Yusif sighs, “Not bodies, walking dead.”
The men don’t look convinced. Yusif points to the dead priest.
“See, walking dead, undead.”
“Zombie?” Oddball asks.
“Zumbi,” Yusif responds.
Matty walks up, “No exits,” he looks to Vanessa, “So who’s the dame?”
Yusif smiles, “The archeologist from the camp. Professor Montclair.”
Vanessa tilts her head toward Yusif.
Matty looks confused, “He’s a she?”
Monte glares at Yusif. Yusif shrugs, and Monte turns to her.
“Okay, Professor, how long you been down here?”
She looks at the corpse lying on the block. Monte steps in front of her, blocking the view.
She looks up to his eyes, “Two days.”
“Anyone else in your party?”
“Diggers, but…” she looks toward the altar.
Monte turns to Pilch, “See if you can make some sort of defensive position at the door.”
“Why me?”
Monte glares at him, “You wanna keep the stripes you have?”
Pilch looks to the dead Arab man, “I’d rather keep the insides I have.”
“You worked construction; figure out a way to build us a defensive position at the door.”
Pilch nods and reluctantly heads for the door.
“Matty, go with him,” Monte orders and then turns to Vanessa, “You some sort of ‘expert’?”
Vanessa nods.
“What is this place?”
Yusif looks to Vanessa, concerned.
“Come.”
She leads them to one of the alcoves. It has ancient writing with grotesque pictures of people being tortured and killed. Vanessa points to the picture, “This was written nearly six thousand years ago. It tells of a great evil rising from the sand and falling upon humanity,” Vanessa looks at Yusif. Monte notices, but she continues, “A Sumerian king opened a doorway to the underworld in a quest for eternal life. He made a bargain with Belial…”
“Belial?” Johnson asks.
“Master of the Sumerian underworld… A demon Lord,” Vanessa explains.
Monte smirks, “A demon lord.”
Johnson frowns, “What’s a demon lord?”
Oddball looks to the pictures, “I don’t know, but it don’t sound good.”
She nods and points to a picture of the king kneeling before Belial. All of them look at the picture, the same handsome face and long hair as the statue from the entrance, “Belial killed the king, giving him eternal life… as a creature of the underworld.”
Monte shakes his head, “Sure, happens all the time.”
Vanessa continues, “With a doorway open, Belial was free to bring his legions into this world, but the king’s son battled Belial and banished him back to the underworld,” she indicates his picture on the wall, the family crest of the ancient Sumerian king, “The portal to the underworld will remain for all time, and it’s said the king’s lineage must protect us as punishment for the king’s betrayal of man.”
Monte waves his hand to shut her up, “Can any of that mumbo-jumbo show me a way out of here?”
Vanessa stares at him, irked, “Perhaps,” she points to a large map carved into the wall, “I’ll need some time.”
Monte glares at her, nods, and turns to the men.
“Mumbo-jumbo,” Vanessa mutters.
“Listen up! I want all equipment checked; we’ll dig in here for now,” Monte barks.
“We should keep going,” Yusif objects.
“Keep going!” Oddball shrieks.
“Are you nuts?” Johnson asks.
Yusif faces them, “How far behind are your engineers?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Johnson asks.
Yusif looks to Monte.
Monte looks down, “It’ll take engineers to get us out if we can’t find a way.”
“How far?” Yusif asks again.
“Three days,” Monte tells everyone.
Oddball looks to the dead priests, “Aw man.”
“We must move, find another exit,” Yusif tells them.
“And fight more of them thingies? No thanks,” Oddball states.
“We’ll let the professor here work on that map and wait,” he tells them.
Yusif looks to Camir.
“Wait,” Yusif curses under his breath.
“Johnson, drag those bodies out of sight. Rest of you, get busy on those weapons,” Monte orders.
“Load of horse shit,” Johnson grumbles.
“That’s enough!”
Oddball smiles, “You should listen to him Sarge. He’s from Texas, and if he knows about anything, it’s horse shit.”
