Insanely Deadly

by Holly Copella

  Zombie Herb, who was sticking through the windshield, grabbed Dirk and bit him in the face. Dirk cried out while attempting to stop the zombie from tearing into his flesh and slammed on the brakes. Kyle, sitting next to him in the passenger seat, tossed his rifle aside and grabbed his handgun. As Dirk struggled against the zombie attached to his face, his foot slipped off the brake and onto the gas. The truck picked up speed. Elise stood before the lobby doors and watched with horror as the silver truck rocketed toward her and the doors with a zombie stuck through the windshield and another clinging to the hood. Gunshots were heard from inside the truck. Elise screamed and ran from the entrance as the truck plowed through several zombies and crashed through the glass doors into the lobby.

  The helicopter hovered just outside the hotel. From their position within the helicopter, Jetta and Bishop stared at the shattered lobby entrance in horror. Hunter climbed the rope and joined them. He too had seen the catastrophe unfold.

  “The lobby has been compromised,” Bishop shouted into the hand radio to alert those inside the hotel. “Get everyone to second. Seal the stairs!”

  “Stacy and I are going to get the others,” Lee was heard over the radio. “We'll take the locked out elevator”

  “Copy!” Doc was heard yelling into the radio. “We're locking the stairs!”

  “Desmond,” Bishop said into the radio, “we're going in from the roof. Do what you can to secure that opening.”

  “Copy.”

  “Take me down,” Hunter ordered. “I'm going in.”

  “What? No!” Jetta protested.

  “Those are my men down there! You need to trust me!” Hunter yelled back then appeared serious and calm. “For once, Jetta, have a little faith in me.”

  Jetta hesitated a moment, cursed softly, and lowered the helicopter near the driveway entrance. Hunter kissed her and jumped out the side and to the ground. Hunter ran for the silver truck in the shattered lobby opening. The red truck skidded to a halt near Hunter. Desmond and Palmer joined him. They shot several zombies between them and the opening created by the truck in the hotel lobby. There was no telling how many zombies had already gotten in through the massive opening. Within the hotel, Lee, Stacy, Colleen, and seven others ran for the elevator then stopped to stare at the smashed truck within the lobby. Elise appeared seemingly out of nowhere and ran past them. She entered the locked out elevator and pressed the button. The elevator doors closed as Stacy watched in horror.

  “The elevator!” Stacy cried out.

  The silver truck door suddenly opened. Kyle jumped out while holding his bleeding neck, stumbled several feet, and fell to the floor. Zombie Herb fell out of the truck behind him. Kyle seized and thrashed a moment, became still, and then moved to his feet with the same dead look in his eyes. Two zombies crawled out from beneath the truck and stumbled to their feet. Both appeared mangled but managed to walk. Dirk, now a zombie, fell out of the truck as well. Despite the encouraging sound of gunfire just beyond the shattered lobby doors, it was unlikely they'd make it in time to stop the approaching zombies. Lee pushed the others toward the elevator and frantically pressed the button. The elevator wasn't returning, and soon it would be too late. She hurried them away from the elevators.

  “The stairs! Go!” Lee cried out.

  Lee, Stacy, Colleen, and two other guests ran for the stairs. The other five remained by the elevator in hopes it would soon arrive. As several zombies approached them, the five screamed and ran down the hall. More zombies headed for the stairs toward Lee's group. Lee attempted to open the door. It was locked!

  “Guys!” Lee shouted into the radio. “We're trapped! Unlock the beach stairs!”

  “We're on our way! Hold tight!” came Rafael's response.

  They watched in horror as the zombies approached. There was no place left to run. Colleen attempted to run from the area by the stairs and collided with zombie Herb in the hallway. She screamed as she was tackled to the floor. She thrashed against the zombie as he bit her hands then lunged for her face. She screamed as he tore into her cheek. The remaining zombies closed in on Lee and the others by the stairwell door. All four appeared horrified, realizing they had nowhere to run and stared helplessly as zombie Herb tore into the screaming Colleen. Lee suddenly backed against the door and stared with horror as zombie Glenn approached them. In her mind, it was almost as if karma was getting even with her. For the way she'd treated them, all of them, perhaps this was her punishment. The sound of gunfire was heard loudly from close by. Hunter suddenly appeared and shot zombie Herb while he ate Colleen's face. Palmer and Desmond charged for the zombies nearly upon the four women by the stairwell door.

