The crying stopped, and the girl lay on the floor in silence, staring wide-eyed up at Sam and the others.
“We don’t have time for you to be a princess, Princess,” Sam growled.
Beside them, the jersey-wearing jock let out a laugh, a genuine sound of amusement.
“You find this fucking funny?” Jared snarled.
“Yo, sorry, dude. I’m with the program, really, but she called her princess, and well, her name is Leia,” the man said, his laughter subsiding as he spoke.
“Okay, that’s kinda funny, man,” Dwayne said, nudging Jared with his elbow.
“I guess, but let’s save the jokes. Get her on her feet, and let’s book it,” Jared said, looking over at the mounds of zeds that were feasting on the two carcasses. “Unless you want to end up like them.”
Nobody said anything, but the group, which now numbered ten in total, moved away from the house. Once again, Sam and Dwayne took a dual-point, with Julie close behind them and Jared after her. While they were all working together, the segregation was still clear, for the second group hung back slightly, distancing themselves from Jared. Leah and the jersey-wearing jock walked hand in hand, with Ian beside them. Huddled close together after them were two more women and a slightly chubby man with a broken pair of glasses perched on his nose. One lens was cracked and the other missing completely.
Nobody spoke as they hurried off into the wilderness. There was a wet splash as the zed in the hot tub fell, but a quick look over their shoulders showed the woman sprawled in a heap on the floor.
“This way,” Sam said, pointing to the left of the garden. “We can slip through here and around the fields.”
“Where are we heading?” Dwayne asked her.
“I have no idea, but as long as we keep moving, we stand a chance,” Sam answered. Looking up at him, she smiled, and as they walked, she slid her hand into his.
Chapter Three
“We’ve got another cluster up ahead of us, sir,” Sanjay Karumtha said as he adjusted the range on his binoculars.
“How many, soldier?” Lieutenant Lou Parker replied. In fifteen years of service, he had seen a great many things he wished he could forget. All of them paled in comparison to what he had witnessed in the past few weeks.
“I count three,” Sanjay answered.
“I’ve got these ones, LT,” Jerry Wilkes answered as the Hummer was brought to a stop.
Opening the doors, Jerry got out, followed by Maddie Staal. The only female in their unit, and the only female they knew to still be alive. Maddie was fiercer than the others combined. A fact they were all very well aware of. The fact that she was drop-dead gorgeous was therefore relegated to being useless information.
“You’re never going to beat me,” she whispered to Jerry as he drew his rifle up to his shoulder.
“Just you watch,” Jerry said, shooting Maddie a wink as he turned his head and settled down to take the shot.
“Check the distance?” he asked.
“I’ve got nine hundred yards. The wind is low, almost nothing,” Maddie replied. Nestled on the floor beside him, Maddie lowered her scope. “The floor is yours.”
Jerry focused on the scene. He watched his targets. Their lumbering gait was impossible to predict, which meant tracking their movements in anticipation of a shot was that much more complicated.
The three post-humans, two men and a woman, were ambling through the barren fields of a farmhouse that looked long since deserted. Its owners having upped sticks and left long before the dead rose. Targeting them was easy, given the favorable conditions, and Jerry had no problem selecting his first kill. The shocking mop of bright pink hair made the woman an easy target, while the two men wore similarly branded shirts, advertising what Jerry assumed was a heavy metal band, or whatever. As far as he was concerned, it was all noise, indistinguishable from one another.
“Cutting it close, buddy,” Maddie whispered. “No way you will make it.”
Jerry ignored her goading and cleared his mind. He watched them a moment longer and pulled the trigger. The first shot from the Stealth Recon A1 blew out the pink lady’s head, blowing it apart like a piece of rotting fruit. A shower of black blood and semi-liquefied brain matter flew from the exit wound, splattering against the two male zeds who did not even seem to notice. Pulling the trigger for the second time, Jerry watched as the first male zed’s head disappeared in a puff of blood and bone and carried on through into the third. The damage tore the creature’s face apart, shattering the skull. What little brain matter remained exited on the tail of the bullet, riding away in a cloud of blackened mist.
