“Tom!” Allison said, motioning me to join her.
“Quiet,” I responded in a low voice as I made my way over to her. She pointed outside. I saw dark streets, gaunt trees, and then, as my eyes adjusted, hundreds of creatures heading toward the hospital like a crashing wave. Even if we managed to escape this building alive we were still looking at a desperate journey back to the rowboat.
“No, not there, below!” she breathed heavily into my ear. I looked down and saw the rear parking lot with a handful of cars. And directly below us was what appeared to be some sort of loading dock. A semi-truck and trailer had been backed in here. A dangerous idea immediately formed in my head, but it was still better than getting overwhelmed in the tight quarters of this room.
“Stand back,” I said, pulling Allison back from the window. I brought up the shotgun, placed the end of the barrel close to the window, and fired. With a crash the glass shattered. That would bring the pursuers to us so the next step had to be done quickly. I used the butt of the shotgun and began to dislodge large fragments of the remaining glass. It only took a few seconds to make a hole big enough for one of us to get through. I took the bag and threw it down on top of the trailer, where it slid a foot or two before coming to a rest.
“You’re next,” I told Allison.
She looked scared but any apprehension of the distance was removed by the pounding at the locked door. The interior glass broke and a vampire rushed us. While Allison jumped, I turned and fired, killing the creature with a blast of lead. Another one took its place, running at me like a rabid animal. I heard Allison hit the top of the trailer. I fired again but didn’t take the time to see the damage I had inflicted. I was out of ammo and out of time. Turning I grabbed the edges of the window ledge, saw that my companion had scrambled away to give me room, and then jumped.
Landing feet first was a mistake. The jar on the bottom of my shoes was so hard that I bit my tongue. I could taste blood. I fell to my knees and half-rolled to my side, banging the shotgun butt against the thin aluminum roof of the trailer. It didn’t feel like anything was broken but both of my legs were in a lot of pain. A rifle shot snapped me out of my panicked thoughts. Lifting my head up I saw Allison on her knees, pointing the rifle up at the window we had just jumped out of. She fired again. I scrambled away in time just as a dying vampire struck the roof, just where I had been lying.
From there it was a mad scramble. I grabbed the bag, and nudged Allison on. She was looking as scared as I felt. We slid on to the truck roof and from there the hood; finally falling to the pavement. With a limp, I ran toward the street. Allison was next to me, breathing hard. There were houses here, little ranches squashed tightly together. I picked one at random, a brick house with a pickup truck parked in the driveway. The grass was long and tangled. The front door was closed and the windows were still intact. I headed toward the backyard, pushed a gate open and let Allison past. I was past the point of thought, instead I reacted by instinct as I busted out a back window with the butt of the shotgun. I cleared out the broken glass and then boosted my companion up so she could slither inside.
“It’s okay,” she said. “No one is here.”
I was glad that she thought so but I didn’t care either way. I just wanted to find somewhere safe until the vampires went back to sleep. Hoisting my body inside, I saw that we were inside of a narrow bathroom. Allison was already at the door, peering through the opening. I sat on the closed toilet seat and began to feel the exhaustion really hit me. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving me feeling lethargic. I could only give myself a few seconds rest. I didn’t know if we had been seen going to this house. If we had, then the vampires would surely lay siege. The shotgun needed reloading and defenses would need to be prepared. Stifling a groan, I stood up and began to get ready.
October 26th – Night
“Get to the front window,” I said to Allison. “Be on the lookout. Shoot anything that tries to get in.”
With a curt nod, she took off down the hallway. I dropped to my knees, turned on the flashlight, and began to rummage through the canvas bag. It didn’t take too long to find the box of shotgun shells. I quickly reloaded. Afterward I shoved some extra ammunition in my pockets. I stepped into the hallway. I shut the bathroom door, turned the flashlight off, and waited for a few seconds to regain my night vision.
It was dim enough that I could only make out grays and that nighttime blue that was nearly black. As far as I could tell this was a simple house with carpeted floors and a few picture frames on the walls. Doors were to the right while on the left the hallway opened up to a room. I went that direction. A few steps later and I found myself in a kitchen and dining area. This led to a living room with a front door, a couch against one wall, a large flat-panel television, a coffee table, and a stuffed chair. Allison was at the front window, peering through a sliver of an opening through the curtains. She gave me a sidelong glance before returning her attention to the view outside.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“There are hundreds of them outside,” she replied in a low, shaky voice.
“Shit.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know. Are they coming here?”
She shook her head. The movement was barely noticeable in the darkness. “Not yet. It looks like they know we are in the area. They are searching house to house.” That unnatural bat-like chirp echoed against the big pane of glass. “It won’t be long before they discover us,” she added.
“Load up that rifle, but continue to keep watch. I’ll be back in a moment.”
She gave me another glance. “Don’t be gone long. I’m scared as hell.”
“So am I, but we’ll find a way through.” It sounded like a hollow promise; one that I didn’t believe myself. But I wasn’t going to go down without a fight, not when I had Allison to protect, and with Joel and Sarah waiting for us back at the boat.
