by T. Gault
“Hey, they ain’t as fast as us running. Maybe we could just outrun them,” said Sid with a grin.
“But what if one of us is injured or what if she is injured?” I added.
“Let me ask her?” said Mat as he lifted the small radio.
CLICK, “You still there? Are you hurt at all? Can you walk?”
We all stood waiting for several seconds. I looked at Mat and he raised his eyebrows.
“Maybe they got her already,” said Curtis from behind me.
“Yeah, maybe she’s already de...” Matt almost got it out when the radio began to come to life.
PFFFF, “Hello, hello? I was beginning to think that you guys had forgotten about me.”
CLICK, “Well, are you injured?” said Matt very roughly.
PFFFF, “No, I’m not. I can walk.”
CLICK, “Okay, we’re uh, working something out. Just sit tight,” said Matt.
Sid looked agitated and said, “I think y’all got me wrong. I didn’t mean on foot. We could drive over there, get out of the vehicle somewhere that isn’t crawling with‘em, and go in on foot from there. Then get the girl, run back to the truck, and drive in the opposite direction of this place.”
“Okay, then what, genius?” said Jim as he crossed his arms again.
“Alright, we’d drive away from this place, fast enough to get away, but not so fast that they’d lose sight of us. We’d lead them somewhere a few blocks away from here and then floor it to the back door,” answered Sid.
“Not a bad plan, but we would have one more problem. If Matt has to assist us from the roof, there are going to be a few of them drawn here because of the noise,” I said.
“I guess I’ll just have to keep myself under control behind that big gun,” said Matt with a smirk.
Matt began to load up a bag with ammunition for a .308 caliber hunting rifle and mounted a scope on it. He also picked up a bore-mounted laser to sight in the scope. I walked over to the shopping cart filled with ammunition and grabbed a few boxes of .40 caliber rounds for my Glock. Sid and Jim were over by the hunting gear looking through all of the camouflage apparel. Curtis had walked off by himself and I wasn’t sure where he had gone.
“Do you really think this is a good idea?” said Matt as he shook his head.
I turned to face Matt and said, “Look, you heard what I think. So far I have not been able to save several people that I care about. My brother, I know they got him. I saw him like...that, and I have no idea where my mom and dad are. I kinda don’t understand why you don’t want to go with us. You lost both of your parents and your sister.”
Matt looked confused and replied, “I don’t follow your thought process there. You want to avenge your brother, your mom, and your dad, by risking more peoples’ lives?”
“I just think we need to save the people that we can. I wasn’t there to save Thomas. I wasn’t with my mom or my dad to try to help them, but I am here now to try to save this girl. You were there when your mom and your dad were...”
“Don’t. Don’t even say anything about them. They...are not a concern anymore. That’s the best way that I can look at it. Right now we have the five of us and we have this place. Every time we decide to make a trip out of here, I think it needs to be for a really good reason,” said Matt.
“So you’re saying that this girl’s life is not a good reason,” I responded.
“What I’m saying is, think about it. One girl, five guys, alone in this building. We have enough to worry about with all of the carriers out there. I don’t want some moron to try to punch me in the face because I’m talking to his girl,” said Matt as he pointed toward Sid and Jim.
“Man, I’m sure it’s going to be okay,” I said as I patted Matt on the shoulder.
“Yeah, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” said Matt as he zipped up the black hunting bag with his ammunition inside.
“You got everything you need?” I said as I pointed to Matt’s bag.
“I’m not the one going out there. If I really need anything I’ll just come back in here. I think you better ask yourself that question,” said Matt, nodding toward my red backpack.
I threw the blade of my pipe sword onto my shoulder and replied, “I think I’ll be okay, but I’m not sure about those two. You and I have been out there, but they have been inside this store the whole time.”
Matt and I walked over to Sid and Jim. Both of them looked like they were ready to take down a buck or a turkey. They even had on some bright orange caps.
“You do realize that we’re going to be taking down dead people and not deer right?” I said as I walked up to Sid.
Jim rolled his eyes and said, “Of course, but do you two geniuses even know why hunters wear orange?”
“So we can spot each other from a distance without shooting each other first,” said Sid with a very amused-looking grin on his face.
“Well, hopefully it doesn’t make them able to spot you from a distance too,” said Matt with a smirk.
“Okay, so here’s the whole plan,” I said as I slapped a piece of paper on the table with a set of goals written on it. I read them out loud for everyone to hear.
Make contact with the girl and let her know that we’re about to come get her.
Move the truck to the back door.
Get all of the gear into the truck quickly.
I’ll drive, Jim riding shotgun and Sid in the back.
Drive to the front door of H&M.
Everyone get inside as quick as possible.
Get her out and get back to the truck.
Drive away from Sports Authority.
Drive back to Sports Authority.
“Everyone clear on how this is going to play out?” I asked.
