At first, nobody answered.
But then…
Voices erupted from some place nearby as a bolt of lightning filled my arteries. My soul re-entered the flesh it had just departed. An intense pressure rammed into my lifeless chest. My brain rebooted, transmitting signals of energy throughout my body. My blood circulated once again as my silenced heart came alive and gave a single beat. Then another. It pulsated vitality through me, one beat at a time. The muffled voices became more clear. I had to be dreaming though because the initial voices I recognized were Leland and Jess calling my name.
“Autumn! Wake up! You have to come back to us!” she screamed above my body.
My sense of touch returned as I found cold stone beneath me. “God please don’t let this be the huge rock crowded with terrifying demons underneath my hands,” I thought to myself.
If it was, I would gladly fall back into the void from which I came. That would mean somehow Jess and Leland were there with me. But how?
“Love. Please come back. I finally found you. You can’t leave me again. I love you, Autumn,” Leland’s gentle voice breathed into my ear. The sound of the man I love more than anything in this world speaking to me, after a long torturous journey through purgatory, was precisely what it took to get me to wake up.
I summoned every bit of strength within me and wrestled my way through the darkness. My fingers twitched. I began with rolling my eyeballs around, gaining control over my body little by little. My lips parted as I struggled to communicate, but nothing came out. My throat was parched and would not produce sound. Eyelids fluttered, offering me small impressions of blurry shadows. I blinked rapidly to clear my vision. The first object I discovered was that beautiful man of mine. Glistening black hair and turquoise eyes filled my sight. It felt as though I was staring into the face of an angel. A tranquil smile settled on my lips as I reached out to him. His hand found mine and pressed it to his chest. He smothered me in kisses and his scent.
“I thought I lost you forever, love. It took us so long to find you. When we walked in and saw you lying lifeless on the floor…. I couldn’t bear it. Are you all right? Is anything hurting?” he was rambling so fast I had trouble keeping up. Then a thought struck me. How were they here? Alastor would certainly have his undead army attacking everyone before they would ever reach me.
I attempted to speak again. “W… w … where’s Alastor? And the biters?” I croaked out around my dry throat.
He and Jess looked at each other. Confusion etched both of their faces. They glanced back at me and Leland replied, "You were the only one in here when we arrived. We haven’t seen anyone else.”
“What?! He was right here, Leland! We had just finished dancing, and he told me he wanted to show me his world, which was the most wretched and terrifying world that exists. How could he not be here? And his army of undead soldiers? The band of zombies? Why the hell are you both looking at me like that?” I shouted in exasperation.
“Because there really wasn’t anyone here, love. We figured he left you for dead and took off. What did you say about a band of zombies?” he asked with disbelief.
I released a frustrated growl and sat up quickly. Big mistake. The entire room started spinning, and I realized I would either throw up or pass out if I didn’t lie back down. Leland placed his hand on the back of my head and eased me to the floor. Shots fired in the distance and startled us all. My heart raced, and I jumped at the crack of rapid gunfire.
“What the hell was that? Where is everyone else?” I questioned them.
“We left them in the woods, safe and out of sight, until we understood what we were marching into. But it seems like there might be trouble out there. Come on. We need to go see what’s going on,” Leland told me and slid an arm around my waist to hoist me off the cold floor. Jess caught the opposite side of me and they supported my useless body between theirs and trotted for the exit. I strove to get a grip and make my extremities work, but my feet just dragged the floor.
Leland twisted the knob of the infamous looming door to the ballroom when a horde of biters burst through and pummeled us to the floor. Jess and I shrieked as decaying bodies fell one after another on top of us. We struggled to scoot away but the weight of them was overwhelming. Fear and adrenaline pumped through me at lightning speed and suddenly I had my control back. I recalled the dagger tucked under my skirt and slid it out carefully. One by one I plunged the blade into the skulls of the rotting pieces of shit that remained dead set on killing us. After the nightmare I had been through, and lived through, I refused to let this be the way it ended.
