by TW Brown
“I thought I heard something,” Simon blurted, not wanting to reveal his injury to anybody, much less this man.
The man shot him a dubious look and then returned his attention to the five zombies coming for them. The undead actually made themselves easier to kill as they split up at the small coffee table in the center of the room. The old lady simply stopped and looked like she was willing to wait for the living to come to her. The young men each went a different way and allowed Simon and Cedric to take them down with little effort.
Yet, once again, the child seemed to hang back from the fray. At some point, Cedric had obviously taken him down, but something was nagging Simon about the behavior of the child zombies.
Simon moved around his side of the couch and apologized to the older woman before putting her down for good. Once that was done, he moved to the window and looked outside.
“Yeah…you won’t be staying here.” Simon yanked the window open and took a better look at the derailed train on the tracks just to the south. It had plunged down the far side of the berm. That might be the only thing about that situation that was lucky.
“Jesus and the saints,” Cedric breathed as he joined Simon at the window.
“Yeah, it looks like hundred if not thousands of those things are headed this general direction. We need to get to the other tower before it is too late.”
“What?” Cedric barked. “Why would we go back to that tower and be trapped? We need to run. Get your friends, grab anything you can carry, and we run for the countryside.”
“You want us to leave this place? Why would we do that?” Simon challenged.
“Well,” Cedric held up his fingers to count off his points, “first, this area is gonna be swarmed within the next hour by what might be most of what used to be the population of the city. Second, there are corpses everywhere that will start rotting before long. That means disease and who knows what else. I doubt we will want to breathe the air in a few months. Third, this place is easy to spot and looters will likely come from every direction…some of them might be rather unsavory.”
That last point made Simon laugh inwardly considering the company this man had been keeping until just a few hours ago. Still, he had to admit that the man made a valid point. Was making this place their bastion really such a good idea?
“So, where do you have in mind?” Simon asked.
“I don’t, but I know that staying in this city will not go well for us. There are too many things that can go wrong…that train is a fine example. We already have fires burning all over the place and that just put one right in our lap. Toss in the petrol stations around town that could add to the trouble soon enough and this entire city may well burn to the ground. Oh, and did I mention the few hundred thousand zombies?”
Simon listened to Cedric speak and had to admit that the man’s points were all spot on. Perhaps they should consider relocating to someplace out in the countryside. A thought came suddenly and he actually clapped his hands, startling Cedric in the process.
“I have a cousin over in the town of Micklefield.” Simon felt a pang in his stomach at the realization that he’d not thought about any of his family all that much since this whole nightmare began.
“You do realize that your cousin is likely just as dead as those blokes,” Cedric said with a shake of his head as they watched several hundred of the undead pouring down Copley Street.
Simon moved closer to the window and looked down at the hordes heading their direction. He scanned the area and could see more and more of the walking dead falling in with the mob. Yes, he thought, getting out of the city proper was the best plan. Now, the trouble came with trying to convince Shadiyah and Mrs. Raye of that fact.
He and Cedric were standing there in silent contemplation when a flash of sudden movement caught Simon’s eye. From Lloyd’s Pharmacy came a small group of survivors. He could tell they were living because of the fact that all of them were running like lunatics escaping the asylum. They were not making any attempt to stay together; they were all simply running to get away.
It had been easy to see all the zombies shambling along the streets, but from this vantage so high up, it was difficult to see how many of the undead were getting into the buildings. Apparently it was a sizeable number. As that group emerged and tried to escape, an obvious flow of zombies now emerged from the pharmacy.
Then, Simon saw something that, despite the horrific scene playing out, caught his full attention. All of the undead in that general area were changing course. They were now moving towards this new stimulus. It was easy to see from above that none of those poor souls had even the slightest chance of survival. There were just too many cursed zombies.
As much as he wanted to look away, he found that he could not. It was simply too riveting to ignore; also, he almost felt as if he owed it to these poor doomed souls. Each one of them was about to exit this world, and there would be no memorial or monument to mark their ever having existed. They would simply become part of the massive numbers of the undead now roaming the streets.
The one thing he was grateful for was not really being able to clearly see their faces. As it was, he could barely hear their shouts and exclamations above the noise of the fire, the undead, as well as the distance that separated them.
One person in particular drew his attention and he focused on that lone figure. The person was dressed in what looked like riot gear. The clothing was all black and, at least from this distance, looked like it was made of fairly sturdy material. To complete the look, this person had a visored helmet on with the face shield down.
This lone stranger had managed to climb up on top of a black lorry and was swinging what looked like a sword of some sort with ruthless efficiency. He would hack down one zombie and then another. Sadly, the effort began to become too much and the wild swings became jabs, until the person finally fell to his or her knees in fatigue.
By then, the undead had packed in tightly around the vehicle and were growing in number to the point where the lorry began to visibly rock back and forth like a small boat out on the angry sea. The person struggled not to be sent sliding or tumbling, but it was clear that even if he or she did manage to hang on, the vehicle would eventually tip.
