Dead World Rising

by Katerina Petrova

  'Come on, we need to keep them at bay,' I told the others.

  'Don't worry, we're going to make it out of here,' Delilah said fiercely.

  'Damn right, we didn't come this far to die now,' Jensen agreed. I kept shooting, while they plunged their knives into a corpses that got too close. I could feel the dead crowding us, the deathly smell of rotting flesh filled my nose, I felt the fear rise up in me but I refused to give up. I ran out of arrows, so I took my knife out, stabbing one that was near me. I saw the bodies on the floor of all the dead we took out, but we'd barely made a dent. I kept fighting, kept going, I wouldn't let the others down.

  'Fuck, this fog is getting worse,' Delilah said panicked. 'We have to keep fighting, the others...will...be...back,' I replied through gritted teeth as I took out another one.

  I surged forward, grabbing a corpse by what little hair it had left and slammed its face into the ground. I kept smashing until it laid still, I jumped out of the way as another one came at me, Jensen was right there to kill it.

  'Ah shit!' Delilah cried in pain. I turned to see her pulling a walker off her hand, oh fuck it had bit her. I raced over to it and booted it straight in the stomach, I stomped on its head until I felt its brain squelch beneath my feet. Jensen kept the dead off of us while I dealt with Delilah.

  'Oh god, where did it bite you?' I asked frantically.

  'My fucking finger, it bit off part off my little finger,' she cried out in pain.

  'It's fine, we can stop you turning!' I exclaimed.

  'Do it,' was all she said. I had to work fast, Jensen couldn't keep them off us for long. I told her to sit on the floor, she placed her hand on the concrete. I pulled out what little bandages we had left, I looked down to see the veins spreading down what remained of her finger. I placed my knife at the very base of her finger, I closed my eyes trying to block out the sound of her screaming. I went as fast as I could, fearing for Jensen's life. I felt her bone crack as I carved my way through it, I pushed down harder on the knife, trying to work faster.

  'There, it's off,' I said with relief.

  I wrapped the bandages round her hand over the wound, and tied it as tight as it would go.

  'Thanks, let's hope it works,' she replied tiredly.

  'Jensen needs help, can you fight?' I asked urgently.

  She nodded fiercely. We rejoined Jensen, he'd taken out a good dozen of them, I had to admit I was impressed. My energy levels were depleting, I found it hard to focus but I shook it off. I killed another one, jumping back as a couple lunged for me.

  'We can't keep this up!' Jensen shouted.

  'Where the hell are the others?' I said fearfully.

  'Are you sure they're coming back? I don't trust Troy,' Delilah replied tiredly. 'They'll be back, I have faith,' I told her. In truth I feared she was right, Troy had tried to get them to leave Jade behind, he might not want to come back for us. Brooke was a scaredy cat, odds are she'd stay where it was safe. I knew Tessa would come back for us, she would never leave us to die. Same with Jade, but she could barely walk so she'd have to stay where it was safe.

  This fight was getting impossible, we threw the dead back but they kept coming. I kicked a female corpse that was trying to take a chunk out of my leg, I stomped on her head as I somehow managed to dodge another one. I shoved my knife into its head, struggling to stay awake. In the midst of the battle I had not noticed just how dark it had gotten, the sun had well and truly set, we were surrounded by dead in dark of night, in the middle of a misty village. Nothing about this suggested we would survive, could it be that our luck had finally run out?

  'Frankie, Jensen, Delilah!' I heard Tessa shout.

  'We're over here,' I called back.

  I turned to see a light, she flashed it on and off.

  'Follow the light,' she told us.

  I grabbed Jensen and Delilah's hand, pulling them towards the light.

  'I can't see shit,' Delilah said.

  'Just follow the light,' Tessa replied. We fumbled through the darkness, following our one and only light. The corpses followed, trying to run after us. We kept going, holding on to each other as we went. Upon hearing a loud growl, I turned to take out a walker before it could get to Jensen.

  'Come on you lot,' Tessa called.

  'We're coming, but the dead are on our tail,' I told her. We turned, trying to fight the dead as we backed away. I could still see Tessa's light, but we couldn't get to it. Each time we turned around, a corpse almost got one of us. The dizzy feeling returned as I stabbed and slashed my way through the walkers.

