by Smith, I. J.
The zombies piled into Trent Manor, The Mercy army was quick to start protecting their home. Men and women, some with guns, others with hand weapon began to fight. Zombies dropped as bullets flew though their heads. As a fat man tried to reload, a zombie grabbed him and bit the front of his neck away, blood spewed all over. The fight was bloody; zombies fell, the living torn apart.
At the front of the house, MacLeod swung his sword; Jack ducked underneath slicing his machete across MacLeod’s leg. As he roared, MacLeod swung round punching Jack in the face, breaking his nose. Jack just about stayed on his feet.
“You’re one strong fucker; you grow up next to some power lines?” Jack shouted.
MacLeod rushed at him again, this time throwing his entire body weight into Jack’s body. They both hit the ground, without room to use their weapons; Jack wrapped his legs around MacLeod. Squeezing hard, Jack began to head-butt MacLeod over and over again. Blood poured from MacLeod’s body.
With his superior strength MacLeod managed to stand up, with Jack still holding on. MacLeod ran toward a large concrete pillar and smashed Jack’s back into it. Falling to the ground, Jack tried to reach out for his machetes that lay on the ground. MacLeod stamped on his hand, a cracking noise echoed, Jack’s hand was broken.
Kicking Jack in the chest, MacLeod could taste victory; he turned to pick up his sword. Jack lay on the ground in pain, barely moving. MacLeod walked over and was about to raise his sword when a zombie grabbed at him.
“FUCK YOU!” MacLeod shouted.
Grabbing the zombie by the head he drove his sword into its brains. Another zombie roamed towards him, he swung his sword through the air decapitating it.
“NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!” MacLeod shouted at Jack.
Turning back to Jack, he was shocked to see him gone. From the corner of his eye he could see Jack entering the mansion.
Running along a hallway, Jack opened the door to a grand room. Inside were a large fire place, antique furniture, and a large window. He moved towards the fireplace, his hand was throbbing in pain, sweat and blood ran down his face.
Jack knew with his hand like this he was in trouble. He began punching the concrete fireplace, the pain unbearable but continued to punch. Eventually, his hand numbed. He felt nothing and knew he could now hit hard with it.
The doors flew open, MacLeod entered, his face still covered in blood. Shutting the door behind him he walked around the room.
“You know something, you and me we would have worked well together,” MacLeod told him.
“Maybe. Just a shame you’re a fucked-up, inbred asshole!” Jack replied.
MacLeod laughed.
“You ready?” MacLeod asked.
“Bring it!”
MacLeod rushed for Jack with his sword held high, Jack ran at him and at the last minute ducked, punching up; hitting MacLeod in the throat. As he fell backward, he dropped his sword, and MacLeod smashed into a table. Jack continued to punch him with his broken hand, the pain was nothing compared to the joy he was feeling.
MacLeod fought back, grabbing Jack by the throat and beginning to squeeze. Unable to breath Jack did not panic, the vision of Elle in his mind, he reached round to his back where he had a small ball-peen hammer. With one swing Jack smashed it into MacLeod’s kneecap, the ball of the hammer embedded into his knee. With a scream of agony, MacLeod released Jack.
Jack fell back; he tucked the hammer into his belt and ran at MacLeod. Together they crashed through the large window. Outside both men laid motionless on the ground, a sudden cough from Jack made him move, he pushed himself up. His face covered in dozens of cuts from the glass, he reached over to MacLeod, who whispered.
“Just kill me!”
Jack ignored him; he stood up to see the zombies overpowering The Mercy. He walked back to his machetes that lay on the gravel. Jack grabbed MacLeod and dragged him towards the car, opening the trunk; he struggled to get him inside. With his machete, he cut the rope, Jack looked up at the top window of the mansion, Joyce looked out at him.
Jack looked at her and stuck his middle finger up in the air. Jack got in the car and drove away at speed. As he reached the entrance a white van had to swerve to avoid him.