We hacked away at the biters until no moving parts survived. Leland wielded an axe and Jess had a machete. I suspected they were running low on ammo since they didn’t fight back with guns blazing. We stood over the heap of carnage, soaked in the blood of our enemies. The glimmer of hope, I latched onto in my loneliest moments, sparked inside me once again. Deep down, my gut told me my family wasn’t dead, and that they would show up to release me from the torture. Nothing would keep us apart, not even the evil of this forsaken planet. I couldn’t contain my joy at the sight of them and dashed across the bloody heap to wrap my arms around them both. Leland received the kiss he deserved and Jess got a bone crushing bear hug.
I wished for more time to embrace them, but we had to get through the labyrinth of this estate to recover the rest of my family outside. I threw the door wide and departed the ballroom in a hurry with Leland and Jess on my heels. My ears pricked, seeking to decipher which direction the chaos erupted from. I focused on the voices shouting and followed them. My body converted to autopilot and didn’t think about what I was doing or where I was going. Just a simple communication between my brain and feet. We took close to five minutes to weave our path through the various hallways before we arrived at a grand staircase leading to the main level. That was as far as we proceeded.
The view from the second floor we stood on was rather frightening. Another mass of at least a hundred zombies stood at attention down in the foyer. Perfectly still and in parallel rows, like good little soldiers in basic training. My heart threatened to break my ribcage and rupture through my chest. I had a morbid vision of it tumbling down the staircase and landing at their feet, spurting warm blood as they fought each other for a succulent bite. My eyes fluttered and brought me back from my mental picture. More gunshots rang out close by. Expressions of anger and fear escaped my lips.
As soon as the sound escaped my mouth, I regretted it. The biters whipped their eyes in our direction, in seamless synchronicity. They marched forward as a single unit, and climbed the stairs. This came as a shock since the last time I witnessed the obstacle between zombie and stairs, they didn’t contain enough motor skills to figure out how to get up them. I suppose we have Alastor to thank for the zombie upgrade. A surge of panic washed over me as I struggled with the decision to flee, or stay and hope to fight our way through to my family. They edged their way closer an inch at a time. All groaning in unison. The stench rolling from the horde was horrendous and made my stomach roll. I gathered all the pain, suffering, fear, and conviction I had left, then released it in a roaring scream.
“Stop!”
The shout resonated within my bones and bounced from wall to wall around the foyer. Miraculously, they paused in their tracks. Confusion struck me. I glared at Alastor’s undead army frozen on the staircase in complete bewilderment. There was no way something like that could be possible. They can’t understand communication skills anymore. That component of their brain was dead, gone. But for some unknown reason, they obeyed my command. I racked my mind for an explanation and couldn’t come up with anything rational. After thoughtful consideration and uncertainty, one idea stood out among the alternatives.
Maybe Alastor’s demon blood coursing through my veins was the cause for this incredible revelation. Did I obtain some kind of power from him? I mean, he does control all the zombies. So did that indicate I was qualified to, as well? I needed to
be positive this wasn’t just a temporary fluke. I peered at each of them positioned on the steps. They carried the awareness of a robot, nonexistent until receiving an order from their master. I crept closer to them. A young woman in the front row stood about my height with dark hair and medium build. She wore a business suit from which I’m guessing was her work attire on the day she became one of the undead. The suit had seen better days though. What appeared to once be a rich burgundy silk, was now a filthy brown with tears and holes decorating the delicate fabric. She had one patent leather high heel on, the other missing and making her stance uneven on the stairs. I felt sympathetic for her. Forced to roam this earth in one shoe and her torn up work outfit. It added insult to injury. The proud and independent business woman, who probably worked her ass off to achieve the career she set her sights on, will now stumble around like a ditzy bimbo with only enough intellectual capacity to notice when her next bloody meal is nearby.
I stepped up to her and searched for any signs of understanding or attentiveness, but found blank and unseeing eyes. She didn’t even blink. A fly could have landed on her frosted eyes and she would never notice it. Nor would she care. I waved my hand back and forth in front of her face. Nothing. It was like looking at a mannequin, except this one would come to life and eat your face off before you had the chance to scream. I started to say to her, “Turn around”, when I heard a voice I yearned to hear for days now.