  “Watch your fire!” Palmer yelled.

  Zombie Glenn was nearly upon Lee. She stared at him and held back her scream as he snarled and lunged for her. Desmond suddenly struck zombie Glenn with his rifle, surprising Lee, and then safely shot him in the head when he had a clean shot. A zombie grabbed Desmond from behind and attempted to bite his shoulder. Lee screamed with horror. Desmond rammed his rifle backwards into the zombie's midsection then turned and struck it in the face with the rifle. He shot the zombie in the head as it fell. Palmer struck one repeatedly with his rifle before shooting it as it writhed on the floor. Hunter spun into a high, roundhouse kick and struck the remaining zombie in the head. Lee watched in amazement as the zombie was thrown to the floor. Without missing a beat, Hunter straightened from his spinning kick, skillfully flipped the assault rifle in his hands, and shot the zombie in the head.

  Lee stared at Hunter with her mouth hanging open. “My God,” she gasped softly to herself. “He is a hero.”

  The fire door suddenly opened to reveal Rafael. All four women dived into the safety of the stairway. Palmer and Desmond ran after the other zombies. Colleen lie on the floor with half her face torn away. She twitched slightly. Hunter followed the others and casually shot Colleen in the head as he passed. The elevator door shut as the three men approached. They looked at one another with shared concern.

  “What are the chances one of them hitched a ride?” Palmer asked.

  “It stopped on second. I've got it!” Desmond informed them and ran for the stairs.

  “Guard that opening, Sargent,” Hunter ordered to Palmer. “I'll go after the other two.”

  Palmer nodded and returned to the lobby entrance.

  †

  Lee, Stacy, and the two other women ran out of the stairway door and hurried along the second floor hallway toward the sunroom. Stacy was nearly down to tears and fell behind. Lee saw her stop and hurried back for her. The other two women stopped and looked back at them. Lee motioned them on.

  “The sunroom is just down the hall,” Lee informed them then looked back at Stacy. “Stacy, we're okay now. Let's get to the sunroom. You'll feel safer there.”

  Stacy uncertainly nodded and collected herself. Lee pulled her along the hallway several feet behind the two other women. As the other women passed the elevator, it dinged, and the doors opened. Lee suddenly stopped Stacy. Zombie Dirk lunged from the elevator and tackled one of the women to the hall floor. The second woman screamed and ran down the hall for the sunroom. Lee pushed Stacy against the wall and grabbed the nearby fire extinguisher. She ran for zombie Dirk, preparing to strike him on the head as he tore into the woman's throat, when zombie Kyle appeared from the elevator and tackled her into the wall. Lee's head struck the wall, dazing her. Kyle lunged for her throat. Lee opened her eyes in time to see zombie Kyle's teeth coming at her. She was about to scream when the handheld radio was shoved into his mouth. Kyle released Lee and struggled to remove the radio. Stacy grabbed Lee's hand and pulled her back down the hall toward the stairwell.

  Chapter Thirty

  Jetta and Bishop ran down the stairs with both duffel bags filled with weapons. As they neared the second floor, groaning was heard. Both stopped, raised their guns, and waited. Rafael appeared on the steps while panting. He saw them, suddenly gasped, and held his hands up.

/>   “Don't shoot! I'm out of shape--not a zombie!”

  They relaxed and lowered their weapons.

  “The others are on second,” Rafael panted while leaning heavily on the railing. He appeared unable to continue. “The guys are rounding up the rest on first.”

  Thundering footfalls were heard on the stairs. Jetta and Bishop again raised their weapons. Desmond appeared on the stairs, cried out, and aimed his assault rifle at them. All three appeared relieved and relaxed.

  “One may have gotten on the elevator,” he informed them with concern.

  All four hurried into the second floor hallway with Rafael bringing up the rear from further behind. Lee and Stacy collided with Jetta, knocking her into Bishop, and taking all four to the floor. Zombie Kyle appeared around the corner and lunged for them. Desmond cried out with alarm and fired several shots into Kyle. He was thrown back into the opposing wall from the body shots then straightened, snarled, and again lunged for them.