“Not exactly,” said Jim as he looked at me with a smirk.
“Okay, what did I forget?” I replied as I picked up the list from the table.
“What if she’s ugly?” said Jim with a chuckle.
“Jim, you’re as sly as a snake,” said Sid from behind me as I rolled my eyes.
“Ok. All joking aside. Everyone got it?” said Matt, looking around the room at everyone.
We all glanced at each other and nodded.
CHAPTER 10 - Execution...
Matt had already gone up to the roof with Curtis, and Sid and Jim were standing on either side of the back door. They were going to cover me as I ran to my truck to move it to the door. This time I would try not to drop my keys as I ran to the truck. I handed my red book bag to Sid and he set it on the floor next to the doorway. I took a deep breath and nodded to Jim.
Jim slowly pushed the door open and I peered outside. I could only see one of the rancid corpses walking around behind the building. It was missing its right arm below the elbow and again I couldn’t tell if it was male or female. It was near the left front corner of the truck but had not yet noticed that we had opened the door. It was standing with its left shoulder facing me. I pulled out my pipe sword and inched my way out of the door. Sid followed close behind me with a pump shotgun in hand. I asked him once if he would have thought it better to choose something a little quieter.
He just responded, “If you’re gonna make some noise...well, make some noise.”
Jim slowly came out after Sid with his favorite Kimber .45 in his hand. Jim steadied his aim at the thing next to the truck as I inched my way toward the right rear corner of the truck. I crouched down and slowly walked up the right side of the truck. As I walked, BONG, I bumped into the side of the truck. I froze and looked over at Sid and Jim. Both of them were pointing their weapons almost right at me and I could see that they were tracking the movements of the corpse. I could also hear it slowly shuffling in front of the truck toward me. I looked Jim in the eyes and shook my head, as I made sure he saw my sword. Jim pulled on Sid’s shirt and whispered something. Sid and Jim both lowered their weapons.
I stood completely still as it broke the plane of the front of the truck. I took a quick breath and lu
nged at it as fast as I could. I brought the sword smashing across the right side of its head, spraying brownish red paste all over the hood of the truck. It thumped into the hood and slid off onto the pavement. I looked around to see if there were any others approaching, but the only other ones I could see were standing close to the front left corner of the store. I pulled out my keys and moved to the driver’s-side door. I flung the door open and jumped into the driver’s seat.
I looked back at Jim and Sid, and Jim gave me the thumbs up. I slid the key into the ignition and cranked that four-cylinder engine to life. With the silent city around me, that engine sounded more like an eight-cylinder. I threw the gearshift into reverse and backed up to the rear door of the building. Sid quickly opened the camper shell and jumped into the back of the truck with his bag of supplies, and Jim flung open the passenger’s door and threw my bag onto the bench seat. Jim slid into the seat and pulled the door shut.
“You ready for this?” said Jim very excitedly.
“Let’s get‘em!” replied Sid very enthusiastically yet muffled from behind us.
“Look, whatever happens, we come back. I think it’s the right thing to do, saving this girl and all, but I’m not dying for her,” I said as I put the truck into first gear.
“Agreed,” said Jim as he waved his .45 in the air.
I glanced up at the roof of the building as we were pulling out of the parking lot and saw Matt and Curtis in their position on the front left corner. Matt made sure that I saw his hunting rifle and he gave me a nod as we left the parking lot.
I could see several of the rotting forms moving in the surrounding parking lots. They all seemed to be moving toward where I had started the engine, but as I came within a hundred or so feet of them, they would change their focus to my truck. I was able to easily drive past them, but it seemed that the faster I went the quicker they would notice the truck. But I didn’t want to take the chance on slowly driving into a crowd of rancid corpses and having the truck get stuck. The crowds of the carriers behind the truck moved almost like ripples in the water as we drove past them. The ones further away from the road would react to the ones that reacted to the passing vehicle.
I went over the plan two or three more times with Jim while we were on the way. I think Jim was sick of hearing it by the time we made it to the store, but he and Sid hadn’t been outside of the store since it all started, other than to dispose of the ones that made it through their barricade. They hadn’t been out in the open when they were coming from everywhere. I wanted to be sure that this thing would go down without a hitch. I could tell that Sid was just excited to have left that store.
We slowly pulled up in front of the H&M. There were a few of the carriers in the huge parking lot of the town center, but only a couple of them had noticed us. Jim began to open the door to the truck, but I grabbed his arm and showed him the walkie-talkie.
CLICK, “Are you still there?” I whispered into the microphone.
PFFFF, “Thank goodness, where are you guys?” the female voice came over the radio.
CLICK, “We’re here, but keep quiet, we are about to come in,” I whispered. I looked at Sid and Jim, and looked inside of the front doors to the store. I could only see one of the corpses lumbering around inside the store. I raised the walkie-talkie again. “Do you have any idea how many are inside the store with you?”