  'Frankie, Frankie, are you alright?' Jensen asked panicked.

  'Y-yeah, I'm fine, we need to keep going,' I replied feeling out of breath. They pulled me along as I struggled to see through the dizziness, oh damn it, I'd forgotten to drink anything today. Ugh, I was stupid. My forgetfulness had put us in danger. I could feel myself getting weaker, with each corpse I killed my sight grew dimmer, my heart beat faster. If we didn't get out of here soon, I was going to become a liability.

  'Here, take her,' I heard Delilah say.

  I felt myself be passed into someone's arms, I could barely see, but I saw Jensen holding me. He put my arms over his shoulders and his arm around me, he ran, almost dragging me along with him. 'Come on babe, we're almost there,' he said gently.

  'Where's Delilah,' I muttered.

  'Don't worry she's coming,' he replied.

  'I'm so thirsty,' I told him.

  'When was the last time you had anything to drink?' He asked worryingly.

  'Yesterday afternoon,' I replied weakly.

  'Jesus woman, you need to take better care of yourself,' he told me gently.

  I gave him a weak smile, I knew he'd remind me from now on. We kept walking, I was getting worried about Delilah, she hadn't caught up to us yet.

  'There you are, I thought I'd lost you for a minute there. What's wrong with Frankie?' Tessa asked concernedly.

  'She's weak, she forgot to drink anything,' he told me.

  'Where's Delilah?' She asked fearfully.

  'I'm here,' Delilah said breathlessly.

  'Come on then, we've found somewhere safe,' Tessa replied. Jensen and Delilah kept hold of me as we ran from the horde, we rounded the corner, we were near a farm, that much I could tell. Tessa's flash light was the only thing helping us to see, but it was also drawing the biters to us.

  'How far is this place?' Jensen asked urgently.

  'Not far, about five minutes,' Tessa replied.

  'Are they safe?' I asked quietly.

  'Yes they're fine, don't worry.'

  We ran across the field, the horde on our tail. I could still hear the growling, feel their hunger, I kept trying to run but it was getting increasingly difficult.

  'I-I can't run any more,' I told them weakly.

  'I'll carry her,' Jensen said.

  He picked me up and flung me over his shoulder, how on earth did he get so strong, I wondered. Being over his shoulder didn't help, the motion as he ran made me feel sick.

  'It's just over there,' Tessa told us. 'Where, I don't see anything,' Delilah replied fearfully. I opened my eyes to see the front of the horde, I noticed one walker that stood out. It's face barely more than bone, it's skin hung off in pieces. I saw it fall as it tried to run on it's broken leg. It was once female, it wore a dress, a large puffy, sapphire blue wedding dress. The corset part hung of its skeletal frame, there was no shoes on it's mouldy looking feet. Before I knew what was happening, I was through some kind of door. Jensen put me down on the floor, while Delilah slammed and bolted the door behind us.

  'Where are we?' I murmured as Jensen gave me some water.

  'In a bunker, underneath a shed on a farm,' Jade told me.

  'Is it safe? What about the horde?' Jensen asked panicked.

  'It's reinforced steel, this door was build to survive bombings, it'll hold against the dead,' Tessa replied as I heard a loud bang of thunder from outside.

  'Looks like we got
here just in time,' Delilah sighed with relief.

  'That's one heck of a storm,' Troy chimed in as another bang echoed through the sky.

  'How much food do we have?' I asked, feeling a little better.

  'We've enough to last a week, plus while Tessa was out getting you lot I picked some berries off a bush,' Troy replied. The biters were trying to claw their way in, it was no use, they couldn't reach us but they could still smell us. Who knew how long they were going to keep trying to get in, it could be a day, a week or longer. We couldn't just sit and wait them out, we'd starve.

  'For now, this is our home,' Jade said as if reading my mind. Great, I thought bitterly. In the end Jade's vision had come true, the only thing we could be thankful of is that we were all still alive. How long we would all stay alive for, was another question. Who knew how long we would be trapped down here for, it could be a day, a week or even longer. All I knew was that, I'd do anything to keep my family alive. This would truly be a test for us, would we still be as close after being trapped in dank, mouldy, smelly bunker? Only time would tell.