“THAT WAS JACK!” Ryan shouted.
The black 4x4’s quickly drove into the grounds of the mansion, past the van.
“Are you sure it was Jack?” Bray asked.
“It was his car!”
Bray looked ahead to see Pauline exiting her vehicle. “First we deal with this, and then we find Jack.”
The white van drove into the zombie infested grounds of the mansion.
“Why the hell are we staying?” Zoe asked.
Bray glanced at her. “What would Jack do? If he had a chance to end this, he would!”
Zoe nodded; she grabbed her gun and rushed from the van. The zombies came at them. Quickly, the fighting began.
Pauline did not stay outside; instead she rushed into the mansion and up the stairs towards her mother’s room. Crashing through the doors she noticed her mother sitting by the window drinking.
“He is gone!” Joyce told Pauline.
Pauline approached her. “Who?”
“My beloved son. The Reaper has taken him!”
“Good!” Pauline stated.
Joyce stood up and walked towards her daughter and slapped her across the face. Pauline rubbed her face and looked into her mother’s eyes.
“He destroyed us! When we began, it was about survival, we would help people. Then it turned to a power struggle, you wanted to be royalty at the cost of the innocent!” Pauline said to her mother, angrily.
Joyce gasped as she took another drink. “You always were weak!”
Walking over to the window, Joyce looked out to see the people from the white van fighting the zombies.
“Who are they?”
Pauline walked over and looked out.
“They are The Reaper’s friends; they follow him because they love him. Not fear, not like you!”
Joyce suddenly turned, brandishing a knife in her hand, and stabbed Pauline in the stomach. Pauline fell back holding her wound, her hands covered in blood. She looked at her mother with sadness.
“You are nothing!”
Pauline suddenly grabbed her mother and pushed her towards the window. “Die you evil bitch!” She shouted.
She pushed Joyce through the window, Joyce fell to the ground. As she hit the ground her head splattered, it took only seconds for zombies to start ravaging her body.
Pauline slid to the ground, blood flowing from her wound.
She sat there for ages, when a blurred figure appeared in the doorway. As it approached, Bray came into view, he knelt down, he was about to help when she pushed his hand away.
“Don’t, this is how it should be!”
Bray looked at her. “I’m sorry, you’re not like them.”
She gave a small smile. “No, but I benefited from it.”
“I can’t just leave you here!”
“Yes, you can.”
Pauline winced in pain.
“There is not much time, there are supplies here. Food, medicine, weapons. Everything you could need to survive.”
“We didn’t come here for that!”
“I know, but I want my last act to be a good one,” she smiled.
“You should go!” She added.
Bray was about to stand up when Pauline spoke out. “Jack, he is alive. He has MacLeod, I’m sorry I can’t…..” before she could finish she died.
Her eyes remained open. Bray reached out and closed them. “Be at peace.”
He walked away to join his people.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
HOW IT ENDS
The white van was loaded with supplies. Everyone was quiet as they looked around at all the dead bodies on the grounds.
“This was a massacre!” Zoe said.
“Good, they all deserved to die!” Ryan replied.
Everyone looked at him.
Sarah and Zoe still loaded food into the van. Raven walked over to Bray.
“Jack?” she asked.
Bray shook his head. “He got MacLeod; I can only guess what he is going to do now!”
Raven touched Bray’s arm and led him away from the others. “We need to find him, after what happened with Kat, I’m worried about him!”
Bray looked at Raven and looked around. “I don’t know where he could be!”
Raven stood silent for a moment. “Jack, he is a man of honor. He will want this to end where it started; it will be his way of getting closure.”
Bray suddenly looked her in the eyes. “The school, that’s where Elle died!”
Raven shook her head. “OK. Tell me where it is, I will go alone.”
“No I should come with you!”
“No. I think he is going to need someone who didn’t know her, he is gonna need to vent.”
Bray agreed, and told her where the school was, Raven walked back to the others.
“OK! I am going to take one of 4x4’s and look around for more supplies.” She told them.