Oddball dodges out of Johnson’s reach.
Chapter 10
Vanessa sits under the map on the wall making a copy on an old piece of parchment. Yusif approaches with her journal.
“Will this help?” he hands it to her. She locks eyes with him.
“Yes, thank you.”
She takes the journal. Yusif turns to leave.
“It has begun?” she asks.
Yusif looks back to her, “Yesterday.”
Vanessa thinks, “Then, you are…” she leaves it hanging.
Yusif nods. Vanessa turns to the map. It shows all of Africa and the Middle East, “Then I must hurry.”
Yusif walks to Camir who looks over a wrinkled parchment by candlelight.
Pilch and Matty sit behind the defensive barricade at the doorway. Pilch dozes off. Matty, with his back to the hallway, looks at a weathered photo of his wife and baby. Something moves in the darkness. Matty picks up the Luger.
Monte sits alone with a note-pad and pencil, somberly looking over the dog tags of those that have fallen.
Vanessa approaches.
“Well?”
She hands him the copy of the map, “Many of the passages lead to exits.”
“That’s good,” he says looking down at the map. It shows the entire Middle East, “You got to be shittin’ me.”
Vanessa shrugs, “Most of the passages lead for hundreds of miles before they surface. If you believe the map.”
“This ain’t helpin’, lady.”
“One of the exits is close,” she points it out to Monte. He nods, and she walks away as he studies the map.
Camir and Yusif are huddled over a parchment. It shows the same map. They speak in Arabic.
“A half-day’s travel,” Camir notes indicating the route, the same route.
Yusif nods, “Yes.”
“We must hurry; there isn’t much time.”
Yusif grimly nods. Camir looks over at Vanessa, who sits down next to Oddball, “Strange addition.”
“Everyone has a task.”
Camir nods and stands, “I will scout ahead.”
Vanessa leans back against the wall next to Oddball. He looks over to her, “You find us a way out of this mess?”
“I hope so.”
Oddball smiles, “I knew you would.”
Vanessa looks to Monte, who studies the map, “The men don’t seem to like the Sergeant.”
Oddball shakes his head, “Naw, we just ain’t used to him. We lost all our non-coms at Kaserrine, and ’ole Monte got promoted. One day, he’s tossin’ the baseball with us, and next he’s acting all high and mighty.”
Pilch struggles to keep his eyes open. Camir walks by and waves as he heads down one of the tunnels.
Matty waves to Camir and turns back to Pilch, “It’s gotta be religious.”
“Uh-huh”
“Some kind of curse or something.”
Matty stops cleaning the Luger, and listens. Something moves in the darkness. Matty sits up, straining his ears, peering into the tunnel, “You hear that?” he looks to the other tunnel, “I thought he went… oh well,” Matty shrugs and drops down with his back to the tunnels, “Like I was saying, it’s got to be religious. A pagan thing.”
> “Uh-huh.”
“I shoulda paid more attention in Sunday school.”
A hand slowly moves toward Matty’s head from the other side of the barricade.
“Pilch, for Christ sakes, I’m trying to have a philosophical discussion…”
The hand grabs Matty’s head and he’s jerked into the tunnel.
“Yeah,” Pilch hears a muffled cry and opens his eyes, “Matty?” he looks into the dark tunnel, then looks down, seeing something. He picks up a gold coin on a leather necklace.
Chapter 11
Monte and the others stand at the entrance to the tunnel. Everyone is on edge, scared, with fingers on triggers.
Monte looks into the darkness, “Shit,” he looks to Pilch, “You saw nothin’?”
“I told you; I dozed off for one second, and he was gone!”
“God-damn-it!”
“Besides, that damn A-rab was out there. Hell, he might a’ done it himself.”
Yusif puts a hand on his scimitar.
Monte turns on Pilch, “Shut up!”
Vanessa studies the coin, “This is a Denarius. Roman coin, from 200 B.C.”
“Why would that be down here?” Johnson asks.