I went back to the kitchen and left the shotgun on the table. There wasn’t enough room to swing it around where I wanted to go. I found a doorway that led to the basement, and cautiously took the stairs down. It was pitch black down here. I turned the flashlight on again, shielding the beam with a hand so it would be harder to see outside through the high foundation windows. This area was used for storage – boxed holiday ornaments, a freezer that stunk, an old rocking chair, and a table with a sewing machine. But my eyes were drawn to the back area past the heater. Whoever lived here before was an amateur carpenter. There was a long workbench crammed with useless power tools but pegged on the wall were hand tools, including a pair of hammers. I took these last two tools down and crammed the handles into my waistband. I found a jar of nails. On the floor were several lengths of wood. I grabbed as many of the boards as I could handle, tucked them under an arm, and managed to clamber up the stairs, making too much noise as I went.
“What in the hell are you doing?” Allison said, meeting me at the top of the staircase.
“Here,” I said in reply as I turned the flashlight off. “Take these hammers and nails from me. Bring them to the living room. We’re going to fortify the house as best as we can. But we have to hurry.”
“Won’t they hear us hammering away?” she asked skeptically.
I explained: “Of course they will. But if we move quick enough, we can get up some basic defenses. We’ll make up the rest as we go along.”
“You’re insane,” she muttered before walking away with the tools in hand. She didn’t sound too cross though.
I carefully placed the lumber on the living room floor, returned to the basement, and used the flashlight to navigate my way to the rest of the lumber. This time I was able to take a much larger load. I brought this wood upstairs and repeated the trip one more time. After all the wood had been brought upstairs, I sat on the floor and began to sort through them. In a few minutes I had the longest boards separated into their own pile.
“You had better hurry,” Allison hissed at me. “
There is a large group crossing the street and heading straight for us.”
“Grab a hammer and some nails,” I suggested. “We’re going to cover that front window first.”
I lifted and held a long board in place over the window. Allison quickly hammered it into place, using two nails in each side. By the time I had the second piece of wood in my hand, there was a pounding at the door as the creatures tried to find a way in. That strange sound of theirs, like a hunting cry, grew louder as others joined the chorus.
“Hurry!” Allison shouted, holding the hammer in hand like a weapon.
I pushed the wood against the window frame. Allison went to work. As she began to pound in the second nail, the glass shattered. A multitude of hands reached through the broken fragments, trying to push their way into the room. The extremities of the creatures streamed with black blood from the cuts. I leaned against the board while Allison ran to the other side and began hammering away. We had two boards up, but it wasn’t enough. I grabbed a third piece of wood and, as I pulled away from the clutching hands, watched as she stood on her tip-toes, and nailed it into place.
Letting out a breath, I said, “That should hold in place for a few minutes. Let’s get to work on some of the smaller windows before those damn creatures decide to find another way in.”
I scooped up a hammer, took a pocketful of nails, and tucked some boards under my arm. I ran to the bathroom, and began boarding up the window we had smashed to gain entry. I could hear Allison’s hammer going in another room, echoing my own labors. I was about done when I heard a scream.
“Tom!” Allison shouted before letting out another panicked cry for help.
I immediately stopped what I was doing and ran in the direction of her cries. They were coming from the nearest bedroom. Wishing I hadn’t left the shotgun in the kitchen, I charged in with the hammer held high and ready to strike. The window had been broken through and the vampires were crawling through. Allison was on the floor, held down by one, who was about to bite her on the neck.
I took one step and swung the hammer at the creature’s head. Like a ripe watermelon there was an unhealthy sounding thunk, and then a splatter of black blood as he fell sideways. Allison scrambled to the side, rolling and clawing her way to the doorway. I stood my ground so she could make her escape. The horde took no time but instead rushed toward me. They moved as one: a swirling mass of pale, clutching hands and cold eyes that were devoid of any humanity.
I swung the hammer at the closest creature. It fell with a silent scream as the blunt iron struck the side of the neck. The next one leapt toward me. A quick blow to the top of the head and it slumped forward. These early casualties meant nothing to the attacking mass; they merely stepped on and over their downed comrades to continue to make their assault. There were too many of them. I stepped back, swinging the hammer at anything that got close. With too many targets I couldn’t keep up. One grabbed me by the foot and tried to take a bite. I gave it a kick but the motion made me unbalanced. I fell backwards, the back of my head hitting the edge of the open door. I saw stars and nearly blacked out. I felt hands clawing at my pant legs, pulling me into the horde where I would be eaten alive.
A loud blast woke me up from my daze. The hands that were clawing at me stopped. I felt something warm cover my legs. I blinked my eyes open. From my vantage point I could see Allison at the doorway, shotgun in hand. She racked another shell and fired over me. The sound was deafening. I looked where she was firing. In that small space the buckshot had done terrible damage, leaving a mess of black blood and crippled creatures. But the fight hadn’t left the vampires: the wounded crawled toward me while the undamaged ones in back climbed over the dead to continue the attack.
Allison shouted, “Move it, Tom!”
I managed to scramble to my knees and crawl past her. She shut the door, clutched the doorknob, and pulled; trying to stop the horde from coming through. I took a few deep breaths to steady myself. When I had enough strength to stand, I turned, and placed my hands over hers.