There was a sudden surge of movement from the person as they threw themselves down on their back and then, with the large blade, made a swift motion across the area of the throat. Simon was thankful the lorry was black; while it was clear something was spreading across the roof of the van, the black paint made it impossible to really see the blood. Still, the person kicked a few times before sliding from the roof and into the hands of the greedy mob below.
Simon allowed his vision to become less focused again and he scanned the area. It did not look like a single person remained. He felt a sardonic smile curve his lips as he took in the morbid irony of one of his previous thoughts. While it was true that there would be no permanent markers for these poor souls, there were a series of temporary ones. He could make out the eight individual clusters of the undead where they had dragged down those doomed individuals. At that moment, he could basically see the exact locations where those people all came to rest…such as it was.
“Let’s go get the others and get out of here.” Simon turned away from the horror below. Part of him moved away because he needed to stop looking at what was going on down there, but the other part of him needed to get away from the window before he threw himself out of it just to end the overwhelming sense of futility that rose above him like a giant tsunami and threatened to sweep him away forever.
5
A New Leaf
Shadiyah turned to regard Mrs. Raye. The woman was focused solely on that child they had liberated from her flat. She refused to think of it as rescued because that would imply that the girl was somehow safe. Assi’s broken body down below was testimony against that idea.
“…is a nice young man who was actually training to become a police man. He is very brave and strong and will he
lp keep you safe,” Mrs. Raye was saying.
Shadiyah now found herself becoming annoyed by the older woman. For somebody so pragmatic, she was filling this girl’s head with absolute fantasy.
She returned to the window and looked down at the zombies converging from all over. In the distance, she saw a bloom of flame erupt skyward. This one was far enough away that it was a few seconds before the dull “whump” of the explosion sounded. It was just a low, hollow sound, but the girl still squealed, prompting a new series of comforting lies to spew from the mouth of Mrs. Raye.
What is happening to me? a quiet voice piped up from some distant part of her mind.
That voice was quickly swallowed by the darkness that was seeping into every crack and crevice of Shadiyah’s being. She had no time for that part of her that held on to such useless feelings and emotions as compassion and empathy. Her sister had taken her own life because of something that had happened at the hands of others.
Funny, she had thought that the zombies would be the problem. Her biggest concern had been protecting the two of them from those horrible monsters. In the end, it had been the living that damaged Assi and sent her to her death.
Her mind began to run though stories that she’d heard on the news over the years. She started to see a pattern: Men are evil. That idea found fertile soil in her troubled mind. Every time an inner voice tried to speak out against what was going on in her head, darkness was heaped upon it until the voice became silent.
“Shadiyah!” a voice snapped her from the swirling maelstrom wreaking havoc in her head. She turned to see Mrs. Raye looking at her expectantly.
“Sorry.” She cast a glance back out the window where her sister had flung herself to her death, then back to the old woman. “My mind was…” Her voice drifted off as she saw pity etch its ugly mask on the old woman’s face. She hated being pitied; pity was for the weak.
“I think we should move to a different room until Simon returns. The wind is picking up and I—” Mrs. Raye snapped her mouth shut and her eyes shot to the open hole where the window used to be and then back to Shadiyah. “I just think it best if we move.”
“Okay.” Shadiyah shrugged her shoulders and grabbed a bag of some of the supplies that they had managed to gather in all this madness. She waved her hand for the woman to lead the way.
Shadiyah shut off her mind after they got settled. She leaned back and shut her eyes so that she would not have to see the sad looks she was receiving from Mrs. Raye, or the cautious-bordering-on-frightened glances that Annie Sun kept shooting her. At last, the sounds of approaching feet could be heard. They were moving fast and with regularity which at least eliminated the chance for zombies.
There was a rustling, and the sound of the door opening. Mrs. Raye hissed something out to the hallway, and after some more scuffling sounds, the door shut.
“None of them?” Mrs. Raye finally said.
“They were all turned,” Simon replied. “We didn’t hear or see anybody else, but we didn’t really search. I figure most anybody in that tower would be leaving with that fire raging just on the other side of the tracks.” There was an odd and lengthy silence before he continued. “And we need to pack what we can and be out of here as well.”
“Why would we do that?” Mrs. Raye argued.
“Those things are coming from every direction,” Cedric spoke up.
The moment that she heard the man’s voice, Shadiyah’s eyes popped open and she locked onto the stranger that did not belong in her presence.
He was standing beside Simon, his back almost to her. She let her hand drift down to the sword at her hip. Of all the people in the room, she was armed best. It would be a simple matter for her to end his existence right now.
She stood, the weapon sliding out almost silently. She took a step forward just as Simon turned to face her.
“Where is Assi?”
She opened her mouth to speak but nothing would come out. Instead, she felt her eyes grow hot and her vision became blurred as the tears spilled down her face.
“She is gone.” Shadiyah could not bring herself to say the words.