“Why is anything down here?” Oddball whines.
Monte shakes his head, “Oddball.”
Oddball continues, “Nazis and demon priests and undead and…”
“Oddball.”
“Hell, why are we down here?”
“That’s enough!”
Johnson spits on the ground, “Yeah, sure it is.”
“I’m trying to get us out of here alive.”
“That why Matty’s gone?” Johnson accuses.
From down the tunnel, they hear a whistle. Pilch raises his weapon. Monte motions for the men to take up firing positions.
“No!” Yusif barks.
Monte looks to him as he whistles toward the darkness. Camir emerges from the tunnel.
“Geez, that guy gets around,” Oddball whines.
Yusif hands Camir a canteen, and he takes a long pull. The two begin to talk in Arabic. Yusif turns to the men, “To the right is a barracks room, I think for the undead we killed before…”
Oddball interrupts, “Undead we killed?”
“Yes, to the…”
Oddball interrupts again, “That don’t make no sense.”
“Oddball!” Monte snaps.
“I’m just saying, ought to be a different word for it is all.”
“How about undead you re-killed,” Vanessa suggests.
Oddball thinks about it and nods, “See. That’s better.”
“I swear, I’m gonna kill you myself,” Monte says between clenched teeth.
Oddball winks at her. Monte shakes his head in frustration and turns to Yusif.
“Ahead, the tunnel leads down. The Germans are there,” Yusif reports.
Monte nods, “Down it is.”
“Thought we was stayin’ here,” Johnson says.
“We still got a mission. We can always fall back here.”
“And we gotta find Matty!” Pilch says.
Monte looks doubtful, “Sure, Pilch. We’ll look for Matty too.”
Monte looks to Yusif, who shakes his head.
Monte turns to Oddball, “You’re on point.”
“Me? But Sarge, I’m no good on point,” he whines.
“Oddball!”
“I’m serious, Johnson is way better.”
Monte points toward the corridor, and Oddball reluctantly starts off.
Chapter 12
Oddball is on point with Monte close behind. Water drips from the walls. The torchlight flickers. The tunnel is tight and dark. Oddball stops. From ahead, they hear the sounds of muffled gunfire, followed by screams.
Oddball turns around, “We should go back.”
Monte spins him back around, “Keep moving.”
Oddball sighs, “Shut up Oddball, keep moving Oddball, knock it off Odd…”
Something moves in the darkness ahead.
Oddball screams, “Here they come!” and opens fire.
The rest of the men take up positions, and the tunnel is instantly a blinding din of flashing gunfire.
Monte signals them to stop, “Cease fire!”
“Zombies!” Oddball screams and continues firing.
“Cease fire!”
Monte snatches Oddball’s weapon from his hands. Oddball looks at him guiltily.
Monte turns to the rest of the men, “Everyone take a deep breath and calm down!”
Oddball shakes with fear. Monte shines his flashlight ahead and illuminates a dead rat that’s been blown to bits. Monte looks to Oddball who sighs and shrugs.
Monte hands Oddball back his weapon, “Johnson, take point.”
Johnson slips past. Pilch lights a cigarette and hands it to Oddball.
“Thanks, pal.”
Vanessa puts a hand on his shoulder, “I would have shot it, too.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah, he had it coming,” and she smiles at him.
Oddball frowns, embarrassed.
Johnson stops as the tunnel opens into a football-field-sized room with a low crumbling ceiling that’s held up by rough timbers. German bodies litter the floor entrance. He puts his hand up, “Quiet. Somebody is…” and he peers ahead.
He can see a group of Germans behind a makeshift barricade at the far end of the room.
Monte grumbles, “Germans.”
“Live or dead?” Oddball asks.
Pilch smiles, “Dead by the time I’m done with ’em.”
The Americans get into a firing line as several figures move toward them from a side tunnel jutting off from the room midway along its length.
Johnson spits, “Looks like they aim to hit us.”
Some of the figures move toward the Americans; most move toward the German position. Monte looks to the figures moving toward them, “What kind of uniforms are those?”