“Oh, no shit, you didn’t just do that,” Maddie gasped, unable to hide her excitement and enthusiasm.
“You know it. Two birds with one stone, yee-haw,” Jerry cheered, slinging his rifle over his shoulder as he got back to his feet.
“Good shooting,” Lou said, clapping the marine on the back as they returned to the vehicle. “What time did we get?”
“Eighteen seconds, from hitting the ground,” Maddie said with a smile.
“Can I get a confirmation on that?” Lou asked, without looking at anybody in particular.
“I had the same, boss,” Sanjay replied.
“I had seventeen,” Benny Groffman, the fifth marine of their group spoke up.
“All right, I say we split the difference and seventeen-and-a-half seconds for Jerry. Where does that put him on the leaderboard?”
“He goes into second, behind Maddie, who still leads with seventeen seconds even,” Benny answered, moving the dirty nametag up the side of the Hummer’s interior.
“Unlucky, big boy. Looks like I get to keep your balls,” Maddie said with a laugh.
The other marines joined in, enjoying the humor while the good mood lasted. They were soon on the road again. Meatloaf’s Bat out of Hell was cranking out of the car’s rudimentary stereo system, and all five marines were singing away to the tune.
The group had been stationed together for several years, and while Benny had never been under Lou’s direct command, he was a well-known face around the base, and fit in easily with their crew. He had made the mistake of complimenting Maddie once, after having been assured by the lieutenant that she liked that sort of thing. He had worn his black eye with pride, especially after they told him what Maddie had done to the previous guy who tried to hit on her.
Ahead of them, the quiet road began to change. The littering of cars increased until they reached what could only be described as a blockade of sorts that blocked both lanes.
“What the hell?” Jerry said.
“Looks like they tried to protect themselves or something,” Benny said.
“Waste of time. Surely they knew the dead were everywhere, not just marching down the road in some orchestrated assault,” Maddie replied.
“They were scared,” Sanjay said as the Hummer slowed. “They did what they needed to do in order to feel at peace.” Out of the group, only Sanjay still held on to his firm beliefs in a god and reward for living a good life.
That was why he had not taken part in the shooting competition. He didn’t want to make fun out of death. He said it was the Lord who sent the dead to teach them a lesson, and that once faith was restored, the world would return.
It had freaked the others out to hear him speak in such evangelical terms, but not even Maddie, a severely lapsed Catholic was willing to rip him for it.
“Can we go around it?” Lou asked.
“Not sure. We will need to get out and take a look,” Benny said from behind the wheel. He opened the door and jumped out, leaving the engine running.
Lou followed from the passenger seat, drawing his M-1029. Known as the Major, the weapon had a six-inch blade with a serrated backbone. It was Lou’s baby, and he kept it razor-sharp. It had already seen its fair share of blood, yet the steel still glinted, pristine; it was as if it were smiling at the idea of claiming some more.
They moved around either side of the
road, the lieutenant with the Major, while Benny elected to use his survival ax, ‘Bruiser’. The weapon had a three-and-a-quarter-inch wide black blade with a pick extending from the rear, meaning it could do damage on the forward and rearward strikes. The fifteen-inch length of the weapon also gave that little bit more room to maneuver, which had always been Benny’s preferred position when it came to combat. Light on his feet, with reflexes quicker than anybody else in the unit, he worked best when he had a little room to play with.
They moved around the blockade, their steps slow and careful. Listening, they heard the undead moments before the three figures emerged. Two on Benny’s side, and one obese man who came after Lou.
Benny struck out quickly, his ax cutting through the air with a melodious swoosh. The blade embedded itself in the skull of the woman, her lipless face held gnashing teeth that were chomping at the wind. It was only when he pulled the blade free that the full set of loose-fitting dentures fell from the old woman’s mouth. They hit the concrete of the road and broke, several false molars flying in different directions.
