World Memorial

by Robert R. Best

  The children looked nervous. The boy squirmed as Dalton tightened the strap.

  "I know, guys," he said. "I know. But it will be okay. These are to hold us all in place. So the bad woman can't pull us."

  The older children nodded. The younger ones saw and seemed to draw strength from it.

  The fighting outside was growing very loud. Dalton knew they didn't have much time before Beulah made herself known.

  A guard named April set down her gun and hopped over the moat. She stepped over to Dalton and helped with the other chains.

  Dalton strode to his spot on the post and grabbed his strap. He was just about to wrap it around his waist when his body went rigid. His sight grew hazy, rimmed with a haze of white light.

  The other children locked into the same rigid pose. All their eyes glowed.

  * * *

  Beulah stood between two large trees. The back wall of World Memorial stretched out before her. Her arms were out. She was reaching out to the children, pulling them to her.

  She pulled as hard as she could, but was distracted. Not by corpses or animals. She'd found a spot along the wall too wooded for the mob to reach.

  What distracted her were all the other outposts. They were ready. They had started the proceedings. The only way to stop them was to hold them back herself. They all stood, confused, around the groups of children they had collected. In Europe, in Asia, in Australia and Africa. Groups of people stood ready to kill the sacrificial children. Ready but not acting. Not acting but not quite knowing why.

  She could have told them to wait, of course. But it required too much power to manifest directly in someone's thoughts. To be seen or heard by them. To expend that much energy for any one group would require letting go of the others. And if she let go, those groups would sacrifice their children while the other group did not. Beulah's plan had to be perfectly executed for the chain reaction to work, for the world to be cleansed of Sharon's chaos and filth.

  So all Beulah could do was hold her other groups in check while she tried to pull the World Memorial children to the wall. The spot wasn't ideal, but it would be close enough for Beulah to set them off herself. She could do it and release the other towns all at once. The chain reaction would work and the world would be saved. Put right.

  She could feel resistance from the children in World Memorial. She could feel it but couldn't focus on why. She didn't have the energy for it. She'd just have to keep pulling blindly.

  She heard Sharon's mob on the other side of town, roaring and moaning and slamming into the walls. If Sharon could get to the children without killing them, it was over. The chain would be broken. The world would be doomed. Beulah pulled harder, trying to maintain the balancing act in which she found herself.

  * * *

  Dr. Graham pulled at the last board. Whoever had nailed it had done a good job. He twisted and pulled, but it only gave a little.

  He cursed whoever had done it. He thought he heard noise beyond the wall but couldn't be sure. He told himself whatever was outside was focused on the front. He'd be fine if he could just get rid of this damned board.

  He tugged at the board as hard as his swollen, frozen fingers would allow. When Dalton had dragged him outside, he hadn't had time to get his gloves or coat. Ungrateful little bastard.

  The board shifted. Dr. Graham twisted it one more time and it came free.

  "Finally," he said under his breath, dropping the board behind him. He reached up to one of the metal flaps that made up the wall and found one unsecured. He got his frozen fingers underneath the top corner and pulled the flap down, bending the metal until he'd made a space large enough to crawl through. He bent forward as he pulled downward, not watching the hole he was making.

  Then he straightened.

  A horde of corpses stood outside the hole, waiting. They saw him and reached their dead arms through the hole. He tried to pull back but was too late. Their dead hands closed on his shirt, his face, his mouth. The rotting, frozen fingers pulled him toward the opening.

  At the sight of the dead, frozen mouths yearning for him, his anger fell away. The truth of what he had done became clear. He was suddenly sorry. He longed to make it right. To go back and help the others.

  "No, no!" he cried out. "Wait!"

  The hands dragged his face to the hole. A young woman with milky eyes and rotten teeth bit into his cheek. Pain scorched through him and his hot blood shot across her face.

  "No!" he yelled. "Stop!"

