Among the Dead: Part Two: Fear No Evil

by Ryan Colley

  Boss turned to leave and I followed.

  CHAPTER 39

  Do you ever get that feeling that you’re being watched? Not just a paranoid feeling, but a genuine sense of unease. That is how I felt leaving the base to get the crowbar. Like I was being stalked. My initial thoughts turned to any returning soldiers, coming to claim what was theirs. No one announced themselves, nor shoot us had there been any hiding. The undead didn’t exactly plan an attack either – they would have come straight for us.

  “Something isn’t right,” I finally said to Boss, stopping in my tracks.

  “Don’t be silly,” Boss laughed and carried on straight to the truck. I began looking around. If I was watching someone, where would I hide? The answer was obvious, I had already been watching the same base. I turned and stared directly at our former hiding spot. That is where I saw it. Hidden in the shrubbery, but not very well, were two faces. I couldn’t make out any features other than fear when spotted. Their faces disappeared further into the greenery.

  “Boss, there’s someone over there,” I called to him, and began jogging in their direction – my shotgun out and ready.

  “Did they look threatening?” he asked, alarmed by the readiness of my gun.

  “They hid when they saw us,” I said, staring at the place they had been.

  “Then put your gun away,” he hissed at me. “You’ll scare them.”

  I stopped, confused by his lack of fear.

  “They could be–” I began, but was interrupted by Boss shouting to them.

  “Hey, are you ok?” he called. No response. He tried again, “Look, we know you’re there. There’s no sense in hiding. There’s way more of us.”

  “They’re not gonna come out,” I replied angrily. “We could be as much a threat to them, as they are to us.”

  “Hush,” Boss whispered. This was the first time I had seen him genuinely annoyed – I could see the wheels rapidly turning behind his eyes. He then said aloud, “Look, we know that you think we could be a threat. We feel the same about you. I’m coming to you alone, I have water and no weapons. My people will attack if I’m not safely returned.”

  With that, Boss dropped his weapons and picked up a couple of bottles of water.

  “Talk about being blunt,” I said to him, shaking my head in disbelief. He was so ready to risk himself just to talk to someone!

  He turned to me and said, “If I’m not back in five minutes, get the people out of here. I don’t want any trouble for them. You understand?”

  I nodded, and he put his hand on my shoulder and smiled. He began walking away. Some of the guys had taken notice and had started wandering over.

  “Stay in there,” I called to them. They carried on advancing.

  “Listen to him!” Boss shouted to them when he realised they weren’t going to listen to me. “While I’m gone, listen to Sam. He’s in charge.”

  The men paused, they didn’t return to what they were doing, but they stopped approaching. They looked at me questioningly. I looked at Boss with the same expression, I didn’t want the responsibility of all those people!

  “Goddamn,” I huffed, leaning against the truck, waiting for Boss to return. I looked at the clock in the truck. He had exactly five minutes, and then I was going over there to see if he was ok, regardless of what Boss said.

  CHAPTER 40

  Four minutes and thirty-eight seconds passed. I was just getting ready to go after Boss, when he and two figures returned. I stood there, impatiently, with my hand clutching my shotgun. They got closer and closer. Boss had a smile on his face, and he was being trailed by two women – one in her twenties, the other in her thirties. Both were extremely dirty. Muddy, not bloody. The older one was average height and blonde. She carried a tyre iron and looked like she knew how to use it. Her face was hardened, eyes had the sharpness of a blade. The younger one was tall and brunette. She wore a rucksack and had a sad, distant look in her eyes. She looked soft, emotionally and physically. They had done well to get as far as they had. They both looked, not exactly at ease, but happy for that moment.

  “All good?” I asked Boss.

  “I think so,” Boss looked between me and them. “I would like to introduce Kirsty and Stephanie.”

  Kirsty was the blonde one, and Stephanie the brunette.

  “Nice to meet you both,” I said, with a tight smile.