Benny didn’t wait, but adjusted his stance, jumped back a few steps, and repositioned himself to attack the second zed.
The tall, muscular creature before him must have been close to seven feet tall. His jet-black skin hid the hardened blood crust that had formed on his left arm. He moved forward awkwardly, the shredded skin of his left trap limited his range of motion of that side.
Using it to his advantage, Benny stepped to his right, ducked behind the creature and brought the pick end of the ax down on the back of the creature’s head. The skull split with the fragile sound of a breaking eggshell. The tall zed dropped to its knees, black blood and a sour-smelling pus leaking around the wound the ax created. The weight of the dropping body pulled the blade free as the zed fell atop of the corpse of the old woman.
The others watched from inside the vehicle as the lieutenant engaged the dead man that half walked, half fell toward him. The obese man had a gut that hung down to his knees, and with the way his t-shirt had torn open, it gave the impression he had swollen considerably in death, exploding from within its confining polyester embrace. The tear in the material revealed four deep gouges that ran along his distended belly. The wounds continued to leak thick blackened blood, which had congealed to a consistency like that of cottage cheese.
Lou didn’t waste any time. He grunted as he drove the knife in, thrusting it to the hilt right between the dead man’s eyes. The force behind the strike was enough to bend the man over backward, causing his stomach to burst. The four tears ripped, opening up a watermelon-sized hole in the man’s gut. The bubbling black mass of necrotic flesh flowered outward, spewing a deathly mix of blood, pus, and putrescence into the air. This was followed by semi-rotten chunks of intestines, still wet and soggy from the fluid they had been sitting in since the dead man rose.
Had it not been for the lieutenant’s years of training and combat-honed reactions, he would have taken the rotten blast full to the face. As it was, he threw himself to one side, avoiding the majority of the spray.
“Oo-rah, way to go, LT.” The others applauded from the Hummer, clapping as their lieutenant turned around, his legs tangled in a bloated string of sausage-like intestines. Walking back to the truck, he cleaned his blade on his pants and smiled at the others.
“That fat boy just couldn’t control himself,” Lou laughed, moving to get into the truck, but Benny closed the door.
Behind him, the others took greatly exaggerated breaths to add to the suspense.
“Very funny, dickwad. Now open the damned door.” Lou pulled on the handle.
“No can do, boss. You’re covered in zed guts. That means you got to ride freestyle until we can stop and get you hosed down,” Benny said, pointing to the roof.
“Now, come on, Benny, it’s barely a splash. Just a little bit of blood and rot. I wasn’t bit or nothing.” Lou tried to argue his case but started climbing before anybody could answer him.
The group inside the Hummer hammered on the roof with their fists as the lieutenant hauled himself into position.
“Punch it, Benny,” Maddie called from the back seat, the entertainment in her voice bordering on childlike.
Benny pulled the car off the road, running over the downed zeds they had taken care of. Each one gave a soft squelch as the bodies burst from the pressure being applied to them. Pulling back onto the road, they drove through town, gathering the attention of enough of the local residents to bring them flocking toward the car.
“Guys, we need eyes left and right,” Lou called from atop the vehicle.
Nobody heard the shot from his suppressed Glock 19, but they saw the closest zed to them jerk as a hole appeared where its left eye had once been. Thick, tar-like blood oozed from the hole before the dead man dropped to the floor, tripping up two others that had been close to him.
Opening the windows, Maddie and Jerry leaned out and started taking shots at any zed that came too close to the car. Benny continued to drive, his control of the car steady, and the speed fast enough to crush anything that got in their way.
One zed, who looked like a kid not long into their teens––if the pus-filled pimples that covered their face had indeed been there pre-death––appeared in front of the car, their arms raised, almost as if it were trying to hail them down like a cab.
