by T. Gault
I quickly climbed back down the ladder feeling as though I had avenged my lost friends, but still knew that nothing would bring them back. I gathered all of the supplies that I could fit into my backpack, stuffed the video camera inside and came up with a plan. It was the best idea I could come up with. I could hear the heavy wood doors at the front of the church, creaking and bowing under the immense pressure from the surging crowd. There were enough of them now that it had created a kind of perpetual noise. There was no way that the church would ever be quiet enough to make them leave. The van was still parked around the back of the building and the old beat-up car was still around the front. I checked Curtis’ room and couldn’t find the keys to the van. He must have had them in his pocket when he fell off of the roof. I still had the keys to the junker.
If the plan I came up with failed there was no coming back. I would be trapped and overcome in an instant.
First, I found the medical supplies and took a quick look at my leg. The pellet had not stuck in my leg. It had passed through the outer portion of my leg, leaving a gash. I probably needed stitches, but I quickly packed the wound and wrapped my leg tightly. I also took some of the pain medicine left in Curtis’ room. I made my way to the second floor and walked into the room through which I had first entered the church and lit the bag containing Jim’s .45 ammunition on fire. I threw the bag as far as I could through the open window, away from the building. The bag disappeared into the crowd and I waited for what felt like twenty minutes, but it was really more like twenty seconds.
The ammunition started to fire and the crowd began to react. I ran for the front doors and stood waiting for the tons of dead weight to back off of the doors. I could hear the mass moving outside. The doors seemed to relax. I checked my pocket for the keys one last time and did a few practice swings with Matt’s machete. I was going to try to avoid using my gun, if possible, but if I was sure at some point I wouldn’t have a choice. I turned and looked down the hall one last time and faced the door again. I figured the faster I went, the better off I would be. Once the doors were open they would be coming at me anyway and any forward momentum might give me that little bit extra I would need to get to the car. I was as ready as I was going to get.
I took one more deep breath and kicked the handle on the door.
The morning light was blinding as the doors flew open. I locked my eyes onto the old car and sprinted. The crowd had thinned out, but there was still a very large number of them. I started to run, shoving the first couple of carriers to the ground, but the others quickly noticed my movement. One of them jumped at me from the right and I swung the machete with all of my body weight and cleaved off the upper half of his head. Two more came at me from the front. I slashed the weapon into the left side of one of their skulls and shoved it into the second one. I jerked the blade free as they fell to the asphalt of the parking lot. I could hear the crowd’s agitation around me, building as I moved. My leg was throbbing from the exertion, but the adrenaline pumping through me kept me going.
A group of them near the car and started to charge at me. I ran around to the front of the car and buried the blade into the head of the carrier closest to me. The blade was stuck; the dead weight of the collapsing body pulled the weapon from my hand. I pulled out the Glock and ran to the driver’s door. The door wasn’t locked. I ripped the door open as the first of them slammed into the outer panel of the door and started to force it shut. I shot into the rotting face of the carrier pushing against the door and shoved back on the door. I slipped into the small opening and pulled the door shut, but the door would not latch. I looked back to see a decaying arm stuck in the door. I tried to open and close the door on the arm, but they were closing in fast. The rear passenger’s-side window exploded and I could see them trying to come inside. I let go of the door handle and slid the key into the ignition. The old beat-up car rumbled and clattered to life. I shoved the gear selector into drive and jammed the pedal into the floor. The car barely started to move as the horde started to pile around the car.
I kept the pedal jammed to the floor and the car inched painfully slow forward. The carrier outside my door started to pull the door back open. While keeping my foot on the gas, I turned sideways in the seat and started to kick the door until the rotten hands outside lost their grip. I ripped the door shut as I heard one of them thumping through the rear passenger’s window onto the back seat. I pulled out the Glock and fired several rounds at its head. The corpse tumbled back out the window and I felt the car lurch forward as the crowd in front of the car began to thin. I saw a few of them fall in front of the car and the vehicle jumped and jarred as it rolled over them. The beat up old car finally broke through the dense mass and I tried to keep it under control as the tires began to grip the road.
I got onto the first side street that I saw. I looked down at the gas light on the dashboard and wondered how far the fumes in the gas tank would get me. I was only able to drive for a couple of miles before the engine started to sputter, but it was far enough away from the crowd to get out of sight. The engine finally died as I rolled up to a strip of small businesses. The location was strangely familiar, but I was positive that I had never been there before. I got out of the car and started to walk past them on the road. My leg began to hurt worse from the walking and I decided I would be better off if I found an open building to rest inside of. I cautiously walked into the complex and checked half of the buildings before I found one with an open door. Someone had broken the lock to the business to the point that the door could not be secured. I noticed the sign to the business had fallen to the ground. I lifted up the sign to see “Joe’s Electronics Repair.”