  Chapter 31

  Roy

  In these last three months we'd scoured all of southern Scotland, frantically searching for Finn and his family yet still we couldn't find them. Now we'd arrived at the so called 'Sanctuary' only to find it had been burned to the ground. There was nothing left but rotting bodies on the floor and a few corpses roaming around, which we took care of swiftly. God damn it, the General was already pissed at me for 'letting' his troops get killed. Fortunately for us he didn't suspect the truth. If he did, we'd all be dead. He was going to be even more pissed when I told him we still couldn't find Finn, Faye or Morgan.

  'What do we do now Major General?' Asked Willow worryingly.

  'Check the bodies, make sure Finn and Faye aren't among them,' I told her sounding much more calm than I was.

  'You heard him troops, search the bodies,' she shouted. I walked around the compound, trying to remember what Finn and Faye looked like. If I recalled correctly, Finn was a tall, skinny boy of fifteen with long scraggy blond hair and blue eyes. His sister looked more or less the same except she was two years younger than him. There didn't appear to be any sign of them here, maybe they weren't here when this place was burned down or they could have been lucky and got away.

  In a country where there was less half a million people actually alive, how was it possible we couldn't even find two kids? I checked inside the houses as I went round the town, finding nothing but more burned bodies. Someone had clearly been here and made sure that these people wouldn't come back. It looked as though there had been a battle here, who was it between I wondered? We'd heard of slavers setting up camp in various places, but given how well fortified this place had been I didn't think that a group of men could have taken this place.

  Then again in this world people often surprised you, and not in good ways. I walked into one house that looked to be still intact, it would have been a beautiful place to live. If only we could have gotten here before this happened, we could have helped these people to survive.

  That was why I joined the army in the first place, I wanted to stop the worlds horror's and help those in need. Yet since the outbreak I feared that the army had done more damage than good, there were many factions that were just like General Ronald's men. Too many for my liking, neither I or any of my people enjoyed killing we did out of necessity when there was no other choice.

  I looked around the house feeling relieved that his men were no longer here, the only sad thing about it was having to also kill Kitaro. He wasn't like his peers, he only pretended to be. We couldn't take any chances though, we had to eliminate any chance of General Ronald finding out.

  We drove to Greenfield in silence, I was surprised that Leroy and his men had kept quiet usually they were as loud as they came. I kept looking in the mirror at them, to see what expressions were on their cold, uncaring faces. While the drive only took half an hour, it felt we were trapped in the uncomfortable silence for hours, each second took a minute to go by and I kept trying to keep a steady face on. Neither Leroy or Joseph betrayed any emotion in their faces, but Kitaro was a different matter. He sat looking out the window with such a look of melancholy on his yellow tinged face, that if he were not one of Leroy's men I would have comforted him. Willow looked at me and smiled, her soft face tinged with worry.

  'We're here,' Willow said as we pulled into the old supermarket.

  I nodded as I got out of the car, I decided it was best to do this indoors so they could not escape.

  'I want to check the supermarket, it could still have supplies that we need,' I told them.

  'I think my men and I will wait outside,' Leroy replied plainly.

  Damn it, while they didn't know what we were planning it seemed as though they weren't going to make this easy for us.

  'Actually Leroy, I'd like to go with them,' Kitaro told him. I was surprised at why he'd want to come with us, and while now there was a mask disguising his earlier sorrow I couldn't help but wonder. He'd never been outwardly rude like his comrades, nor did he enjoy killing. Could it be that he wanted them dead as well? Leroy didn't look shocked or annoyed at Kitaro wanting to disobey his order, he merely shrugged as we walked towards the shop.

  'Lance, Jack I want you two inside first. Make sure there's nothing near the doors,' I ordered.

  'Yes sir,' they replied in unison.

