The Horror Squad: Mini Series

by TJ Weeks

  Zombies were banging into the sides of the Humvees and plastering blood on the windows as they passed looking for more to eat after they had finished with the other soldiers. Neither Manuel nor Denson knew what to do except to stay still where they were so they were not noticed. After the noises of dragging feet and bangs into the Humvees seemed to slow down. Denson raised his head to see more of them coming from behind. One of the Deuces had been tipped over and half eaten men covered the roads. Zombies that were approaching would stop, scoop the remains into their hands, stuff their mouths full and let the remanence hang, making their way to the next body. Other zombies would pass on by the already dead staring off into the distance. Denson scanned the other Humvees and Deuce that remained and caught a glimpse of someone moving in a Humvee that was two behind him. Manuel looked forward and caught a glimpse of Denson.

  Denson put his finger to his mouth and waved his hand in a downward motion telling him to be quiet and get back down. Denson was able to see from the shoulders and up of the close by passing zombies. He soon began seeing men stumbling by in Army uniforms. They were the men that had already been eaten. He was able to see each name tag attached to their jackets. He finally covered his eyes, not wanting to see what his brothers and sisters had turned into. He was unable to fathom why Simmons had done this. How could he shoot his fellow men for his own escape? He asked himself.

  Denson covered his head with his arms and began to sob at the thought of his fellow soldiers now being zombies that would kill him if they could find him. Then he thought about Manuel. He quickly lifted his head and saw Manuel watching out of his window as soldiers walked by. His Humvee was surrounded by zombies since seeing the movement. Denson motioned for him to lower his head back down and be quiet. Manuel did as Denson suggested.

  After a while, the Army of zombies moved on from his Humvee and began dropping to their knees scooping up any remains of human flesh from the ground. Manuel was able to see his brothers and sisters of the Armed Forces do this and vomited in the floor of the Humvee as he witnessed the grotesque actions.

  Night fell and both Denson and Manuel fell asleep in their safe haven of the vehicles. Both were unsure if they were going to be able to make it through this apocalypse, but they both knew they had to get some sleep if they were going to try.

  As the sun arrived, the two lifted their head in search of each other. They breathed a sigh of relief when they finally made eye contact. It let them know they weren’t alone.

  They scanned the area and saw more of the dead of their Army rising one by one from being killed the night before and becoming the undead. Some would walk into the wooded area, some would walk the opposite way and some came toward them. Denson felt that all they could do was wait it out, since the dead were coming back to life. The last few that laid mangled on the road rose to take their unsteady balance of a stance.

  Denson began hearing shots coming from the wooded area and closer to them. Denson looked towards Manuel and back down in to the woods as a group in military line formation topped the hill and came out from under the trees. They killed every zombie that stood in their way and a few that did not. They were careful as they approached the road and turned from side to side with their weapons. They opened any Humvee with men in it that had been bitten and killed them without a second thought. They made their way up to Denson’s Humvee. Denson sat up and caught the attention of one of the men in the group.

  The scruffy man approached the Humvee and flung open the door with his knife already coming forward. Denson threw up his hands and shouted at the man that may be able to save him.

  “WAIT!” He screamed.

  “What is your name soldier?” The man asked still holding the knife towards him.

  “Corporal Denson!” He stated as he lowered his hands to the knife yielding man.

  “What’s your actual name, if you haven’t noticed, you aren’t serving anymore?” He asked rudely.

  “Donald….Donald Denson sir.” He replied.

  “Anyone else alive in your unit?” He asked.

  “Yes, in the third vehicle. My Staff Sargent Manuel is still alive.” Donald answered.

  The man helped him out of the Humvee and walked to the other where Manuel was at and knocked on the window with the butt of his rifle. Manuel dropped the window of the Humvee. The man ordered him out of the vehicle and offered to let us come with them.

  We accepted immediately and made our way with this squad that seemed to have made it further than we had by far.

  STORY TWO

  MARTIN

  “You think you might have some time to sit and talk to me for a bit Martin?” His fiancée asked.

  “Babe, I gotta get my shit ready to go to drill, unfortunately the National Guard thinks that being on time is pretty god damn important!” He spat back at her.

  “I think a little time is important for us.” She stated standing over him as he packed.

  A honk came from outside insinuating that his ride was there to get to drill. Martin leaned over kissed his fiancée and rubbed her hair away from her face.

  “We will spend every waking moment together next weekend and it will be nothing but about us, we will paint the town camo.” He smiled.

  She half smiled and gave a slight nod. Martin picked up his bag and headed out. She listened to the door close and the vehicle pull off from the front of their two bedroom house that they had bought just last year. She stood and scanned their small cozy house. She had thought things would be so much different. She had not wanted a military life and had thought he was done with it. All she wanted was him, she wanted some time with him, but everything he did surrounded military. Sometimes it was like she never even existed. She grabbed her old duffel bag and began to take her folded clothes from the dresser and put into the bag. Little by little tears began to fill her eyes wishing Martin could just see a minute part of her loneliness.

