by Steven Till
“Yeah, of course,” Nathan said. “We still don’t know if we’re in for any trouble here, so keep your eyes peeled.”
“Like bananas, bro.”
The pair made their way down the tunnel, not sure of the direction they were going. They moved silently and kept their focus on any hunters that might already be in there with them. Five minutes later, they approached one of the entrances. Orange, flickering light cast strange, dancing shadows onto the tunnel ceiling and walls, framing the abandoned cars in an eerie silhouette. Nathan cursed to himself, because he could see the burning city beyond the tunnel. They had gone the wrong way. Something else caught his eye. Movement.
Nathan grabbed Ronnie by the shoulder and pulled him down behind a car. He pointed to the scattered cars at the mouth of the tunnel. Squinting his eyes against the glare, Ronnie saw what had spooked his buddy. Crouched behind the various wrecks, were dozens of creepers. Nathan had been right, there was a trap waiting for them. The dumb fuckers thought they’d be walking past the entrance; they weren't expecting the pair to come from inside the tunnel.
Ronnie made the “let’s get the hell out of here” hand signal and faded back into the darkness from which they came. Nathan was right on his heels. Once they had put enough distance between themselves and the now failed sneak-attack, Nathan was the first to open his mouth.
“She’s close, man,” he said.
“Who? You mean that psycho Sunshine chick?”
“Yep. Those assholes back there didn’t think to wait there all on their own. She told them to wait there, which means that she’s close by. My bet, is that her and her minions are sitting right above us, just waiting for you and me to stroll on by.”
Ronnie contemplated this as they continued towards the other entrance. “Ya know, I’m starting to hate that bitch,” he said as he started laughing.
“Shhhh!” Nathan implored.
It was too late. Ronnie’s chuckle had bounced its way down to the other end of the tunnel and alerted the dead that lay in wait. Zeroing in on the sound, they began sprinting towards the other end.
****************
Sunshine hissed in pleasure. Her soldiers had located the two young zombies and were now in pursuit. Her hiss evolved into a demonic cackle as she leaped of the overlook edge and somersaulted into a controlled slide down the massive hillside. An instant later she landed hard on the concrete, causing a spider web of cracks to spread from under her feet.
Without hesitation, she charged into the dark opening which penetrated the mountainside. Her children poured onto the pavement behind her and followed her like a tsunami of death.
****************
“Fuck, we need to haul ass!” Nathan exclaimed as he heard the ensuing Horde billowing behind them. They began to sprint towards the gloomy light ahead, the entrance and their salvation growing closer with every step.
“We’ve got to get to the river!” he yelled as they emerged from the tunnel.
They darted to the right and ran into the brush that lined Route 51, which ran parallel to Mt. Washington. If they followed the road, it would lead them to the West End Circle, and in turn, the West End Bridge. Nathan knew that the bridge was likely destroyed by the military, but he had a hunch that there would still be a detachment of troops there. Behind them, they could hear the wails and screams of their pursuers.
They kept off the road and continued to travel through the dense trees and brush. Despite the rough terrain, the two companions were covering ground in good time, attempting to put some distance between them and that demonic little girl. Unfortunately, their progress wasn’t enough to grant them safety. The throngs of dead warriors were gaining on them, their cries of blood-thirst amplified with every passing moment.
The West End Circle was now in sight, and just as he had hoped, the regular Army did in fact post a company of soldiers at the bridge. Looking up to the sky, he saw the large moon overhead. Kinda wish the clouds would come back. That moonlight is going to make it hard for us to get close to those soldiers undetected.
“Alright buddy, we’re heading for the Army, okay?” Nathan called to Ronnie.
“Which one? The one in front of us, or the one behind us?” he said with a chuckle.
“Ahead of us. Go as fast as you can when I say so. This is going to get pretty messy. We’ll need to kick a little ass for a few seconds, but once the Horde arrives, we should be able to break away from the fight.”