  “Sorry, buddy,” Desmond said gently and pulled the trigger.

  The bullet struck zombie Kyle in the forehead and exploded out the back, taking most of his head with it.

  “There's another,” Stacy gasped as she helped Jetta pull Lee to her feet.

  They hurried along the hall toward the elevator to see zombie Dirk, with most of his face eaten, tearing flesh from the still thrashing woman's face. She continued to struggle despite the large amount of her blood spilling onto the floor.

  “Dirk!” Desmond cried out.

  Zombie Dirk turned to reveal blood down his fleshless face. He released the squirming woman and moved to his feet while facing them and snarling. Desmond frowned with disgust and shot Dirk in the head. He dropped to the floor. Rafael finally appeared in the hallway behind them as they approached the gasping and groaning woman. Jetta showed little emotion as she shot her in the head. Rafael jumped with surprise.

  “Dude--”

  They hurried past the scene of carnage and entered the sunroom. Doc, Styles, Tyler, and Carter approached them from their position at the broken window. Stacy helped Lee to one of the sofas in the area where Elise and four other guests quietly sat. Lee held her head and still appeared slightly dazed from a possible concussion. Stacy glared at Elise, who refused to look at them. Bishop and Jetta tossed their bags onto a coffee table.

  “Hand these out,” Jetta said to Desmond then looked at Bishop. “We need to add air assault at the school and try to take out as many as possible.”

  “Do you want me to come along?” Desmond asked while passing out assault rifles and ammunition.

  “No, you stay here, Desmond. I'll take Hunter,” Jetta quickly informed him. “He's amazingly accurate firing out of moving helicopters.”

  Bishop grabbed a rifle and some extra clips for himself.

  Desmond rummaged through the bag and removed the rocket launcher. “Better take this,” he said while tossing Jetta the rocket launcher then smiled deviously. “Hunter will want that.”

  Jetta grinned her response. She was sure he would. She nudged Bishop, and both ran from the sunroom. Desmond showed Doc, Styles, and Carter how to load the assault rifles. Tyler seemed to figure it out on his own with minimal instruction. While they loaded the weapons, Stacy could be heard shouting. All five looked across the room. Stacy was on her feet and stood before Elise, who just stared at her with a dumbfounded look.

  “It's your fault those women died!” Stacy shouted in anger. “You cowardly bitch! You left us there!”

  “I'm still your boss,” Elise remarked lowly, but she didn't appear to have much fight left in her.

  “I don't give a shit who you are,” Stacy continued her rant. “You nearly got Lee killed when you stole our only escape route! How many friends do you think I have? I can't afford to lose any! You're lucky I don't punch your teeth down your throat!”

  “Stacy,” Lee said softly. “Let it go. It's not worth it.”

  Stacy attempted to relax then turned and approached Desmond. She indicated the arsenal of weapons.

  “Can I have one of those?”

  “If you promise to only shoot zombies with it,” Desmond remarked with a look of distrust to the once meek woman.

  She snorted a soft laugh and extended her hand. It wasn't really a promise. He uncertainly handed her a semiautomatic. She cocked the gun without instruction, causing all five men to jump, and walked across the sunroom. They held their breath as she approached Elise on the sofa. Stacy continued past her and toward the broken sunroom window. There were several relieved sighs.

  “Damn,” Tyler said softly. “I was sort of hoping she'd shoot Elise's ass.”

  “Normally I'd agree with you,” Desmond replied, “but I think we've had enough of that. We need to concentrate on killing just the zombies.”

  †

  The lounge appeared quiet. Dirty glasses and empty bottles remained on top of the bar and on several tables throughout the room. Zombie Pam and a male zombie stumbled around the room. They sniffed the air and looked around as if attempting to find something. Three of the five women who had scattered from the elevator crouched behind the bar and listened to the zombies walking into tables, bumping into chairs, and knocking over empty glasses. The first woman removed a fancy corkscrew and clung to it. She indicated the lounge entrance to the others with her eyes. They uncertainly nodded. She moved to the opening behind the bar closest to the entrance while remaining close to the floor and looked across the lounge. She watched the two zombies fumbling around with no particular purpose. She motioned for the other women to make their run. All three darted out from behind the bar and ran for the entrance.