I thought again of the video camera. I pulled out my flashlight and my Glock and slowly opened the door. I didn’t hear anything. I stepped inside.
Inside the building smelled like a rotting corpse. I had come to associate that smell with the carriers, but if there was any way I could watch that video tape, I needed to find it. I entered a long hallway with a door to my left and a workbench with a lamp at the other end of the hall. I looked into the window on the door to my left and could see all kinds of electronics equipment inside. I checked the door handle and the it was locked. It was a fairly flimsy door and I wasn’t about to let a flimsy door stop me. I reared back and kicked the door open. I stepped back to see if anything was going to come out of the door, but nothing did. I stepped inside and could see the source of the smell. A heavy set man was hanging from the rafters by a long piece of cable. A ladder was lying on the floor beneath him. I shined my flashlight up to the rafters and could see they had bent from the weight. I couldn’t say how long ago he had hung himself, but he had been dead for a while.
I covered my mouth and started to look around inside the building. I looked through all of the boxes of wires in the shop, but could not find a cable that matched the camera. I was frustrated to the point that I was about to walk out of the building when I noticed a similar camera sitting on a table behind some boxes. I grabbed the camera from behind the boxes and pressed the power button. A little green light told me that the camera was working. I pulled out the tape from my video camera and put it inside. I flipped open the viewfinder only to see that the display was shattered. I stood staring at the camera for a couple seconds in disbelief. I pulled the battery out of my camera and compared it to the new camera, but they were not interchangeable.
I sat on the floor of the shop holding the camera and tried to think of another way to watch the tape, but I couldn’t think of any other way. I looked all over the shop for another battery or another camera, but that was the only one. I turned on the camera one last time and hit the play button. I stared at the shattered screen hoping that I could see something. The screen was useless, but the speaker worked.
“Dad?” I heard Thomas say through the damaged speaker.
I sat as quietly as I could to hear what dad said to Thomas on the phone, but I couldn’t make out any of it.
“O
kay, I don’t think I’m doing too good, Dad. Yeah. One came through the front door. I’m in the garage. Yeah, I…locked the door. Okay, but he’s not here. He...he left. He’s at school. Where are you? Okay. Are you going to come get me? I need to get to a hospital Dad. Okay, I’ll be waiting and I’ll let him know when he gets home. Okay bye,” Thomas said as he hung up the phone.
I heard the camera being moved and Thomas start to talk again.
“Hey, um...dad says...eh...he was at work and one of the crazy people started to...hurt some other people. Dad went to...mom’s office and...all the power was off...but the phones were working. He’s at mom’s office. He can’t find her. The military was moving people to the base...eh, dad’s going to check...there. I’m going to rest for a minute. I’m feeling...pretty sleepy....” Thomas then slipped away. I could hear him fall to the floor in the garage.
I turned the camera off and sat up. I had a whole new energy coming over me. I knew where mom and dad might be. I didn’t have time to sit and rest. I needed to go find them. I pulled the tape out of the camera and put it into my pocket. I walked out to the workbench in the outer hallway and pulled the empty magazine out of my pocket. I refilled my magazines and slid my magazine into my gun.
My heart sank as I heard the squeak of the front door of the shop as it opened. I sat still for a few seconds just listening. Through the small window I could see movement inside of the small outer room. I slowly stood up and inched my way to the door. I kept the Glock sighted at head level ready to take the shot as soon as I had it.
“Ty?” said Matt from just outside the door, sounding very weak. “Are you in here?”
“Matt?” I said as I ran to the outer room and pushed the door open.
Matt didn’t look well at all. He had a large gash to the left side of his head and his shirt was soaked in blood. He could barely stand and was using the wall to hold himself up. I helped him to the floor and opened my bag to get my medical supplies.
“What happened? I thought you were dead. I would have tried to help you there but, Sid and Jim and Rev and...and Beth were all...” I rambled.
“Tyler, it’s...okay. I know. You got out,” said Matt.
“How did you get here? Did you drive the van?” I asked.
“No, I walked. I actually...ah...just missed you. I saw you leave in the car.” He winced in pain.
“You walked? How did you make it through the crowd?” I asked.
“With this...” said Matt as he lifted my pipe sword. “I took it from Curtis. He didn’t look like he needed it anymore.”
I half-chuckled for a moment, but then I noticed something. Matt was losing a lot of blood and, more than that...he had a bite on his forearm.
“Oh yeah....you noticed that,” said Matt. “I wasn’t fast enough...ah...they finally got me. Well, at least...AH...it wasn’t that prick Curtis.”
I leaned over to try to bandage his wounds and he reached out to grab my arm.
“Don’t waste it, Ty. You and I both know what will happen to me.”