“I was right. Romans,” Vanessa says.
The attacking undead wear the uniforms of Roman Legionnaires.
Pilch lines up his rifle on a German, “Congratu-fuckin’-lations Professor.”
As they get closer the Americans can see they are almost full skeletons --skin dangles from bone and the uniforms fit poorly with little meat left on the men.
The Americans open fire. The Germans open fire on the Romans from their position.
“Go for head shots!” Yusif screams.
Pilch smiles and mutters to himself, “Just the way I like it,” he fires dropping the German with a shot through the head, “That felt good,” he says evilly and lines up on another German, a fellow sniper, “Hello, sweetheart.”
Pilch smiles as his finger touches the trigger. Monte notices and hits him in the helmet as he fires, sending the shot wild. Muller and the Sniper look over.
“That way!” Monte indicates the Romans.
“But…”
Monte smacks Pilch in the helmet, “Fire!”
Pilch mutters to himself as he lines up on a Roman. Camir slips past them and moves toward the German position.
“Where’s he going now?” Monte cries out.
“To the Germans,” Yusif tells him.
“Think we’ve got enough on our plate right now.”
The Roman attackers go down under the heavy American fire, heads missing or obliterated, bodies flailing like broken dolls onto the ground. Eerie screams of longing and death echo through the enormous room as balls of energy exit the skeletons as they are put down. Camir calls from the German position in Arabic.
“More are coming from the tunnel ahead!” Yusif translates.
The Romans’ battle cries echo through the room. Monte puts a hand on Oddball, who is visibly shaken, “Steady, son. Grenades.”
With quaking hands, Oddball pulls out two grenades.
“Wait for my command.”
Camir and fifteen German survivors make a run for the Americans’ position.
“Who do we shoot?” Pilch screams.
Monte is unsure, and looks to the two different forces advancing toward them.
“The Romans!” Yusif screams.
Pilch is lined up on the Germans; he looks back, “But they’re Germans!”
Monte looks to Yusif.
“They wish to join us. Trust me!”
“Fuck ’em, he’s traded sides,” Pilch says.
Monte nods, “Covering fire! Protect the Germans!”
Pilch moves his rifle toward the Romans, “God-damn-it!”
The Americans open up on the Romans.
Oddball looks to Monte, “Grenades?”
“Not yet!”
A German goes down under a Roman’s blade. Pilch picks off the Roman before he can take down another.
“They are not going to make it,” Yusif says.
Another German falls with a spear in his leg. A German Sergeant stops to pick him up. The Romans pause in their advance to fall on the pair, quickly slashing them to pieces with short swords and spears. Camir and twelve German survivors are able to make it behind the Americans’ firing line.
“Get them back in the tunnel!” Monte yells.
“Fuck it. Let ’em fight,” Oddball suggests.
Monte looks at the German soldiers, a tough bunch, and nods in agreement. A spear sails in to take a German in chest. Everyone crouches for cover as more spears sail in. Vanessa moves forward and pulls the injured man back. Johnson scoops up a dropped Roman shield and uses it for cover.
Monte looks to the Romans and then to the Germans, “Can you fight?”
Muller steps forward, “We need ammo.”
Monte picks up a rifle from a German corpse and tosses it to him. The other Germans start picking through the bodies of the fallen looking for ammo. Muller slams a round into the chamber and glares at Pilch.
“Take your best shot, fuehrer,” Pilch spits at him.
The sniper moves forward to confront Pilch, but Muller pulls him back.
“Karl, relax.”
“Gutless…”
Monte jerks Pilch back and roughly tosses him to the other side of their position.
“Here they come!” Johnson screams.
The Germans and Americans open fire. Long muzzle flashes from the weapons reaching out, empty shell casing dropping to the ground and a wall of death shattering the Roman line. The assault slows, but the Romans keep coming, pieces of their bodies being blown away as they approach. The horde looks unstoppable.
Rise of the Undead 1943 Page 5