  The hands pulled him greedily toward the hole. He grabbed the sides and tried to push back, but the hands were too many and too strong. He was lifted up off his feet through the opening. Multiple mouths closed on him, biting and grinding. Waves of pain racked his body and he felt warm blood running across him. Out of him.

  "No!" he cried, sputtering in his blood "I'm sorry!"

  He managed to free his legs and kicked until he reached ground. He pushed himself back from those in front, screaming as he tore his flesh in the process, and managed to stand. Hands still clawed at him. Mouths still bit. He turned in their grasp, struggling against them. He faced the wall. He could see the opening he'd made. The opening through which he'd been dragged.

  More mouths bit into him. Hot blood shot across his limbs. Fingers tore at him, ripping hunks of clothing and flesh free. He blinked, growing woozy, almost losing his footing.

  He saw that the opening he'd made was partially closed. His woozy brain figured that the act of being torn through it had pulled the flap partially back into place.

  "I'm sorry," he sputtered again quietly. He grew numb.

  He took an unsteady step toward the wall, straining against the hands pulling at him. The corpses followed him, biting and tearing.

  He reached through the hole, pulling against their grasping hands, and grabbed the edge of the flap. He cried out in dull pain and frustration as he pulled the flap back into place. He twisted the metal as best he could, trying to make a crude lock. Trying to restore the barrier.

  "I'm sorry," he said, blood pouring from his mouth.

  Then he fell. The corpses fell on him and bit. And chewed. And ate.

  A few more seconds of pain, and it was done.

  * * *

  Maylee hung from the prone ladder. The corpses beneath her reached up, grasping and moaning. Her bat was in her free hand. She smacked down at the corpses. A few heads cracked and they slumped over. The rest kept grasping.

  She knew she couldn't keep it up. The arm she hung from was growing tired. She'd have to let go of the bat or fall.

  She felt the ladder shake and looked up. Galli of the Guard was climbing out to meet her. He crawled on his hands and knees. The ladder shook and the chain holding it in place strained and rattled.

  "Get back!" yelled Maylee, smacking away an old man with frozen hair and one arm. "I got this!"

  "Like hell you do!" said Galli as he drew near. The ladder bowed downward. Maylee dropped further toward the corpses. Dead fingers closed on her boots.

  "Dammit! Get off!" yelled Maylee.

  "Give me the bat!"

  "Shit!" yelled Maylee, but did. Galli took the bat and tossed it over the wall and onto the platform below.

  "Give me your hand!" Galli leaned down and held out his hand. The motion bowed the ladder further, lowering Maylee closer to the corpses. The dead hands grabbed further up her legs, grasping at her pants. They pulled downward.

  "Hurry!" yelled Maylee. She grabbed Galli's hand. Galli pulled, but the corpses gripped her too tightly.

  "Pull!" she said. Galli pulled harder. Maylee kicked at the corpses, trying to free herself. One corpse, a thin woman with large dark gashes across her grey throat, leaned in to bite her boot. Her teeth ground the leather, not breaking through.

  "Again with the boots?" yelled Maylee, wrenching her other leg free of the corpses. She kicked the woman's head with her newly freed leg. Galli pulled and Maylee kicked. The woman groaned and ground her teeth against leather.

 
; Maylee raised her free leg up high. She brought it down on the woman's skull. Hard. The woman groaned as black gunk slid from her mouth and across Maylee's boot.

  Galli pulled harder than before. Maylee slammed her boot down one more time. The woman's head split open and she fell, slipping off of Maylee's leg.

  Maylee flew up as Galli pulled. The sudden shift in weight threw Galli off the ladder as Maylee landed on it. Maylee corrected and grabbed Galli's arm. The ladder shifted further downward, and Galli screamed as corpses bit into him.

  "No!" Maylee screeched. A fat man with a huge wound across his face bit into Galli's neck. Galli screamed again as blood shot out across the ladder.

  Galli’s hand slipped from hers and he fell into the mob. The ladder snapped up as the corpses ripped him apart. Maylee slammed her fist down on the ladder.