Sunshine was close. He could feel her mind probing his subconscious, trying to snake into his thoughts. She called his name, but the voice didn’t sound like that of a child. It sounded older, like a woman. No, not like a woman, more like a strange combination of woman and child, as if two voices were being overlaid on top of each other; they were saying the same words, but out of sync.
Nathan shook his head, trying to jar the voices from his consciousness. He and Ronnie closed in on the soldiers ahead, their body heat and life force illuminating the pair’s enhanced vision. Behind them, the marauding zombies were right on their heels. The undead soldiers at the head of the pack pushed on with renewed vigor; the sight of their prey within their grasp only motivated them further.
“Look sharp buddy, we’re going to be in the shit here any moment. Stick close, I don’t want to get separated when this gets ugly,” he yelled.
“No worries, bro. I don’t plan on getting shredded all by myself,” Ronnie replied, glancing behind them. “Fuck, they’re right on top of us!”
Nathan looked back, his friend was right. A mass of bodies rolled with a swell of bloody claws, teeth, and bodies—gaining speed as they chased them down the slight hill that ended at the West End Bridge. He moved his attention back to the unit of troops ahead. Fifty yards away and closing fast. He could see some of the soldiers look in their direction, scared shitless. They no doubt heard the Horde’s carnality steaming full-speed towards their position.
Nathan gave one last instruction to Ronnie before they reached the encampment. “Head to their left and try to circle behind them. We need the mob to hit them head-on.” Before Ronnie could answer, they were upon the troops.
The sound of machine gun fire erupted into the night as the two zombies leaped into the air and sailed over the razor-wire barricades that circled the Army. Landing smack dab in the middle of the enemy, they ducked, rolled, jumped, and dodged their way towards the far left, pushing deeper into the humans’ defenses. Almost immediately, the Horde thundered through the barricades as if they weren’t even there. The razor-wire shredded the zombies in the front of the mob; limbs, heads, and guts rained down upon the terrified soldiers as the swarm of dead pushed through.
The pair could feel countless bullets pelt their flesh as they made their way behind the embattled humans. Luckily, the arrival of Sunshine’s attack drew the attention of the troops closest to them, lowering the chance of receiving a well-placed headshot. Nathan risked a glance at the slaughter unfolding before them. The Army was vastly outnumbered. To their credit though, they were putting up a hell of a fight. Dozens upon dozens of dead-heads piled up as mounted .50 caliber guns sprayed lead into the maelstrom of zombies that kept pouring into the fray.
The plan was working. Although this fight wouldn’t last more than a few minutes, the soldiers were a venerable buffet of living deliciousness that the Horde just couldn’t resist. As more and more of the battalion fell, more and more zombies hungrily stopped to gorge on the fresh kills. Blood-lust overcame any sense of purpose that they might have had; the thoughts of their pursuit a distant memory. Flesh, blood, feed. Those were the priority now.
“We need to get the fuck outta here, bro!” Ronnie yelled over the bullet storm, barely audible over the battle which raged around them.
Nathan nodded and pointed to a small patch of woods across the street to the left, diagonal to their position. Ronnie acknowledged and the two friends continued to duck, dodge, and parry the attacks hurled at them by both human and zombie enemies. They were close to
the outer edge of the battle now, the relative safety of the trees a mere forty yards away.
As they scurried past an armored transport vehicle, a large, muscular human rounded the corner and slammed right into Ronnie. The enlisted man stared in bewilderment at the zombie before him, who was staring back with equal confusion. The solder began to raise his rifle; Ronnie sprang from the ground and somersaulted over the lumberjack of a man. When he landed, Ronnie was holding the soldier’s head in his hands like a basketball.
He ran on, chasing after Nathan, who was still bolting towards the woods. Within seconds the dead duo were weaving through the dense thicket of trees. They paused, looking back at the continuing melee between human and undead.