I dropped my arm and realized that he was right. There was nothing I could do to keep him alive.
“Besides that...you don’t have time for that. Remember...I walked. They are right behind me,” said Matt with a smirk.
I ran over to the door and could see them beginning to flow into the parking lot.
“I’ve made it longer...than most and I’m happy with that. I’m ready to go see my sister and my parents. I can’t run any more, Tyler, but I can help you get out of here. Go find your parents,” said Matt with a sad look on his face.
I knew Matt. I knew there was no way to talk him out of it. He was right.
I reached into my bag and pulled out Jim’s .45. I walked over to the bench at the far end of the hall and set it down along with the magazines and the ammo. I returned to Matt and helped him back to his feet.
“You wouldn’t want to just let them eat you, now, would you?” I said as I helped him to the table.
I picked up my bag and started to walk back to the door with the small window.
“Good luck, Tyler,” said Matt from behind me.
“Say hi to your sister and your parents for me,” I replied.
Matt gave me one of his smirks, “I will and I’ll tell your brother...you’re alive and fighting.”
“This sucks Matt,” I said as I fully accepted what was happening.
Matt struggled to reposition himself to better face the outer door, “Yeah, you’re telling me,” replied Matt with a painful snicker.
“There is a ladder in here and some high windows. I’m going to try to get out through there. Just give me enough time to get through the window.”
“You got it,” said Matt as he began to load one of the magazines.
I walked back into the main room of the repair shop and grabbed the ladder. I moved it over to the window furthest from the door and climbed to the top. I opened the window and peered outside. None of them had made it to that side of the building yet. I dropped my bag and my sword out of the window and shoved my Glock into the holster.
I looked over at the door leading to where Matt was and heard the outer door squeaking open again. Through the small window I could see one of them stumbling into the small room. I could see its face through the dirty glass. It was missing its lower jaw and appeared to be wearing a suit. It started to lumber toward Matt, each step a little faster than the last. It made it halfway into the room and Matt had not fired the gun yet. I was worried that he had fainted. I panicked and started to get down from the ladder when I heard the first shot. I heard two more quick shots and what sounded like the corpse hitting the floor. I saw Matt stagger toward the door to the outside and open it.
I realized that I was wasting the time that he was buying me. I scrambled up the ladder and squeezed through the window.
I dropped to the ground and quickly put on my backpack. I started to run into a wooded area behind the building when I heard one last shot. I could hear the horde becoming frantic on the other side of the shop. I could not let Matt’s sacrifice be a waste. My leg was on fire and I was exhausted, but I forced myself to keep running.
I had no idea what was on the other side of the trees, or how much longer I could run, but I did know where to look for my parents. With the morning sun at my back and an agitated mass of carriers following me, I wove my way through the trees.
Epilogue – Thomas…
He knew how long to wait. He knew how long it took for me to get to my truck, throw my stuff in the back and pull out of the driveway. As soon as he was sure that I had left, Thomas walked to the front room, looked out the window and, with a sigh of relief, walked over to the TV and pressed the power button. He looked through the drawer of the entertainment center for a few minutes before he found just the right game. Of course it belonged to me and I had told him not to play it until I had beaten it, but he played it anyway. He always made sure to take the game out of the system before I was supposed to come home though.
Thomas popped the game into the system and pushed the power button. But he couldn’t play on an empty stomach. He needed his Hostess snacks while he played. Mom told us we could have one for lunch. I think Thomas understood that to mean one box for lunch. He walked casually into the kitchen to rifle through the snack cabinet and let the game play through the opening credits. Thomas opened the light brown wooden cabinet door, and grabbed the small snack box from the shelf. As he held the box he realized that the box felt very light, almost as though it were…that was when he remembered that he ate the last snack in the box before he went to bed the previous night. But Thomas was not the type of person to get upset about something like that. He threw the empty box back onto the shelf and walked across the kitchen to the refrigerator. Inside the fridge Thomas found a bottle of lemon-lime soda that he had drunk most of, the day before.
This will have to do until mom goes shopping tonight, Thomas thought.
He walked back into the front room, ready to r
elax for a little while. Through the large window in the front room Thomas could see out into the front yard. The sky was steadily getting darker and he could hear raindrops tapping on the roof. Thomas stared out the window for a couple of seconds in a daze of boredom, until he was snapped out of the daze by the movement of a single figure walking in the street about a quarter of a mile away from our house. It was not unusual for the older people who lived in our neighborhood to go for walks in the morning, so Thomas thought nothing of it. He watched the person for a couple seconds, until the individual walked passed a trashcan placed out at the end of someone’s driveway. Then it struck Thomas, like a bolt of lightning. “Today is trash day!” he said out loud.