Everyone looked confused. “Erm! I think we have enough here!” Zoe replied.
“We are heading, south right? Well I come from there and trust me it will be picked clean. With everyone dead, it’s the perfect time.” Raven told them.
“I will come with you!” Sarah replied.
“NO! I want some time alone.”
Raven took a gun and walked towards the 4x4, within moments she drove away. Zoe looked at Bray; she knew something was going on.
Miles away, Jack sat in front of the spot where he buried Elle’s head. He looked around at the school, it was burnt out, rotting bodies of the dead were still scattered on the grounds. A few zombies roamed around, but showed no interest in Jack.
In the back seat of the car, Jack had a shovel and a large wooden box, he pulled the shovel out. He walked over to where Elle was buried and a few feet away, he began to dig. Even though his hand was broken and the pain was unbearable, he refused to give up.
Once he dug a deep hole, he went back to the car and pulled out the large wooden box; it was a coffin, and he struggled to move it. He dragged it over to the hole and dropped it inside, he opened the coffin lid. He looked up into the sky and took a deep breath.
He walked back to the car and opened the trunk. MacLeod tried to punch him, but Jack grabbed his hand and punched him hard in the face. Jack dragged MacLeod out, dropping him hard onto the ground. Jack pulled MacLeod’s body over and left him just in front of the hole he had dug. MacLeod laid there, his leg busted open.
Jack sat in front of him.
“Why? Why did you have to kill her?”
MacLeod lifted his head up and looked over at Jack.
“She was just there!”
Jack looked lost for a moment.
“So, what happens now?” MacLeod asked.
“You know the best thing about the zombie apocalypse? Shopping, no queue,” Jack joked.
“You see that ground behind you?” Jack asked.
MacLeod glanced over at the dirt.
“What about it?”
“That is where I buried her, well her head. That is all you left me! She carried my child and all I had left, was her head to bury.”
Jack looked at straight at MacLeod.
“I hate her to be lonely. She is alone here, but not for long!”
Jack stood and pulled the small ball-peen hammer from his belt. Without a warning, he smashed MacLeod’s other kneecap, shattering it. MacLeod screamed in pain.
“Oh yeah! The arms!” Jack laughed.
Jack moved and smashed the bones of MacLeod’s elbows, the cracking noise echoed across the school. MacLeod cried out in pain as Jack pulled his body into the coffin.
“Just fucking kill me already!”
“No! It’s too quick. I want you to feel just a small amount of the pain I am in.”
MacLeod’s face turned to fear. “You can’t just leave me here!”
Jack smiled. “I want you to live as long as possible.”
Jack walked to the car and grabbed a large bottle of water and a bag of chips. He threw them onto MacLeod’s body.
“You know what? If you scream loud enough, maybe the zombies will dig you up!”
“NO! NO! NO!”
Jack slammed the lid shut and began burying the coffin. It took a while, and MacLeod’s screams could be heard for a long time.
Raven drove into the school, she could make out the makeshift garden, the school scorched and burnt. She passed the bodies and spotted Jack’s red car. She parked behind it and climbed out.
The sun was beginning to rise as she walked over to the pile of dirt. Jack was sitting with his back against a wall. He was drinking his bottle of vodka. She looked at him, his face was cut and bleeding, his nose broken and she could see his hand was swollen. He looked up at her.
“What are you doing here?” Jack asked.
Raven walked over to him and sat beside him; she took the bottle from his hands and took a deep drink.
“So, MacLeod... it’s over?” she asked.
Jack glanced at the fresh dirt. Raven frowned; she knew exactly what he had done. She took another drink.
“Then it’s over!” she said.
“I’m not going back!” Jack suddenly said.
Raven touched his swollen hand. “That needs to be looked at!”
Jack chuckled. “Sure, I will pop to A&E!”
“No need, I’m a nurse. Well, I was!”
Raven hand touched his hand softly. “They need you, we need you!”