Amazingly enough, nobody noticed them. The dead-heads were way too deep in their blood-lust to pay much attention to anything other than the bountiful feast before them. As for the soldiers, well, they would be ecstatic to have two less things standing there trying to kill them. For the moment, they were safe.
“There aren’t enough trees here to keep us hidden for more than a couple of minutes. We need to keep moving,” Nathan observed. “We should continue north-west and follow the river. These woods should end by some buildings that we could use for cover.”
“Cool, man. Let’s boogie,” Ronnie replied.
They moved through the remaining trees and came across the first in a long string of abandoned buildings that lined Route 51, which followed the Ohio River northwest. Breaking through a boarded up window, the friends climbed inside the decrepit structure. The building was empty, save for random bits of garbage left behind by various squatters and homeless who had called the place home.
“Shit, I gotta stop for a bit,” Nathan said, leaning against a door frame.
“You tired?” Ronnie asked. “I didn’t think we got tired, being dead and all.”
“No, I’m not tired, but I don’t feel right. Something’s wrong. I can’t really explain what though.”
Ronnie gave him a quizzical look and then shrugged. “Whatever you need man.”
“Thanks.”
He rubbed his temples with the large bony knuckles of his claws; his head was throbbing from Sunshine’s earlier intrusion into his thoughts. He still couldn’t make sense of it all and he didn’t understand how she could get into his head like that.
A loud crack echoed throughout the room, followed by some kind of squishy sound. Nathan lowered his hands and looked up to find Ronnie holding a severed head in his arm like a popcorn bowl. The top of the skull had been ripped clean off, exposing the blood-coated gray matter inside. Ronnie was casually scooping up a hand full of brain and shoveling it into his mouth.
“Dude, really?” Nathan asked.
“Hey bro, I’m a fucking zombie and I would feel like an asshole if I didn’t at least see what the big deal about brains was all about,” Ronnie said in his own defense.
“Honestly, I can’t argue with that logic,” Nathan said with a chuckle. “So what’s it taste like?”
Ronnie scooped another dollop out of the skull-bowl with one of his clawed fingers and licked it off. “Hmmm. Ya know, it kinda tastes like cold Dinty Moore Beef Stew.”
“Well, I guess there’s worse things it could taste like.” he jibed. “Don’t forget buddy, you’re not going to want to eat a lot of that. Wouldn’t want you to go feral on me.”
“Yeah, I know,” he replied, looking a little disappointed. “Too bad, it’s pretty damn good. I can understand why zombies always ask for it in the movies.” With a sad look on his face, Ronnie tossed the head out the same window they had broken into not two minutes prior.
The pair sat in silence for a few minutes while they figured out their next move. The sound of death floated in the air from the continuing battle between living and dead. From the sound if things, it seemed as though the humans were losing quite horribly. It wouldn’t be long before the dead ran out of fresh prey and resumed their pursuit.
Nathan looked at his friend, who sat there in a stupor, staring into nothingness. No doubt that feeding on human flesh had begun to affect Ronnie’s cognitive ability. Although he hadn’t eaten a lot of it, what little he had was beginning to wear away at his humanity. Nathan regarded this for a moment and decided that the best way to help his best friend was to keep him engaged, keep him thinking.
“Hey man, whatcha think?”
The glassy look in Ronnie’s eyes dissipated as Nathan’s question jarred him back to reality. “Huh? Oh, um...about what?”
“What do you think we should do now?” he asked.
“Oh. Well, I’m guessing those creepers are just about done grubbing on those soldier boys, so we should boogie on outta here.”
“I think that’s a great plan,” Nathan replied, a smile on his face. “We should continue along the river a bit further before crossing to the northern shore.”
“Aces, bro,” Ronnie said, giving the thumbs up.
They vacated the building and continued down Route 51, running as fast as their dead legs would take them. They both knew that the more distance they put between themselves and Satan's daughter and her minions, the better. After traveling about five hundred yards, they crossed the road and headed towards the river bank, or at least as close to the water as possible. The further north they went, the more sparse the development along the river. Buildings gave way to parking lots, which then gave way to dense foliage and vegetation. With a little luck, it would provide the cover that they needed to lose Sunshine and the Horde.