  I knew it was really stupid, and maybe a biological flaw as a man, but I felt a lot safer knowing the people watching us were women. Sexist? Extremely. No idea where it came from, but I felt as though men would be a lot more murder-ey, and the two women in front of me looked trustworthy.

  “You, too,” Kirsty said, sternly. She didn’t smile. Even had a look of anger in her eyes. Stephanie just nodded.

  “You two related?” I asked, trying to break the ice. “Where are you going?”

  “No,” Kirsty replied with no further explanation. If I felt men were untrustworthy in the end times, I wondered how she felt.

  “We’re heading south,” Stephanie said, quietly.

  “I don’t think there’s anything down there,” I said. The information that Bristol had been lost came back to me in a sudden flash.

  “We’re going to find something. North wasn’t any good, so we have to try,” Kirsty stared at me as if I had done terrible things to her bed and hadn’t told her until it was too late.

  “Fair enough,” I said – at least I tried. “What now?”

  “Well,” Boss replied thoughtfully. “I’m going to escort them back to our base so they can shower and get a few supplies for their journey.”

  “Is that wise?” I bore holes into him with my eyes. Not only were they rude and still a potential threat to Boss, but I felt extremely possessive of our supplies. And by our supplies I meant the things I would need when I left. Besides, we didn’t know if there were more people out there waiting for us.

  “We have plenty to share, Sam,” Boss said, with a huge smile. He might’ve been smiling, but there was forcefulness in his voice. He turned to the women. “Don’t worry about him. He’s been through a lot, and now he’s a bit defensive.”

  “Stood right here, prick,” I said, under my breath. Boss was grating on me big time. He was behaving irresponsibly and showing off. What was it with people and showing off in front of others? Did he think he was going to get laid?

  “I’ll meet you back at the base anyway,” he locked eyes with me. “You’re in charge, Sam. Above all, remember that the wellbeing and safety of my men is more important than anything else. I’ll go to great lengths to keep them happy, okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I waved him away. He and the women climbed into the truck and started it up.

  “Before I go, take this,” Boss reached onto the floor of the truck and passed me a crowbar. “Get that shed open.”

  I took the crowbar and began walking back to the military outpost. I gave a short wave over my shoulder as they pulled away. If he dies, it’s his fault.

  “Dumbass,” I huffed.

  I was questioned numerous times by the men in the outpost about what had just happened. I just kept telling them to ask Boss about it later and that everything was fine. People resumed the collection of what resources they could take, although a lot less enthusiastically than before. There were whispers and mutterings about what had happened, but I ignored them. As much as Boss liked me, I wasn’t a leader to these men and they knew it. It didn’t matter. I was going to get the munitions shed open.

  “I’m coming in,” I said to the shed, tapping the door with the crowbar for extra emphasis. Still no movement within. I wedged the crowbar into the line where the doors met, and pulled, prying the metal apart inch by inch. A foetid stink came through the hole I had created. My eyes watered and I quietly retched, but I pushed through it. I tore enough of the metal apart to see it had been chained from the inside, but there was no padlock. I unravelled the chain from the door handle and it fell to the floor. Thunk. The entire time, I was
expecting teeth to sink into my flesh while my appendage hung in the darkness.

  I finally pulled the door open, and a light came on with the detection of movement, lighting up the small shed. Boxes from floor to ceiling were everywhere. Various sizes and numerical denominations on the side. Holy crap. We had found enough ammunition for the next few years, depending on the level of combat. It truly was the motherlode. But there were no guns in there, and I was hoping the men had found them in one of the other structures.

  I circled some of the stacks, eyes still streaming from the smell, and eventually found the source. Leaning against one of the stacks was a soldier. A very dead one. His uniform was soaked in his blood, but had long since dried. In one hand was a pistol, the other held a photo of a small child. The wall behind him was sprayed with an upward jet of brain and blood and skull. The gaping hole in the back of his head suggested he had taken the lesser-of-two-evils route out of the world.

  “Poor bugger,” I sighed, sympathetically. I stared silently for a few moments before moving on with my journey. I pried the pistol from his hand and pocketed it. Finders keepers. I stepped outside and saw some of the men carrying boxes of what appeared to be guns according to the outer-writing. Good.