  "I'm sorry," she said to Galli. He stared up at her, the light gone from his eyes. Maylee turned and crawled back across the ladder to safety.

  * * *

  Angie watched as three corpses fell in quick succession to the guards. An elk cried out as a cinderblock broke its back. The mob kept coming. She knew they couldn't hold out.

  She heard commotion behind her and turned. Several guards rushed across the square below, heading for the back of town. Carly was with them.

  "What's going on?" yelled Angie.

  Carly skidded to a halt and turned. "We've got a weak point in the back wall!" she yelled up to Angie. "Not sure what happened."

  "Got it. Hurry!"

  Carly turned and ran off with the others. Wham! A huge blow came from the wall behind her. Angie barely had time to wonder what it was before the platform shifted. Angie slumped over the rail, almost falling. The guards caught her and kept her from plummeting, but she still slammed into the railing, knocking the wind from her.

  The guards pulled her back up and she turned. "Thanks," she said as they let her go.

  Panting, Angie walked to the edge and looked over. Many animals were slamming the walls, trailing blood but not stopping. Corpses were everywhere. It seemed the whole world was covered in dead flesh.

  Angie sighed as the guards kept firing around her. "Looks like the whole wall's gonna be a weak point soon."

  * * *

  Park reloaded his rifle as quickly as he could. He cocked it into place and leaned over the edge of the wall. He drew a bead on a corpse and fired. It slumped, black blood pouring from the wound.

  He heard Lilly's voice. She sounded strangled. "Help...."

  "What?" said Park, cocking and looking for his next target.

  Lilly's voice was strained. "Help...me...fuck....face...."

  Park turned. Lilly's eyes were glowing. She took slow, steady steps toward the edge of the platform.

  Park grabbed her with one hand. He pointed the rifle with the other and shot. A corpse below groaned and fell.

  Park put the gun against his leg and cocked it with his free hand. Keeping hold of Lilly with the other, he raised the rifle and fired again. A corpse fell but the kickback sent a sharp pain through his shoulder. Lilly pulled against his other arm, straining toward the edge.

  "Damn, Lil," said Park. "Hold on a second."

  He set the rifle against the wall. With his free hand, he undid his belt and pulled it free. He pulled Lilly back to the front of the platform. He let her go long enough to loop his belt around her waist as she walked forward.

  "Don't tell anyone I took my belt to you, okay?" he said as he made a knot in the belt to tie it to her waist.

  Lilly strained, still trying to walk forward. "Ass...hole...."

  Park stood, holding the loose end of the belt. He tied it to a loop in his jeans. He stepped to one side and watched as Lilly took off for the ledge again. She stopped when the belt reached its limit. She strained against the taut leather but could go no further. She was safely clear of the ledge.

  "Not bad," said Park.

  "Are...you...fucking....shitting....me...."

  Park picked up his rifle and leaned back over the wall. He picked a target and fired. A corpse fell. Lilly strained against the belt but stayed in place.

  * * *

  Dalton slowly latched the strap around his waist. Working against Beulah's pull hurt more than anything he'd ever experienced, but he had more control than before. It got easier every time. He tied the strap tightly and pressed his back to the post. Every inch of him wanted to go around the post and head for the back wall. His clouded mind screamed at him to do it. But he stayed put.

  The children around him cried out in pain. The ones at the back of the post were pulling so hard the post shifted in the ground.

  "I know it hurts," said Dalton. "Just hold on...."

  He fought the pain clouding his mind. He dug deep. He found even more control than before.

  "Take my hands..." he said, holding them out to the children on either side.

  The children did, slowly and painfully. Their gloved hands clenched his. Their eyes glowed bright.

  "Pull!" yelled Dalton. He took a step forward, away from the post, forcing himself to walk counter to Beulah's pull. It hurt, badly. But it was possible.

  "Pull!" he yelled again.

  * * *

  Angie leaned over the platform, watching corpses and animals fall. The guards were doing great. The townsfolk were doing great. But there were still too many. Far, far too many.