CHAPTER 32 THE CROSSING
Boomer forged through the cold and snow, keeping a vigilant eye on the moon above. The strange voice inside his head had told him to cross the river when the moon was highest and that time was fast approaching. As he ran underneath the West End Bridge, he could hear screams from both humans and those awful creatures. The smell of blood and death hung in the air like a wet blanket.
Boomer sped past the bridge and continued on, determined to reach Master as the voice had promised he would. The thought of seeing his human drove him to ignore the throbbing in his shoulder, the hunger in his belly, and the cold which permeated through every muscle.
His thoughts turned to Lady. He was ashamed that he failed to protect her; to protect their home. It was his job to guard the house and everything, and everyone, inside it. Boomer hoped that Master would not be angry with him, as he couldn’t bear the thought of letting Master down.
Lady had left and never came back. She could have went to the other lady’s house down the street, but he would never know. Those strange creatures were everywhere; trying to get him. All he could do was escape and try to find Master. He would know what to do.
The dog's excitement grew as he glanced at the moon again. It was at its highest point in the sky; time to swim. He slowed to a trot and then a walk. Surveying the river bank, he found a spot that gave him the best access to the water.
He weaved his way down to his chosen entry point. Upon reaching the shoreline, he paused; exhausted from his journey, Boomer knew that crossing the frigid waters would be difficult. After only a moment’s hesitation, he walked into the icy Ohio River and began to swim. His eyes fixated on the distant shore ahead.
The freezing water made it hard to breath and caused his muscles to cramp, but Boomer swam on, fighting both the current and the cold. It was slow-going; he only made it halfway across after ten minutes of swimming. He was exhausted and started to doubt his ability to navigate the river.
[“Do not give up hope little one. You are almost at the end of your journey. Your master is near! You must not give up now! He needs you more than you realize.”]
The soothing voice filled his head as before. It calmed and motivated him all at the same time. He struggled forward against the current, each kick of his legs burned. His head dipped below the water, the river spilled into his lungs as he struggled to breathe. Managing to get his head above water, he coughed hard to clear his lungs as he fought to stay afloat.
A loud splash sounded in behind him, although he couldn’t tell for sure, as he himself splashed trying to keep his head above water. Beneath the choppy river surface, a large dark shape sped from shore and torpedoed straight for the dog. A moment later, the large form was under the struggling dog.
Boomer was losing the battle against the cold and his fatigue. Again he went underwater, the river flowing into his little lungs. Something beneath his feet lifted him up above the water surface. Fear bubbled up as the unknown creature below him continued to speed towards the opposite shore. His body emerged above the waterline; only his paws remained submerged.
He stood on the unknown form as it cut through the water effortlessly. He barked at the mysterious thing below, which felt strange on his paws. The rough surface shimmered and glinted in the moonlight. He stopped barking when the soothing voice returned.
[“Calm yourself. I am here with you and I will not let you drown. I will carry you to the shore and then you can continue your journey to your master. You are so close, you must not give up now.”]
Boomer barked an affirmative yelp in understanding and leaned forward into the breeze. The shore line was fast approaching. Seconds later, the form below him dove deeper, disappearing into the depths, which allowed the dog to swim on his own again. Kicking his legs and pulling from the last vestiges of energy that he had, he swam the remaining twenty feet to the river bank. The hulking creature that had just saved him from the icy depths of the Ohio River was already a distant memory. All he could think about was Master.
Shaking vigorously, he dried off as much as possible. Once he expelled the majority of the water, he warmed up a little and was able to continue on. With a quick sniff of the air and a determined bark, Boomer ran. He could sense that Master was near and that excited him; his tail wagged as he resumed his search. He dashed away from the river, crossing the four-lane road that ran parallel to the water, and disappeared into the woods.