“Autumn! Where are you?” Mom shouted from somewhere down below. It sounded close.
All of a sudden, the biters snapped back to life and turned toward the location of her voice. They began their descent on the stairs to find her and my heart rate sped again.
“Mom, their coming! You have to run! I’ll be fine, Leland and Jess are with me now, just get away from them and I’ll come find you!” I cried out to her.
“No, Autumn! I’m not losing you again!” she roared then bullets burst through the room. Chaos erupted, and I knew I had to help. I wouldn’t run and hide, not when my family was in danger. They came all this way to rescue me and I wouldn’t let that be meaningless. With all I had left, I carved my path through the walking dead. Leland fought on my left and Jess on my right, chopping away with all of their might. One after another the undead fell to their eternal demise. After forcing our way through the first few rows of bodies, I could see biters were closing in on Mom. My pulse fluttered, and I panicked. Then it hit me. I controlled them, too! I squeezed my eyes shut and imagined putting all of my willpower into them and screamed the command at them again.
“Stop!”
My eyes shot open and my heart dropped. They weren’t obeying this time. Slowly they were gaining on my mother, backing her into a corner. I tried once more.
“I command you to stop!”
They continued on their path of destruction. I didn’t get it. Why did they stop the first time? Was it because it was myself at risk? Maybe I didn’t control them at all. Perhaps it was Alastor all along. He doesn’t want any harm to come to me, not if I’m to be his queen of the damned. So he must have called them off. But I knew he craved to watch my family perish, so he won’t stop them now. I needed to figure out something… fast.
I scanned the area frantically for an escape route to make it down to the main level, and my eyes came to rest on a broad table up against the outside of the staircase. Maybe we could shimmy down the side-rails and drop to the table. I called out my theory. Leland nodded and slipped past the biters to climb up on the banister. I proceeded next and Jess hopped on in front of me. We slid down the curved wood backwards until Leland reached the table below. He extended one leg down until his foot found purchase, then steadied himself on the table top. I reached out to him and let go of the railing. He caught me around the waist then sat me on my feet.
Jess was a few feet away when a biter grabbed her leg and dove for a bite. I tensed, expecting her to fall into the arms of the undead and get eaten right before my eyes. But she roared and struck out with her machete, landing a blow across the biters jaw, severing the bottom half of his face off. Blood, teeth and bone painted the stairs as the three of us watched him tumble backward into the mob of his fellow zombies, knocking a dozen of them over like bowling pins. We didn’t have the chance to be relieved since about fifty of them remained. So we grabbed Jess, helping her off the banister and onto the table. As soon as our feet hit the floor, the rest of the horde was on us. We scrambled to get our bearings and ran for the area Mom was ambushed. I could not determine who all was with her since I never spotted Andrew or the kids. But immense joy surged through me as I watched my beautiful golden retriever weave a path through the crowd to get to me.
She leaped into my arms and I reveled in the softness of her fur. I plunged my fingers into it then squeezed her tight. She licked my face eagerly, and I kissed her brow in exchange. The love and warmth radiating from her was overwhelming and tears formed in my eyes. You never realize how much you can miss a pet until they are gone from your side. I whispered sweet nothings in her ear, promising all the cuddles and treats her little heart desired. But for now we had to survive the never-ending hell on earth.
I shifted Daisy behind me and found an increasing strength to get to the rest of my family. We fought from both ends and made progress through the mass of biters and soon were down to the last few. I was shocked when I saw Mom, painted in blood and carnage, standing all alone. I ran into her arms and sobbed against her gore soaked shirt collar in relief. She swept a trembling hand down my tangled hair to comfort me. I glanced up into her eyes and recognized something I hadn’t seen in a long while since my dad passed away. The grip of pain and deprivation. The fatigue of sleepless nights. Sorrow that comes like a thief and steals your desire to live. My heart shattered to pieces when I read the expression in her eyes.