“Gone?” Simon asked, scratching his head in confusion. “Where could—”
Mrs. Raye pulled him close and whispered something in his ear. Even through the tears, Shadiyah could see that man’s expression change. There it was again…pity. The other man, Cedric, had moved close and obviously heard what was said. He had a very different expression flash across his features. His eyes went to Shadiyah and the sword in her hand. He might be a lot of things, but apparently stupid was not one of them. The man took a step back and reached for the door.
“Maybe I should just go.” Cedric now faced Shadiyah and was backing away.
“Shaddi!” Simon hissed. “What are you about?”
The woman froze and her gaze adjusted to lock on to the man who had spoken. Suddenly, she barely recognized him. He seemed different. Perhaps his running around with that vermin of a human being had rubbed off on him somehow. Perhaps the core of all men was basically the same: rotten.
“My sister is dead.” The words were flat and without emotion, but they conveyed something menacing and hard. “That man and his pack of wolves broke her, and she could no longer bear to live.”
“I wasn’t with them…I was no part of their—” Cedric began to protest, but Shadiyah cut him off.
“Shut up!” She whirled back to face him and her sword cut through the air in compliance with her motion. She let her vision narrow to just him. Simon might actually be worth saving, but this piece of filth would not live to see another day if she had anything to say about it. “You will say whatever you need to say in order to try and save your sorry life. I was actually going to let you live for a few days until we got things straightened up here, but now that we are apparently leaving, you are no longer necessary.”
“What?” Simon blurted. “Shadiyah, this is the grief talking. I am sorry about Assi, truly I am, but I don’t believe that this man had anything to do with it.”
“Why? Because he says so? Do you really expect him to admit to the animal that he is?”
“He was not in this room when we arrived, and you took care of everybody that was present.” Simon took a step forward causing Shadiyah to adjust where her scimitar was pointed. He threw his hands up, but he took another step closer. “I truly am sorry.”
Shadiyah looked at Simon and tried to figure out what he meant. What exactly was he apologizing about? That was her final thought when something crashed into the back of her head and the world spun away into a void of darkness.
***
“Is she going to be okay?” Simon asked, sighing heavily in relief that he did not fully understand.
Why would he be afraid of Shadiyah? They had been friends for a better part of five years and despite her current state, he refused to believe that she would do him any harm. His rational mind flashed an image of the look in her eyes and he felt that kernel of doubt plant itself a bit more firmly than he would admit at the moment.
“She will be fine,” Mrs. Raye knelt beside the girl and brushed the hair from her eyes. “She will have a nasty headache when she wakes up, but that is about it.”
“That stupid cunt is off her perch,” Cedric snapped.
Simon whirled on the man. “You do recall the part about her sister having been raped by friends of yours and apparently jumping to her death while we were absent, yeah?”
“Easy, I’m just saying that your friend seems a little off.” Cedric raised his hands and took a step back.
“She has reason,” Simon huffed as he edged past the man and knelt beside Shadiyah with Mrs. Raye. “You sure she will be okay?”
“Positive, but your friend makes a good point.” Mrs. Raye looked up, and Simon saw something on her face that he did not exactly like.
Later, when he was able to relive the whole terrible scene in his mind, he was able to figure out what it was that he saw in that moment on the olde
r lady’s face. It was an absolute lack of emotion. Far worse than anger was the feeling of apathy.
“She is a liability, Simon,” Mrs. Raye explained. “She very much means to kill that young man, and judging by what I saw, she would not stop there. The girl might very well have suffered an unbalance that cannot be righted.”
“Told ya,” Cedric muttered, earning a harsh glare from both Simon and Mrs. Raye.
“If we want to have a chance to survive, I am afraid…” The woman stopped speaking and pressed her lips tight as if considering the answer to a difficult problem. At last she gave a curt nod and sighed. “We have no choice but to leave her behind.”
“What?” Simon exploded. He pushed back from the unconscious figure on the floor and spoke in a harsh whisper that almost seemed as if he feared speaking out loud would rouse Shadiyah. “Perhaps it is you who is mad.”
“Simon, the girl is broken. She was taking care of her sister these past several days and I think it took its toll. The poor younger girl was already pretty much a vegetable. Even before that terrible event, Assi would not speak or do anything except stare at the wall. I know…I came over and checked on them as recent as yesterday.”
“We can’t just leave her. She will die,” Simon insisted.
“If we bring her, it is likely that we all die. The woman has no reason left in her.” Mrs. Raye stood up. “We can see to her safety as much as possible, and we will leave her with plenty of supplies, but we can’t bring her with us if we want to live.”
“You would side with that stranger over Shaddi?” Simon pressed, hiking an angry thumb over at Cedric.
“It has nothing to do with siding,” Mrs. Raye said. “I am telling you what I saw in her eyes, the girl is unstable and on the edge of a total mental breakdown, and if she does that while she is with us, it is very likely that we all pay with our lives.”