  She looked past the mob. The field was obscured by blowing snow. Branches and dead leaves flew by in huge clumps. None of it reached the town.

  She looked down and to her left. She saw three bears racing toward the wall at once. They had bloody, mangled snouts from prior blows and showed no sign of slowing.

  "Hold on!" yelled Angie, knowing there was no time.

  The bears struck the wall with incredible force. So hard the wall crumpled inward. Metal groaned and the platform shook. Bolts and screws rattled.

  "This isn't going to hold!" yelled Angie. "Everyone off!"

  The people on the platform began climbing off as fast as they could. Angie limped toward the ladder. The guards closest to her tried to help. She shook them off. "Just go! Go!"

  A loud crash came from one side. Angie looked to see a panther slam through the wall. It ran between two platforms and into the town. It was obviously badly injured but kept running, trailing blood as it went. A man who'd just finished crawling off the platform cried out as the panther leapt on him and tore open his abdomen. The panther snarled and bit at the man's innards. He screamed and jerked, blood pouring from his mouth.

  Angie’s platform shook violently. Those on the ladder climbed down as quickly as they could. Angie held the ladder and looked over the edge. Those with her were preparing to climb down when she felt the platform give way.

  "No time!" she yelled, lunging for the railing. She grabbed hold as the platform slumped and fell forward.

  For a moment all was screaming and rushing wind. Then the platform slammed into the ground with a loud crash. Angie rammed into the railing so hard she thought she may have broken a rib. She shook her head clear and looked under her.

  People were trapped under the metal and wood of the destroyed platform. One woman looked up at Angie, her mouth opening and closing as blood pooled out of it.

  "No!" yelled Angie, standing up. "Everyone help!" she yelled, but she knew it was too late. The guards who’d been with her had also survived the fall. They stood and rushed to Angie.

  The woman slumped, her eyes going blank. The others under the rubble fell quiet. Angie stopped, standing on the ruin of wood, metal and bodies. She found her cane and picked it up. The guards turned to face the opening in the wall. Corpses poured in. Dents were forming in other spots in the walls. People were climbing from weakened platforms.

  The walls were breached.

  Twenty Three

  Five minutes had passed since the corpses had breached the walls. Angie stood with a small band of guards. They had their guns ready but weren't firing. A bunch of corpses stagger
ed in from a hole in the wall, headed for them.

  "Steady...." said Angie, holding out her arms to keep everyone still. "Steady...."

  More corpses crowded into the area, almost surrounding the small band of people. Angie could feel their nervousness.

  "Steady....."

  She waited a few more seconds. The corpses drew closer.

  "Now!" she yelled. Two guards on either side of the group yanked on thick chains West had installed in the ground months before. Loud grinding noises came from underfoot. Then a large mass of barbed wire flew up between two posts on either side of the town square. The wires snapped into place to form a thick fence. The corpses snagged on the wires. The guards opened fire, shooting the corpses down as they hung there.

  Angie watched for a second as rifles went off around her. Corpse skulls split and exploded. They slumped against the wires and more kept coming. They snagged in the wire and the watch shot them. It was working. For now.

  "Keep shooting! Fall back when they overwhelm the fence!"

  Angie limped away. Fighting was everywhere. Animals snarled and corpses staggered. People shot and threw weapons at them. West's traps sprang up from the ground or swung down from overhead. Angie never dreamed she'd need to use his defenses on such a scale. She wondered if she'd ever get a chance to thank him. She realized West's house was right in between the area Maylee had said the church was and the town. She realized West was probably not okay at all.

  "Damn," she said to herself as she limped along. She passed Park's narrow platform and looked up. Park was making his way down the platform. Lilly climbed down above him. Angie could see how stiffly the girl moved. She saw that Lilly’s eyes were glowing and knew Beulah was nearby. She cursed inwardly. The glow from Lilly’s eyes reflected off the ladder.

  Angie watched them for a moment, wondering why Lilly was up there. Because she wanted to be, Angie told herself and moved on.