“What is it, Mom? Why are you all alone down here?” I asked, uncertain if I truly preferred to learn the answer. The fact that Uncle Andrew was not with her scared the shit out of me.
“I left the kids in a safe place, they’re fine, sweetheart,” she replied with assurance.
“Okay. But where is Andrew? He should have never let you come in here by yourself, Mom.”
“Alastor took him. We were waiting for signal from Leland, then the biters found us and we tried fighting them off but there were too many. They backed me into the woods and Andrew got separated from us. Next thing I saw was Alastor dragging Andrew into this place. So I circled the building to get away from the horde and found a way in through the kitchen. I’ve been searching, but can’t seem to find him anywhere,” she wailed into her hands and shuddered with worry for her brother.
“I believe I might know where he has taken him. Follow me!” I said.
We found a trail through the heaps of carcasses and climbed the stairs we had fought so hard to get down. I rounded the corner to find a pair of unusually large men standing guard. Both over six-feet tall and, even in death, appeared quite intimidating. Their shoulders measured wider than the doorways. Muscles rippled along their arms as they flexed with each movement. When we spotted them, I froze in my tracks. They hadn’t noticed us yet as their backs faced our direction. Leland tapped me on the shoulder and gestured for me to take the left one out and he would take the right. I nodded in agreement as we tiptoed up to the giant undead guards. I sucked in a deep breath and raised my dagger high above my head, then thrusted down with all of my might, sinking the blade into his skull up to the hilt. For an instant, I thought I hadn’t hit home with this one, because he stood there with his back turned. Then beginning at his feet, his body crumbled to the floor like a rag doll. Leland struck the same moment I did and his zombie spun around to face him, axe wedged in the top of his skull. He reached for us but didn’t make it far before landing flat on his decomposing face.
We released a sob of relief and continued forward again. Passing many corridors and entries, I lead my family towards the belly of the beast. We passed the statue of Goddess Selene, the itch in m
y hand returning with another impulse to reach out and touch her, but I ignored it and kept moving. The collection of biters that had formerly graced the base of the stairs I descended with the monster, Alastor, were now removed. Only an article of clothing was left behind. I thought nothing of it but Mom reached down and snatched the shirt from the floor.
“This is Andrew’s! He was wearing it when Alastor took him. Oh my God, I pray he’s all right. Please find him, Autumn,” she cried, twisting the fabric in her trembling hands.
“Oh, we’ll find him, Mom. Don’t you worry about that,” I assured her. Then turned to face the stairwell I knew led to the corridor we required. “I know where you’re hiding you evil son of a bitch! We are coming for you, and you better not harm a hair on Andrew’s head!” I shouted as loud as I could, and stomped up the steps to turn the corner. I vaguely acknowledged the painting of the trapped woman as I went by. No time for art gazing now. We needed to get to Andrew before it was too late.
We reached that unforgivable hallway that if I never lay eyes on again, it would be too soon. My hand wrapped around the knob of the door leading down to the cellar, and twisted. It didn’t budge. That bastard had locked the door. But what he didn’t understand is this family will stop at nothing to protect one another. A slab of wood would not prevent us from doing so.
“Leland, pass me the axe,” I told him. But he stepped forward and shook his head.
“No, Autumn, move back. I’ll get it open,” he responded.
So we offered him the space he required as he chipped away at the door with his trusty axe blade. We soon began our descent down the spiral staircase into absolute darkness. Leland reached into his pocket and pulled out a penlight. It didn’t help much, but was better than nothing. So with a tiny beam of light, I tried to make progress through the cold and wet basement to the chamber Andrew was being kept in. The same place Alastor chained me like a wild animal then stripped me down physically and emotionally. That room took my honor and self-worth hostage for what seemed like an eternity. As we approached the old metal gate, I started to second guess myself. Were we walking into a trap? Could I be leading my family into a losing battle? Doubt threatened to develop in full force, but I gulped it down because Andrew’s life was on the line. I would not hide from my fears. I had to stand up, face them head on, and have faith that God will bring us through this.
Autumn's Calling (Book 2): The Battle Page 14