  A third zombie, zombie Dennis, suddenly appeared in the doorway. The first woman screamed and ducked as he grabbed for her. The second woman ran from the lounge. As the third woman attempted to follow, Dennis lunged for her and knocked her backward onto one of the tables. She screamed while attempting to keep him from biting her. The first woman saw the other two zombies closing in. Instead of running while she still had a chance to escape, she ran for zombie Dennis on top of the third woman and stabbed him in the head with the corkscrew. The woman beneath the zombie screamed. Dennis straightened with the corkscrew still in his head and spun toward the first woman. The third woman ran for the entrance as zombie Pam and the other zombie charged the first woman. Zombie Dennis, with the corkscrew in his head, snarled and grabbed her shoulders.

  The butt of an assault rifle was rammed into the corkscrew, driving it deep into the zombie's head. Dennis' eyes rolled back as he released the woman and fell to the floor. She spun to see Hunter holding the assault rifle. His gaze was fixated on the two quickly approaching zombies.

  “You should probably leave,” Hunter informed her. “This could get a little messy.”

  The woman gave him a bewildered look, appeared alarmed, and ran from the lounge. As the zombies approached Hunter, he raised his assault rifle and pulled the trigger. It clicked. Nothing happened. That was impossible! He knew his ammunition count. How could he be empty? Zombie Pam and the male zombie were nearly on top of him now. He removed his Bowie knife from his boot, spun into a roundhouse kick, and kicked the male zombie in the chest. The zombie was knocked back several feet. Hunter went for the return kick and struck Pam in the head. As the male zombie regained his balance and came for him, Hunter threw the knife. The knife was impaled through the zombie's eye, stopping him in his tracks. He dropped to the floor. Zombie Pam lunged for Hunter. He grabbed her by the head and swiftly broke her neck. He reclaimed his Bowie knife and grimaced at the zombie's eye dangling from the blade. He wished he could say that was the most gruesome thing he'd ever seen, but sadly, he'd seen worse. He wiped the gooey remnants onto the dead zombie's shirt and replaced the knife to his boot. He removed his cigar and casually lit it.

  †

  Palmer stood by the back of the smashed silver truck within the lobby and kept watch out the opening with his assault rifle aimed. Several zombies lie dead in the opening no
t far from him, indicating he'd done a good job at keeping the lobby opening secure. A mangled zombie crawled out from under the truck several feet behind him. One of its legs was missing and its torso was only held on by its intestines. Palmer fired at a zombie several feet outside the hotel and appeared unaware of the zombie crawling toward him. The zombie reached for Palmer's cowboy boot. Palmer casually turned with his revolver now in his hand and shot the zombie in the head. He holstered his revolver and resumed shooting zombies outside with the assault rifle. The elevator doors opened to reveal Jetta and Bishop carrying several weapons. Palmer eyed them then shot an approaching zombie.

  “You okay here?” Jetta asked.

  “Got it under control,” he replied.

  “Have you seen Hunter?”

  “Nope, but I heard a commotion in the lounge,” Palmer replied then grinned. “The damned bastard's enjoying himself a little too much.”

  Jetta and Bishop ran down the corridor and approached the lounge. They cautiously entered with their rifles raised. Hunter casually sat on the bar with the two dead zombies by his feet and puffed on his cigar. He eyed Jetta and grinned.

  “Did I tell you I have a date?” Hunter asked.

  “A date, huh?” Jetta said with a smile. She wondered if it was a real date or an imagined one. “I'm jealous. You can tell me all about it once we're airborne.”

  Hunter suddenly appeared excited and jumped off the bar. “Can I fly?” he asked while grinning.

  “Not even on your best day,” she grumbled.

  Hunter appeared to pout while approaching them and the doorway. “I was flying before you were even born,” he said firmly. “I'm an excellent pilot.”

  “Is that so? I heard you crashed three out of four times,” Jetta remarked.

  “It was only two times,” he stated flatly while following them from the lounge, then muttered, “--out of three.”