Shaking his head, Jack replied, “Stay with me and all that will happen is that you will all die!”
“Kat didn’t mean it. You need to know something. Jacob told me and only me. MacLeod forced Kat to kill Ray. That is why she reacted the way she did.”
Jack closed his eyes.
“Adam told me about Oasis, he told me you have a mission. You don’t quit Jack. You do not have that luxury. So get off your ass and let’s go!”
Jack looked at her and smiled.
“Give me minute!”
Raven reached over and kissed him on the cheek; she stood up and walked back to the 4x4.
Jack pushed himself up to his knees in front of Elle’s grave.
“I couldn’t save you, but I hope you know how much you saved me. I’m gonna fight and I swear I will never give up. I am not religious, but I will see you again.”
Jack kissed his hand and placed it on her grave. He stood up and looked at MacLeod’s grave. “Burn in hell, you fuck!”
He walked over to the 4x4 and climbed in.
“What about your car?”
“New beginnings!” he muttered.
Raven drove away, leaving the past behind them.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MISSION
In a large carpark, the bus filled with children waited patiently. Jacob, Tommy, and Kat waited outside, looking out for their friends. Rain was on the bus, singing with the children.
“That woman sounds like a drowning cat!” Jacob said.
Tommy chuckled, but Kat looked lost. She simply stared into space.
Tommy reached out for Kat’s hand, but she pulled away angrily.
Jacob looked at Tommy and shook his head.
The singing was starting to give Jacob a headache and complained, “God, please let the zombies attack!”
Tommy jumped up and pointed out. “THERE!”
A white van appeared in the distance, quickly followed by a black 4x4.
The kids watched through the windows of the bus, Jacob started to walk out to meet the vehicles. Both vehicles came to a stop, Bray and Adam appeared from the van. Zoe opened the side door and appeared; Jacob could see the back was full of stuff.
From the 4x4, Raven appeared. Sarah quickly rushed over to her. Raven walked to the passenger door and opened it, she he
lped Jack out. Sarah looked and could not believe the state of Jack. Bray wandered over to him, without saying a word he placed his arms around Jack. Adam and Zoe approached and simply touched his back, welcoming him back to the group.
“DAMN! YOU GOT BITCH SLAPPED!” Jacob remarked.
Jack looked at him and winked. “Yeah! Your mother was a little rough!”
Jacob laughed and hugged his friend.
Kat stood with Tommy looking at Jack, a face full of sadness; she shuffled her feet for a moment, her eyes filling with tears. Jack began to move towards her, but Kat could see that he was in pain. Kat suddenly rushed towards him, throwing her arms around him and crying in his arms.
“I’M SORRY!” She told him.
Jack became emotional and held her tight.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean any of it!” Kat continued.
“Sshh,” Jack murmured to her.
He stroked her face with his good hand and kissed on her forehead. She looked at his broken face; she softly slid her hands over it.
“It’s over,” He told her. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
As Kat once again held him tight, he winced in pain.
“Come on Jack, you need some rest,” Adam told him.
Suddenly a barking noise echoed out and Paige appeared from the bus, running towards Jack. Struggling, Jack kneeled and grabbed Paige by the face, she licked him all over as he buried his head in to her soft fur.
Jack then looked up at the bus, it finally dawned on him.
“Where is everyone?”
Bray looked troubled. “They’re gone, the park became overrun. We lost a lot of people!”
Jack closed his eyes and clenched his fists, he punched the ground. Kat grabbed him and stopped him from punching.
“Hey, stop it! You can’t save everybody. You have to stop taking it all on your shoulders. Because I love you, you’re my brother and I can’t survive losing you too!”
Jack touched his head against hers.
Sarah helped Jack back to his feet, Jack placed his arm around her and Kat, and together they led him to the bus.
“So, what now?” Jacob asked.
Adam looked around at everyone. “You all know me and Jack found out some stuff at the military base. We find Oasis.”
“Then we head south,” Raven said.