  Martin threw his bag in the back of the small s10 truck with his buddy that he rode with once a month to make the two hour trip.

  “Is yours trippin?” The man asked putting the truck in first and letting off of the clutch.

  “What is it that when we leave makes them freak out so badly? It’s like they think we are leaving them forever.” Martin wondered to his unit mate.

  Moving on to the outskirts of town they both began to notice a few cars sitting off the side of the road, which was unusual for the back road area they had to take to reach their destination. They noticed a group of people that had gathered on the side of the road and were walking around two of the cars. Both of the men looked at each other, but knew that if they stopped they would be late.

  “Wonder what the hell that is about?” His buddy questioned aloud.

  “Maybe they decided it was a good place for a family reunion, they all looked a little rough around the edges.” Holsinger joked.

  They drove for a couple of hours before the small building came into view.

  “Army National Guard, You can!” Martin sang out when he saw the sign.

  The two laughed as the truck stopped and they gathered their gear for the weekend.

  “Right on time, fifteen minutes earlier than we really have to be.” His buddy told him.

  They dropped their gear on the floor as they walked in the door and made their way to the back where the rest of their unit stood.

  “Hey guys what’s up?” Holsinger interrupted the chatter going on.

  A few of them shrugged their shoulders, “We were told to wait for instruction.” One of the guys belted out.

  “ATTENTION!” A Commander entered the room.

  All of them quickly stood at attention, confused as to why a Commander just walked in to give them instruction.

  “You are being dispatched to the nearby nuclear plant. You are to set up a base there to the best of your ability. Your job is to help take over this facility, another unit is already there setting up. We need to have a place that is safe and we are able to run everything ou
t of. A partial wall is around it already, I need fencing put up to secure the location. Understood?” He asked the group.

  “Sir yes sir!” the group responded, still unsure of what exactly was going on or why.

  “Move out!” the Commander demanded.

  The men piled through the door at the back of the building to four Deuce trucks that were already loaded with rolls of fence and supplies and two Humvees that looked as though they had been driven through hell and back.

  “Sir, is this a war zone? What are we going into?” Holsinger knew he was in the wrong for questioning.

  The Commander glared at him with disapproval for speaking so freely and walked over to him. He placed the brim of his hat square on his forehead.

  “Because that is what the fuck I said to do, and I guess you will find out when you get there and have to fight your way through the bullshit!” He sternly advised.

  Holsinger being a bit of a smart ass only saluted and pushed the Commander’s hat away from his head with his own, turned and walked away.

  The group secured the supplies to the back of the four trucks and took their places in and on the back of them. Holsinger hopped into the driver’s seat of the first truck and waited for further instruction.

  The Commander peered into the truck for a moment and then flung a map up to him.

  “Get here! Straight here and do not stop!” He instructed.

  “Aye aye captian!” Holsinger stated smiling at the man in charge.

  The roar of the truck echoed across the group. The start of his told the others that it was time to go and the engines rumbled as they all started.

  The Commander stared at Holsinger as he held his eye contact and pulled off.

  He handed the map to his passenger and looked behind him to make sure the large group of men were all good to go.

  “Where the fuck is this place and what the fuck is it?” Martin asked his unit mate that sat next to him.

  The man sat quietly for a moment while viewing the map.

  “It is the Nuclear Power Plant, so are we supposed to make a base here? Like wire and all?” The man asked.

  Holsinger shrugged. “Just tell me where to go!” He shouted over the loudness of the truck bumping over the road.

  They drove down an asphalt road for a few miles before seeing the smoke stacks covering the sky off to the right.

  “Turn here!” The navigator shouted.

  Holsinger took a turn on another black top and headed toward the white smoke that bellowed through the air.

  “Is that where we are headed?” Martin asked.

  “Yep, that’s it!” The man shouted loudly.

  The group began seeing people lingering along the sides of the road, Holsinger started slowing the truck as they wandered into the middle of the road he was trying to drive down.

  “What the hell are all these people doing? What the hell is going on?” He asked.

  He slowed the truck to a stop and peered onto the road filled with people. He began to study the closest ones to the side of the truck when one turned to stare back at him.

  The face of the well-dressed man had been half torn off. All that showed on the side that the skin was gone and the bloody bones that were holding his face together. His white button down shirt was covered in spatters of blood, the red and blue striped tie was crooked around his neck and had almost sliced through the side of his neck. His black slacks were torn at the bottom and his once shiny shoes were coated with dirt and bloodied bits and pieces of globs. He staggered towards the truck while Martin grabbed the door handle to open the door and help him. The man quickened his pace, slammed against the door and clicked it back closed. Martin quickly removed his glasses and peered down at the man through the window. He stood with his hands raised up to him and deep growling coming from his half normal face. His teeth, still intact, were brown and some looked as though he had chipped them.

  “What the fuck?” Martin shouted.

  “I have one over here! What do we do? What the fuck are they?” The passenger asked.

  More gathered and slammed against the truck, but were not competent enough to be able to climb up or open the doors. The men watched them as they gathered around. Women and children showed themselves from the woods and began the same routine as the others by banging and growling at the men that were trapped.