  'Jackie, Willow you take the back while Kitaro and I take the middle. Once we're inside, I want you two, on watch. Jack, Lance, Kitaro and I will search the shop, Is that clear?' 'They all nodded, I wasn't being sexist by keeping Jackie and Willow at the back, I just knew that Leroy and Joseph decided to sneak up on us, the girls would sense it sooner. I walked with Kitaro by my side and found he was dissimilar to his people in the sense that being next to him didn't put me on edge or inspire fear in me. I waited for Lance and Jack to open the doors, to our relief no infected jumped out and we heard no moans to suggest that was any within the store. I nodded to the girls as Kitaro and I followed my men in.

  As soon the doors were shut and we were out of earshot of Leroy and Joseph, Kitaro's face became one of fear and worry. I turned to him in front of my people and asked him what was going on, he answered with a trembling, frightened response.

  'I know you don't agree with Leroy's methods and to be honest neither do I. I fear what he and the others will do to you, when they realise your being duplicitous and plotting to kill them.'

  I had not expected this, I looked at my people not knowing for once what to do or say. 'Why would you warn us?' I asked sounding more accusatory than I meant. He waved his yellowish hands in front of his terrified face, 'I mean you no harm, I don't want to align myself with that monster Ronald or his lackey's. You think you know, what they're capable of trust me you know nothing,' he said nervously.

  'Have you been through his punishment program?' Lance wondered.

  'Yeah, I have. I heard the rumours, but never thought it was true.' He pulled up his sleeve to reveal that most the skin that went from just above his wrists to his elbow, was gone. They'd skinned him, I stared at him in horror. I could see that the wound was pretty old, it had obviously began the long and tedious healing process but still it was sickening to think the man in charge of protecting what people were left, was capable of such things. If only that was the worst of it.

  'And that's not all he does,' Kitaro told us tearfully.

  'What do mean?' Willow asked wide eyed. 'If you have any family on the Isle of Wight, he poisons them one by one in their sleep. And as you sit, tied to the chair unable to move as you're forced to watch them die, whatever skin he peels from you he makes you eat it,' he replied as he started to shake.

  After seeing not only the look of pure panic on Kitaro's face but expression's of anger and fear on my troops, I knew, Leroy and his men had to die.

  'How do we get them in here?' I asked fiercely.

  'Feed his ego, tell him there's corp
ses and that you can't handle them alone,' was all Kitaro could get out.

  Poor guy, he looked like he was going to be sick. 'Right, Lance and Jack I want you two near the back of the shop. Keep an eye out for Joseph and Leroy, keep your distance butt make sure they have no room to run,' I said to them as calmly as I could.

  'Understood,' they replied.

  'Jackie and Willow, you'll run out tell them there's ten walkers, play the damsel card,' I told them smiling slightly.

  They nodded determinedly.

  'Kitaro I want you out of sight, don't be seen until they reach the back of the shop. You'll strike them first as they won't expect it from you, can you handle that?' I asked.

  'Just promise, you'll let me join you after this is over,' he pleaded.

  'I promise,' I answered, knowing that I was lying.

  'I'm assuming, we're using knives here Major General?' Jack asked. 'Yes, we don't want to attract any infected. So only use the guns if we have to,' I warned them. Everyone took their positions, while the girls ran out to play damsels. I trusted Kitaro enough to know that he was telling the truth, no one could fake that kind of fear. I waited, hiding behind what used to be the hot food counter. I gripped my knife as I shut down all my emotions, it was something you learned to do in the army. Though it wasn't something I did often, but I knew now if I let my fear take over I would risk not only my life, but the lives of all my people. I'd already broken one promise to my baby sister, by not returning home. I would not break my promise to keep my troops alive by screwing this up.

  A few moments later I heard the girls, Joseph and Leroy run in. I could see Kitaro from here and nodded at him to strike as soon as they came in sight.

  'Their over near back, the dead have got them cornered!' Shouted Jackie fearfully. I could see why the army made use of Kitaro, he crept up behind Joseph knife in hand and pounced before he knew what hit him. By the time Leroy had noticed it was too late, Kitaro had slit Joseph's throat. The rest of us lunged while he was distracted, I was the first one there, I pounced on him knocking Leroy to floor. Lance and Jack made sure they grabbed his weapons, while the girls ensured that Joseph wouldn't come back. I pinned Leroy down as he screamed.