Benny closed his eyes for a moment as the vehicle drove over the kid. Looking in the wing mirrors, Benny saw the body lying on the road, its belly flattened, but like a cartoon, its upper torso and legs were fine. Blood and gore leaked in all directions, and the creature continued to claw and snarl at the world around it.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Benny said.
“Hey, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain like that, dude,” Sanjay said from behind the map.
“I just mean, that kid, he didn’t die. I ran over him, a fucking kid, and he didn’t die.” Benny pushed away the guilt. He did what had to be done. He knew that and understood it, but everything had changed so suddenly, and kids were still kids in his eyes.
“They ain’t kids no more, Benny,” Jerry said as he turned to fire a shot at an approaching zed. The blast tore off the side of the dead man’s head allowing thick clumps of grey-colored brain to cover the ground like rotten snow.
“Get us out of here,” Lou called from above them. “I see more coming and don’t want to take any chances. We are going to need this ammo later on.”
“You got it, LT. Just hold on up there,” Benny called as he shifted his driving style. His foot hit the gas and they rocketed down the street. They drove straight over anything that got in their way, and while splattered zed innards soon covered the windshield, Benny continued undeterred.
“Oh crap, look out,” Lou called, slapping his hand down on the roof of the Hummer.
Benny saw it too and brought the vehicle to a swift halt. “Shit,” he called out, looking around him for an alternative route.
“What is it?” Maddie asked as she reached out and stabbed a dead woman through the nose. “These things are getting too close for comfort, Benny.”
“There’s a blockage on the road. It runs all the way across,” Benny said, opening his window to fire a trio of quick shots to take out the family of zeds who were closing in on him. A husband and wife, dressed in matching tracksuits, and an older child who looked a spitting image of his father, even down to the torn-out throat and slightly lolloping tongue.
“If you can double back, there is a side road we can take. It will be tight with this cumbersome vehicle, but we can follow that, make a hard left and hook around the back end,” Sanjay said, dropping the map to his lap. He opened the door and shoved it as hard as he could, shattering the face of the zed licking his window.
“Got it,” Benny said, throwing the Hummer into reverse.
As they sped backward, the lieutenant still holding onto the roof, firing as they went, the music changed and Meatloaf gave way to Kansas and a tune that
felt almost prophetic as they mowed down the dead.
“There it is,” Sanjay said, pointing out of his passenger window.
“Fuck, that’s tight,” Benny said as he turned the wheel, crushing the skull of a zed whose overturned wheelchair lay a few feet away.
“That’s funny, I bet your daddy never had to say that,” Maddie shot back as she slapped a fresh clip into her rifle and began to clear a path ahead of them.
Beside her, Jerry did the same, leaning out of the window to take out as many of the zeds between them and the small side street as he could.
“I hate the fucking suburbs,” Benny growled mounting the curb to cut the corner, taking out a rose bed and a mailbox before tearing up two well-maintained lawns that had been recently fertilized with the blood of the damned.
They made it through the narrow street, which was little more than a widened alleyway that gave way to a set of small summer homes.
“Hard right,” Sanjay called out just as Benny yanked the wheel and spun the beast of a car to the right. They clipped a parked car, obliterating the driver’s side headlights.
“You reckon they want me to leave a note?” Benny asked, unable to help himself.
“Just keep driving. Your no-claims bonus is still safe,” Jerry said from the back seat.
They made it through the winding streets of the suburb’s inner sanctum and only once got stuck in a cul-de-sac that saw them make a very tight three-point turn amidst a fleet of brand new SUVs and minivans, all of which screamed lease rental.
The unit made it past the blockade and into a quiet, more expensive residential area. Gone were the small roads and warren-like pathways, and instead they were treated to large, sprawling lawns, and driveways filled with Mercedes and high-end Lexus cars. Three-story homes with adjoining garages, extensions, and no doubt swimming pools in the rear.
“We made it, boys,” Lou called down to them, taking the chance to jump down to the ground. There were a few zeds lumbering around, but their numbers far less concentrated than on the other side of the barrier.
ZPOC: The Beginning Page 6