“I’ll take it from here. Just find a way out.”
With a nod, she let go of the doorknob. I immediately felt the pressure as the creatures on the other side tried to open it. But they were apparently massed against the door, making it hard to open as the press of bodies became more of an obstacle. The wood of the frame creaked and groaned from their combined weight. I wondered how much longer the door would last before it was broken down.
“Tom!” Allison shouted from only a few steps away. She was inside a closet, looking upward. “There’s away up into the attic here.”
I let go of the knob. The door did not burst open due to the number of creatures crammed together on the other side, but it wouldn’t take them long to get through. Running over to her I fished the flashlight out of my pocket and shined the beam up to the ceiling. Past the shelves and winter coats there was a wood trapdoor large enough for a person to squeeze through. Without saying anything, I got on my knees and cradled my fingers together. Allison stepped into my hands. I boosted her up so she could reach the trapdoor. With a push, she opened it and clambered inside, the shotgun clattering against the wood.
I shut the closet door and, with flashlight in mouth, began to use the shelves to climb. Allison’s arm shot out from the dark opening above. I grabbed it. She gave a grunt as I used her helping hand. And then I managed to find the very edge of the open trapdoor. With my remaining strength I clambered into the attic. While I lay on a hard wooden floor, I heard Allison place the trapdoor back into place.
“Now what?” she whispered.
“We wait. I left that damn bag filled with medicine down in the living room. We can’t very well leave without it.”
“The rifle is in the living room,” she added.
I took the flashlight – now in my hand – and shone it around the attic. There was nothing here but a low roof, piles of insulation, and few boards to make up the rough floor. No windows. “Unless we want to brave another fight, we’ll just have to stick it out here.”
“I guess we’re trapped.”
The sound from below grew raucous as the vampires began to tear through the house, searching for us. I could hear doors being torn open, glass smashed, and their eerie hunting wail only became louder. I took the shotgun back from my companion and reloaded it. Then I shut the flashlight off and waited. There was nothing else to do.
Allison spoke the words going around in my head: “I hope Joel makes it through the night.”
“Me too,” I said without hope.
October 27th – Morning
I awoke and felt an uncomfortable lump resting on my thigh. I was hunched over in a sitting position with a painful kink in my back. Opening my eyes it took a moment to realize where I was: sitting on the floor of this dusty attic with Allison’s head resting on my lap. I was supposed to have been standing guard while she slept but I had joined her in a deep slumber. Luckily we had not been disturbed.
Glancing around, I wondered where the source of dim light was coming from. There, in the center of the peak of the roof was a small opening for ventilation. Indirect sunlight shone through the slats, giving the room an eerie look. Allison was giving a gentle snore, looking so much at peace that I didn’t want to disturb her. But I had Joel to consider. The minutes were ticking by and he must be in considerable pain. I gave her a gentle shake.
Those lovely eyelids fluttered open. She gave me a smile that just creased the edges of her mouth. “Hello,” she said in a low voice.
“Good morning.”
“The world outside still shot to hell?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“At least we’re still alive.”
“Yeah.”
She got up and stretched, her hands brushing the top of the ceiling. I pried open the trapdoor, flicked on the flashlight, and shone the beam into the closet space below. There was nothing but jackets strewn on the floor. I lowered myself down, slowly opened the door, and looked down the
hallway. From my position it looked as if the house had been trashed in the vampire’s frustrated search for us. I helped Allison down.
“Are we alone?” she asked.
“It’s daylight now, so those creatures went back to their hiding spot in the hospital. Or else they’re sleeping down in this basement.”
Allison grimaced. “I sure hope not. Well I have to take a pee. I’ll be right back.”
“You’re not the only one, but ladies first. I’ll see if the rest of our stuff is still around.”
She headed toward the bathroom, though anyplace would have done since there was no running water. I supposed it was habit. With the shotgun cradled in my arm, I went to the living room. There I saw the boards we had put up had been ripped away, the chair overturned, and the sofa cushions removed and torn open. But there was the canvas bag full of medicine, looking as if it had been battered around before coming to rest in the corner, away from the damage. I pulled it away to a clear spot and opened it. The medicine and other supplies were still inside, looking none the worse for wear. The rifle was on the floor, and still looked serviceable. I felt a sense of relief.
Allison and I left the house, going out through the front door. Except for a few sparrows chirping in the trees, the street was quiet. We walked toward the docks, going quickly, but not fast enough to walk into any sort of trap. At this point I wasn’t fearing the vampires, but any uninfected survivors desperate enough to see what we were carrying. But there was no one. The only movement I saw was a plastic bag being blown along by the wind. No matter how many times I ventured out in the deserted cities, I knew I would never lose the feeling that I was being watched by some malevolent force. I was glad to have Allison at my side even though she seemed as unnerved as I was. Last night had been a near thing; we both owed each other our lives.
I had a fear that the rowboat would be missing. But when we got to the waterfront, not only was it there, but the paddleboat was waiting out in the middle of the river. The white paint seemed to shine in the morning sun.
The Dead Are Sleeping Page 16