PFFFF, “...I don’t think there are that many. Maybe five. I know there were three workers here today.”
Just then, one of them appeared, having managed to walk up on the side of the truck without us seeing it. I heard Sid roll around in the back of the truck and let out a “Holy crap ya’ll!” Sid leveled his weapon at the male figure and Jim tapped on the glass separating the camper from the cab. Jim shook his head and held up his index finger. He slowly finished opening his door, pulled out his trusty baseball bat, and walked around the truck. He kept his head low as he moved toward the carrier, but still was doing a few practice swings. Just as he rounded the corner, he picked up speed and swung the wooden bat into the side of the corpse’s head. I heard a distinct crunch and the corpse fell to the ground. Jim took two more assurance swings, spit on the corpse, and whispered, “Let’s go.”
“Alright then, I guess it’s time to go,” I whispered to myself.
Sid thumped around in the back of the truck trying to wiggle himself out along with his gear. I still could not take him seriously with that orange hat on.
I ran up to the left side of the front doors of the H&M and Sid and Jim posted up on the right side. The store was dark inside but we could see that there were several more of them inside than we had seen before. Jim seemed to be a little more comfortable swinging that bat around than Sid, so I told Sid to stay with me as we were trying to make our way to the back office. I told Jim to watch our backs and keep them back as we moved.
I reached over and tried the doors from my side...they were unlocked. Jim pulled on the door on their side...it was unlocked too.
“Great,” I said.
“What’s the problem?” whispered Sid.
“Well, if we have to take any shots inside, I bet all the doors to this place are unlocked. I think there is another set on the opposite side. They can just come pouring in,” I whispered back.
“Calm down, we’re not going to shoot while we’re in there. We won’t have to. We’ll move real slow and they won’t even notice us,” said Jim with a smirk.
“I hope you’re right,” I said as I pulled the door open.
I held my pipe sword at the ready and Sid held his bat tightly; ready to pummel any of the decomposing residents of the store. Jim, however, held his bat loosely in his right hand and casually walked onto the sales floor. He reminded me of one of the thugs from those mobster movies. Just as we passed the first set of clothing racks, a hunched-over old woman lunged for Jim. He paused and backed up for a moment. Instead of bashing her head in, he extended the bat and pushed her back with the end of it. She stumbled backward, but quickly began lurching forward again. Jim took up a batter’s stance and swung his Louisville Slugger into the left side of the woman’s head. The force of the blow ripped the left side of the woman’s neck and she fell limp to the linoleum tile. Her neck began to spurt some very dark, very thick blood, but the blow did not appear to have done enough damage to completely stop the rotten old woman. Her head was barely attached to her body, but her jaw still opened and closed, and her gray eyes still stared right at us.
Jim slowly backed away from the remains and kept his eyes on her as he moved.
“Why didn’t you finish her off?” whispered Sid.
“Shut up... She reminded me of my grandmother,” replied Jim.
A few more of them had noticed the commotion between Jim and the old lady and began moving toward us. They didn’t seem to have much understanding of their surroundings. They would walk right into the displays and trip over whatever was on the floor, but each time they did, the noise would attract more of them. I quickly looked around the store, but didn’t see the doors to the office. The longer I stood inside the store, the more I noticed the smell of the rotting people trapped inside those four walls.
Suddenly, I saw Sid point to a counter on the left side of the room. There was a set of doors behind that counter. Jim wasn’t paying attention to Sid. He was winding up for his first swing on the next one of them that came near us.
“Jim,” I whispered, but he didn’t respond. “Jim, let’s move!” I yelled just as a decaying young female stepped too close to Sid.
She grabbed onto his arm with the bat in hand. Jim saw what was happening and ran to Sid, crushing the head of that female with a thundering blow from his bat. But she had a tight grip on Sid’s arm and sent him stumbling to the floor. Jim buried his bat in her head a few more times and yelled, telling her to let go. I saw the advancing crowd in the store with us and also noticed that some of the ones that were outside were beginning to come in behind us.
“We don’t have time
for this!” I yelled and swung my sword at the arm of the deceased female latched onto Sid’s arm. With a mushy crunch, the arm severed and Sid scrambled to his feet with the girl’s hand and forearm still attached. All three of us began to sprint for the doors behind the counter. Sid was the first over the counter and to the door. Jim and I jumped over the counter behind Sid. Sid was fumbling with the doorknob and couldn’t seem to get the door open.
“What are you doing you moron!” yelled Jim.
“It’s locked! I can’t get it open!” replied Sid.
“Hey, in there! Open the door!” I yelled as I pounded on the door.
There was no response. Then I remembered the walkie-talkie. I pulled it out but accidentally hit the call button.
We all paused for a moment when we realized that we heard the annoying ring tone of the receiving walkie-talkie on the opposite side of the room. I looked in the direction of the noise and realized that there was a second set of doors on the other side of the room.
