the keychain light. Squeezing it provided faint light, but enough to see in the small space. “Take this.” He said to Kelly.

  She took the light and used it to peer ahead of them. The pipes continued straight ahead and disappeared into the darkness of another gap in the wall. Sam was frozen a few feet in front of her. His soft crying could just be heard over the sounds of the demented behind and below.

  Hank glanced back and was horrified to see hands reaching up through the opening they had climbed through. There were enough demented that they were beginning to use one another like a ladder, swarming their way up the file cabinet. Looking back toward Sam, Hank said, “Give him the light. We gotta move.”

  The demented below heard his voice and began growling angrily.

  With the light in hand Sam felt much more comfortable and began moving forward. He easily fit through the opening that led to the overhead of the next room. Kelly followed after, barely squeezing through the tight opening. Hank hesitated. The roar of the demented had grown in volume. He turned to see a couple of them just clearing the false ceiling.

  Hank unslung his rifle and shouted to Kelly over his shoulder, “Keep moving...see if you can find a way out of this death trap. I’m going to hold’em off for a bit.”

  Kelly said, “Don’t stay long.”

  The demented were just beginning to crawl through the wall opening toward Hank. More were climbing their way up onto the pipes. Hank charged his rifle, sighted through the iron sights, and squeezed the trigger. The rifle’s blast roared in the small space. The muzzle flashed, lighting the crawlspace for an instant. The bullet caught the demented in the shoulder, spinning him sideways, and causing him to topple off the pipes, crashing through the ceiling tiles. His body disappeared out of view. The new opening allowed light to spill in from below. Another demented was crawling along the pipes through the gap in the wall. Hank squeezed the trigger again, dropping the infected to the room below. More demented trailed behind, working their way toward Hank.

  The pipes began to groan under the weight and stress of all the demented. Hank began to shuffle backwards while continuing to fire through the gap in the wall. Bodies toppled from the pipes, but were immediately replaced by others. The demented in the room below were in a frenzy knowing prey was just above them. Hank began rapidly pulling the trigger, throwing as much lead as he could, planning to bug out as soon as his magazine ran dry.

  It only took a few seconds and he was out. He awkwardly slung the rifle back over his shoulder and spun around, disappearing into the darkness. He immediately regretted not having a flashlight. The inky black was disorienting. Using his hands, Hank was able to feel along the pipes to keep moving forward. He felt the need to rush, and the sounds of the demented behind him did not help calm his nerves one bit. Squinting into the darkness ahead, Hank could just make out a faint light flashing. Knowing Sam’s was straight ahead, he began crawling along as fast as he could.

  The pipes began to creak loudly. There was a loud tang as one of the cable supports snapped off somewhere behind Hank. This was all the warning Hank had before the pipes broke and the remaining cable supports tore loose from their ceiling mounts. Hank was just reaching a wall opening that the pipes went through. The pipes in front of Hank caught on the top of the wall, while the pipes behind Hank crashed through the ceiling to the room below. They remained at a steep angle, dumping demented to the floor. Hank clung to the sides of the pipe, struggling to keep from falling into the horde.

  ******

  Kelly both heard and felt the pipes break loose behind her. She was just lifting Sam up through a roof access that they had found. Morning light spilled in through the two foot by two foot opening.

  Sam noticed the change as well and said, “What was that?”

  “I think the pipes broke. Keep going, get on the roof.”

  “What about Hank?” Sam choked out, clearly not liking the idea of leaving Hank behind.

  “Get on the roof. I’ll go back and see if he needs help.” Kelly said. Before she even finished Kelly wondered if she could really go back. Not only that, but leave Sam on the roof by himself. She had to at least check on him. She told herself that she would come right back if anything looked iffy.

  Sam was on the roof, looking back down at her through the opening. He held out the flashlight toward Kelly. “Take this Mommy.” He was clearly scared, but also glad to not be leaving Hank by himself.

  She hesitated for a bit, and then took the flashlight. Looking into his sweet eyes, she debated whether she was making the right decision. How can I leave Sam alone? I’ll only be a few seconds. He gave her a quick nod, gesturing a “go ahead Mom, it’s okay.” With that she turned back into the darkness and began following the pipes.

  She did not have to go far to see that Hank was in trouble. Her flashlight cut through the gap in the wall and revealed that the pipes did not continue straight into the distance, but instead bent down into the room below. This confused her for a bit. She knew the pipes extended flat out into the room, because she had just traversed across them. It was only after several seconds of staring into the opening that she realized what had happened.

  Losing Hank like this hit her hard. A huge weight filled her stomach. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes, like an uncontrollable flood. She hadn’t thought she had tears left after everything she had been through and seen, but here they were, in the dark crawlspace of some decrepit building. Remembering Sam, she began to shuffle around in the tight space to get turned around.

  It was then that she heard it. There were grunts and growls of the demented below, but this stood out. It was the sound of human exertion. The sound of survival rather than the sound of destruction and hate.

  “Hank? Is that you?” She whispered hesitantly into the dark. Worried that if she said it too loud it would push away the sound, drowned it out, making hope disappear. She could still hear it, but got no response. A little louder she said, “Hank, you there?”

  A gravelly voice responded, “I’m here.”

  Kelly’s heart pounded in her chest. She spun back around and rushed across the pipes through the gap. Shining her flashlight over the edge she saw a nightmare. Hank was desperately gripping to the pipes with his legs tucked up as far as possible. Directly below him were dozens of demented climbing over one another trying to get at his feet. Several were just high enough to claw at his shoes and scrape at his exposed flesh.

  Hank looked up at her, eyes filled with fear and panic. This was not how anyone would want to go out. He screamed out in agony as one of demented gouged out a huge chunk of flesh from one of his calves. He tried to say something to Kelly, but couldn’t get the words out.

  She reached over the edge, grabbing Hank’s forearms. Struggling, she tried to help him up the slick pipes.

  “Go, just...” Hank whispered between gritted teeth. A grimace of pain stopped him from finishing his sentenc
e.

  Kelly continued to pull at his arms. She dropped the flashlight while trying to get a better grip on Hank’s arms. Seemingly in slow motion the light spun and flipped its way down into the swarm below. She could no longer see Hank’s face but heard him when he spoke.

  “Go, get out of here with Sam.” Then he let go. Simply let go of the pipes and allowed the horde to pull him down.

  Kelly tried to hang onto his arms, but Hank’s weight was too much and he slipped out of her grasp. She couldn’t believe it. She sat there, hunched over, nearly in shock. He didn’t make a noise, just disappeared into the darkness. The demented ripped into him, issuing viscous growls. Kelly hesitated for a moment, but the vision of Sam alone on the roof flashed through her mind. Knowing Hank was gone and no amount of crying was going to bring him back.

  Using the pipes to guide her, Kelly made her way back to the roof access. She almost broke down when she looked up and saw Sam’s precious face staring down at her, his face glowing in the warm dawn sunshine. He knew the instant she showed up. Tears welled up in both of his eyes and his lip began quivering. Embarrassed, he turned away, making room for Kelly to climb up on the roof with him.

  On the roof she enveloped Sam in a tight hug. “I’m sorry Baby.”

  Surprisingly he did not cry for long, pushing away after a moment. “We have to go Mommy. They will get us.”

  It saddened her greatly that Sam was growing up faster than any boy should, but he was right, they had to keep moving. She glanced around the open rooftop, looking for the best way off. The roof was surrounded by a two foot stone wall with a wide cement cap. On one side of the building a pair of metal rails with cross rungs bent up and over the wall. It had to be a ladder that made its way to the ground below.