  “Fucking zombies, are you kidding? This is what we were sent here for and given no fucking warning!” Martin shouted.

  He hit the gas and moved the truck a few feet forward, the zombies stayed where they were and then all of them stumbled forward to the sides and back of the truck trying to reach for the meals that they knew were inside. Their clumsy hands were getting caught in the crevices of the truck and getting stuck as they slammed them onto the metal.

  Holsinger checked on the other trucks by turning in his seat and saw that they were all surrounded as well. There were hundreds of these half skinless and bloodied creatures that lined the roads, more were approaching and fast. Martin had to figure out what to do.

  He hit the gas again, this time not letting off. He ran over the ones that were in the road and left the ones on the side of the truck reaching for the air, not caring that they were stuck but more for the humans that were inside.

  The other two trucks followed and ran through whatever was in their way as well. The driver in the truck behind him had a ‘let’s get the fuck outta here’ attitude and bumped his ass end as the group of walking, staggering, stumbling, skinless fucks got thicker as the Army closed in on their destination.

  The tall chain link gate was open and the tin wall that was part of the plant was somewhat still standing in most places, but looked as though it had seen better days. He squeezed the truck through the gate and parked behind a Humvee and another Deuce that were still loaded down with some supplies that had been scattered to the ground, pulling far enough in to make room for the other vehicles. The unit sat and watched a group of their own in Army uniforms surround them.

  Holsinger threw his head back.

  “FUCK! We are in the same damn predicament. We have to start getting rid of these mother fuckers.” He told the crew in his truck.

  He picked up his radio and called the other trucks.

  “Guys, zombies have to be stabbed in the head. Get after it, this is supposed to be our base.” Holsinger instructed.

  “These are our own men!” A voice called back.

  “No, they are not. Look one in the fucking face and tell me you want that as part of our crew.” He stated over the radio.

  “Ten four.” The voice came back again.

  The men began to drop their windows and were high enough up in the trucks that they were able to start stabbing them in the head without being bit. One by one, they began piling up outside their trucks and on both sides. A majority of the unit that rode in the back of the four trucks began stabbing them from there. Holsinger knew there was about ninety of them that had loaded up on the few trucks and Humvees that were there when they rolled out of the station a few hours back, he hoped the rest of his unit would be following soon and they should be able to get rid of these things with the manpower they had before they got there.

  “Let’s get it clear enough for someone to close that gate at least, and then maybe clear off the rest of them, then repair fencing quick fast and in a damn hurry! No guns yet, just knives” Holsinger shouted the plan to his unit.

  Holsinger thought about radioing into his Commander, but knew that he had nothing nice to say at this point. The others were leaning out the backs of the trucks and stabbing the uniformed unit that was there before them. Holsinger dug for his phone as he stabbed two of them that had grasped the side of the door. He quickly dialed his soon to be wife’s phone number while still stabbing approaching zombies as he waited for her to answer. Her phone rang twice and then the signal seemed to be lost.

  He continued leaning out of his window and stabbing as hard as he could over and over until the herd that w
as there started diminishing little by little. The noise from the guys jumping around in the back of the truck seemed to draw in the ones from the trucks in the back. He could see more approaching from the road; it was almost like this would never end.

  Holsinger began banging on the side of the truck and drawing the ones from the back of the group to his truck. Once they were all surrounding him and trying to bite into his Army issued knife is when he finally made the decision.

  “Go close the gate now!” He yelled to the group.

  One of the men jumped off of the last Deuce truck and pushed the gate closed, locked it with the pad lock that was still attached and ran back to the truck. Before he was able to make it fully back on, one of the men from the men that had turned zombie grabbed his leg and took a bite, pulling the muscle from his leg and chewing while trying to bring in the rest of his body. The man’s scream echoed through the yard as they veered away from Martin’s truck. The crew on that truck began stabbing at the group of dead and pull their brother to safety. His leg had been torn off completely and picked up by one of the women officers that had turned.

  Her bun still sat atop her head but her uniform had been torn down the front, exposed her breasts that were covered in dirt, dried blood and now a mess of the soldier’s tendons that she had just taken a bite of that hung down and swung freely from her mouth and covered her inverted nipples. She chewed and looked around for something else to eat when she finished with the partial leg she was lucky enough to get. Another woman that was naked from the waist down grabbed the other end of the leg and began chewing the ankle, splitting the tendons with the bare chested woman.

  She walked away once her meal had been taken and began looking for something else. One of the men from the unit jumped off the truck and stabbed her in the back of the head, he began screaming as he stabbed hard into three more of the dead that were coming towards him.

  “GET BACK ON THE TRUCK YOU STUPID FUCK!” Holsinger yelled from the front.

  The man continued his angry killing of the herd, one by one they began to pull him down and fell on top of him. His angry yelling became screams of pain and agony as they took gigantic bites from his flesh. Some men covered their faces, some stood and watched in horror and some began to vomit at the sight of their own being devoured.