  “Ammunition?” Keith asked as I exited. I nodded. “A lot?”

  “Mh-hm,” I nodded again. “We better start packing things up and head back.”

  “We’re not gonna get all this back in one trip,” Keith said. “There might be some vehicles nearby if we send a group out to look.”

  “Boss said not to risk anyone unnecessarily and to get back safely,” I explained, “I think we should just head back.”

  “He won’t know,” Keith grinned. “Come on. I’ll go to look for it myself.”

  “Fine, go for it,” I shrugged. I wasn’t in the mood to play leader in the most normal of circumstances, let alone the apocalypse. So having that thrust on me unexpectedly just made me resentful.

  “Okay, I’ll be back before you even realise I was gone,” Keith took his gun and hammer before jogging off.

  I waited until he was far enough away before calling, “Right, everyone start packing up and filling the vehicles. We need to get back sooner rather than later.”

  The packing began.

  An hour later, and after a lot of convincing, the rest of the men returned to the base. I had opted to stay behind at the outpost. They hadn’t got anywhere near enough into the vans because of the number of men and because Boss had left with the third vehicle. More importantly, Keith still hadn’t returned. I had given him the go-ahead to leave, albeit begrudgingly, so it was my responsibility to see if he returned. It looked to be about mid-afternoon, judging by the position of the sun, and I just sat there and waited. I was debating on how long was an acceptable amount of time to assume someone was dead and leave, when I heard a vehicle approaching. A large white transit van pulled up, driven by Keith.

  “Miss me?” he smiled.

  “Had some trouble?” I questioned, looking at the bloody smears and handprints down the side of the van.

  “I’ve been in worse,” he laughed. Then alarm crossed his face. “Where’s everyone else?”

  “I sent them back. Wasn’t expecting you to be alive,” I said bluntly and with a shrug. He just stared at me.

  “So why’d you wait?” he squinted at me.

  “Letting you go was my decision,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m not going to let others die due to my bad choices, but I’m not going to abandon someone either. Let’s pack up the rest of the crap and leave.”

  I carried ammunition crates to the van, surprised at how heavy something so small could be. One by one, I dropped the metal boxes into the back of the van, the metal clanging. Keith did the same. We were an efficient team. Although he did warn me about dropping them so hard because of the chance it could set the contents off. I pretended to ignore him, but when he wasn’t looking, I sure as hell made sure I put them down gently.

  We both carried some of the larger weapon crates, far too heavy for just one of us. I was happy to keep carrying boxes, unsure of their contents, when Keith stopped me on one.

  “That’s tear gas,” Keith stated.

  “And?” I questioned, still carrying it.

  “We don’t need it,” Keith stated simply again.

  “Why not?” I stopped in my tracks to look at him, but I couldn’t stay like that for long. The box was heavy!

  “They’ll be useless,” Keith explained. “Against human combatants? Brilliant. The dead? Won’t do a thing, I’m betting. We’d be better off using the space for ammo instead.”

  He had a fair point, so I dropped the box where I stood. I know it was silly, and out of spite. But I did take a few out of the box for personal use when Keith wasn’t looking. He may not be planning on fighting humans any time soon, but I had a long road ahead of me and I would need them.

  Eventually, we set off back to base, the van filled with extra weapons and ammunition. There was a grinding noise because the van was far beyond the recommended safety weight. I couldn’t help but think that the van would break down at any moment, and if it didn’t, then the damage from the weight would certainly be permanent.

  We headed back for our grand return. Boss didn’t even notice our absence. He was still doing his thing. Nothing more was spoken of it, and I stashed the tear gas and handgun in my cabin. I crashed in bed for a few hours, while others brought the cargo in. They couldn’t expect me to do everything. Besides, I needed to sleep.

  “Tomorrow is the most important day for our little community!” Boss said to everyone. I mean, literally, everyone – we had all gathered in the centre, even the guards were down from the walls to listen in. Boss had returned a couple of hours into my nap, a satisfied look on his face. Probably had a threesome or something along those lines. He had woke me up to tell me to gather and for me to tell anyone I saw to do the same.

  “As some of you know, there’s a large mall not far from here. No one living inside, but certainly filled with undead. This will be our new home. Our scouts have confirmed that we can get in there easily enough. All we have to do is clear out anything walking that shouldn’t be. Once the shutters are down, we’ll have our own personal fortress.”

  There was an eruption of cheers. Even I did a fist pump or two. When in Rome …

  “Because it’s such a big target, we’ll need almost everyone there,” he looked at each person in the crowd. “We’ll leave one or two people here on the walls to keep the place looking occupied, but the rest of us will be doing an assault on the mall. We will clear it. We will take it. But we won’t be able to move in straight away. We’ll need to move everything bit by bit. We’ll be vulnerable in this time since our forces will be split between two areas, so it’s imperative that both groups stay in contact in case the other needs them. We’ll be defending two bases for the time being. This won’t be easy. Any objections?”

  Not a single person spoke.

  Boss shouted, “Now get some rest. We have an early start tomorrow.”

  People cheered with Boss, laughed, and celebrated.

  Good. I wanted a word with Boss about the actual plan, as well as give a few ideas of my own. I fought through the dispersing crowd to reach for him.

  “Hey, Sam, sorry about running out on you earlier. I planned to return but ended up helping take the ladies a little further than expected,” Boss apologised. He looked sheepish. “I’m sure you understand.”

  “Completely,” I lied but carried on past it. “I got a few suggestions on how to make our assault easier tomorrow.”

  “Excellent. Come with me, and we can discuss it in depth,” Boss led me away from the crowd.

  Broadcast Six: Shaun, Frank, and Barbara 3

  Shaun: Hey, Frank, you still out there, man?

  Frank: Yeah, still here. Sorry about leaving abruptly yesterday. Had a couple of zeds outside. Had to deal with them.

  Shaun: Did it go okay?

 
Frank: Yeah, fine. Almost got bit. Again.

  Shaun: Oh, yeah, about that. If anyone out there is listening in, a bite doesn’t infect. My buddy has been bit twice –

  Frank: Three times.

  Shaun: Three times! Clean the wound, and if you do it properly, you’ll be fine. It’s nothing like the movies.

  Frank: Who are you talking to? The other people on the radio? They’re not listening. They’re too busy hearing their own voices. We might be the only people left.

  Shaun: No, man. I heard America has survivors.

  Frank: Yeah, you heard that from Barb, same as me. You shouldn’t believe everything she said. She was also sure that aliens were roaming around out there and that the undead weren’t the real threat. Besides, it’s too late. The boat left days ago.

  Shaun: I have to believe there are other survivors out there, and not just in America. Remember the guy leading the war? What if she was right? Why would that guy just make that up? What if he is out there, winning this war? What if there’s a chance to live happily ever after, and it’s in America? We need to find a boat or something, and then we can be safe.

  Frank: Yeah, just don’t go chasing after a girl you never met, okay. I don’t want to get my hopes up because … what the frick?

  Shaun: What is it, man? Everything okay?

  Frank: Yeah, just zeds outside again. They must’ve followed the noise from when I dealt with the last lot.

  Shaun: You need to be more careful. That’s three days running now. You’re going to get overrun.

  Frank: I’ll be fine. I’ll just go out and draw them away.

  CHAPTER 41

  We were in the car park, waiting at the far back and watching the entrance through binoculars. We had our rifles trained on the entrance – the ones we had pilfered from the military outpost. Proper military hardware.

  Once again, I was reunited with an SA80. It was almost exactly the same as the one I had before, except this one had a scope. It felt comfortable in my hands and familiar – an old, death-dealing friend. Would it be weird to describe a gun as sexy? Because that was exactly how I described it in front of some of the men, only to be met with strange looks. Regardless, the SA80 was becoming my favourite weapon!