Zombie Dawn: Outbreak

by Thomas, Nick S.

  As some of the people ran past the camera a person stepped into shot, grabbing at one of those running by. The attacker was a middle-aged man but there was something strange but familiar about him. There was blood dripping from his mouth, his flesh was pale and he moved with a ridged, uncomfortable gate. As he grabbed hold of the person he lunged forwards, biting into the woman’s shoulder and then pulled her down to the ground. As the two people dropped down another two similar people knelt down and joined in, literally feeding on the dying woman.

  “Fuck me!” came down the line from Max, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked.

  “Zombies!” said Zack.

  “Yeah!” agreed Max, “fucking zombies and it looks like it’s already underway. This is awesome! I knew we did all this gaming for a reason, it was for today!”

  “Fuck, yeah!” said a grinning Zack, “Get Tim online, we need to put out seventy two hour plan into action. You still got your paperwork?”

  “You’re kidding right? Ever since you got that How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse book I’ve had everything ready for this day. He’s here,” said Max.

  With all three of them in front of their computers they switched to their headsets so they could discuss their plan as a group.

  “Okay Tim, it looks like this is the Zompoc,” said Zack.

  “Holy shit! You’re kidding me?” asked Tim.

  “No shit, this is the real deal. We need to check, there’s no point putting the plan into action unless this is for real. My plan is we meet up at The Mall. It’s on the main road and the out of town retail stores are there,” said Zack.

  With a few key presses Zack loaded up a map of the town, tracing the route he would need to reach the retail park. The site was big but away from most people. It wasn’t perfect but it was in a much better area than where Tim and Max lived in the centre of the town and offered them options, something the town did not.

  “Yeah, we need to hit those retail places for our equipment,” agreed Tim.

  “We need to get going and fast if this is anything like the movies we’ll be overrun in hours. It might already be too late; we’ve been gaming for hours whilst this shit has been going down. We need to get out, get equipped, supplied and safe before this place goes to shit,” said Max.

  “Ok, sounds like a plan. I’m going to get to Max’s flat, he’s only a few streets from here. We’ll then meet you at the railway bridge outside town. From there we’ll get to the retail park. We’ll meet in thirty minutes,” said Zack.

  With the plan ready to go Max and Tim both disconnected, leaving Zack on his own. Still hungry but also a little excited. He opened his cupboard and grabbed his ‘bug out’ bag though he couldn’t remember what he’d actually put in it.

  After the hours of discussion with his friends at school he’d gone and made a day based plan and even started to hoard equipment, just in case it was needed. He threw on his jacket and then went out to the kitchen, grabbing a few more cans of coke to keep him going. His stomach groaned, instantly reminding him that he needed food and fast. Checking his watch the time was just past eleven o’clock. Not a problem usually for pizza delivery but a big problem for finding stores that were still open.

  The last things he grabbed were his phone and keys. Opening the front door carefully he peeked out into the hallway, all seemed clear. He locked the door and then made his way to the lift. The building was surprisingly quiet and he started to wonder that maybe not leaving the flat for the last thirty six hours might now be a problem. What if a zombie apocalypse had started the day before? According to all the books and films he’d seen, this is the time when things got really bad.

  Jumping in the lift he hit the button and waited for the doors to close. As always, when he was in a hurry nothing seemed to happen. After a short pause though, the door slid shut and his descent started. He considered the map he’d been looking at before he left. Max’s place was across the road and then three streets behind it, just before the pizza place.

  The lift pinged and the doors slid open to reveal the lobby. It was the nicest part of the apartment complex, with marble walls and the mailbox lockers on one side. He opened the secure door and stepped into the street. It was just as it looked from upstairs, just louder and somehow less safe. To one side was the crashed car and he was sure he could see people, probably bodies in the street. Behind the car was a group of at least thirty people staggering around. Either they were all drunk or they were Zack’s first look at a real world zombie. He ducked down behind a parked Volvo and looked around, making sure his route was ok. From his position it looked like the only group was to the left.

  Throwing caution to the wind, and feeling a sense of danger and a little excitement, he launched himself from behind the car and rushed across the street. In just a couple of seconds he was on the pavement at the other side and continued walking away from his home. Taking the side road he stayed on the pavement and carried on walking, without noticing anything untoward. Cars were parked in the street as normal but there didn’t seem to be many cars actually driving around. As he reached the corner he could make out the building where Max lived on the opposite corner. Max was a little older and shared with several other university students.

  After years of gaming he knew only too well the dangers that unknown streets and corners offered. He moved out into the road but kept his head down to avoid attention. As he crept forward he noticed some more of the zombie-like people in an alley to the left. He stopped and watched for a moment, it looked like they were robbing a third person. He was about to shout when he saw them biting into the man’s flesh.

  “Holy fuck!” whispered Zack to himself.

  He continued his slow movement to the street corner where Max lived. It was an old stone townhouse with three storeys and a basement that the students often used for late night parties. The windows on the ground floor were flashing and the dull thud of the bass from a powerful sound system made the old Victorian window panes vibrate.

  A series of groans emanated from across the street. At first Zack thought it was from the creatures in the alley but he quickly spotted a group of dozens more in the street. He looked in the other three directions and his suspicions were confirmed, the zombies were being drawn to the sound and possibly the lights of the house. Zack looked at the other buildings, but none were producing the sound or light that could possibly get so much attention.

  Taking a deep breath he hurled himself the last short distance and started banging on the heavy wooden door. There was no reply, probably because of the extremely loud noise. He looked back over his shoulder to see the horde in the street was getting closer. The only good thing was that they were moving at a very slow pace. He turned back to the door to find a man stood in front of him. Zack staggered backwards, shocked by the appearance of the man.

  “What’s up, kid?” asked a man in his late twenties.

  Waiting a moment to catch his breath, Zack stepped up closer to the man.

  “I’m not a kid,” said Zack indigently, “I’m here to see Max.”

  “Whoa, tough guy!” laughed the man as he beckoned Zack inside. Without pausing Zack was inside and made sure the door was shut behind him.

  The sound in the hallway was insanely loud, it sounded like they were playing Wheels of Steel again on their Rock Band game. He moved into the room to the sight of four men and a couple of women smoking and drinking. Three of the men and one of the women were playing fake guitars and drums, whilst an older man in his thirties slaughtered the song with his out of tune voice. For some reason, whenever they played this game they just had to choose the never ending version of the Saxon song. One of the men hammered like crazy on the set of imitation drums and the final man, stripped to the waist was strumming away on his plastic guitar. There were at least two more of the group, who were either asleep or passed out, and there were cans and fast-food boxes everywhere. It was so sad to Zack, these games were for children and pensioners, gamers didn’t p
lay this kind of crap.

  As Zack stood watching them playing at being in a band Max appeared. He was wearing a thick coat and carried a bag on his back. Max looked older than Zack and more like the other members of the house than the pale faced Zack. He shouted something to him but the noise was too great.

  Zack stepped over to the speakers and without pausing hit the power button. The sound dropped off almost instantly, though the rest of the band members continued singing or hitting away at their instruments. In just seconds the room was in uproar. The older man on the microphone launched into a tirade.

  “What the fuck are you doing you stupid little prick?” he screamed.

  “Haven’t you seen outside, there are zombies and you’re attracting them here with your noise?” said Zack.

  The man playing the drums stood up, walking towards Max.

  “You’re fucking kidding me? Your friend taking the piss?” he swore.

  Max stepped between Zack and the man.

  “He’s not kidding, there’s some kind of outbreak going on, haven’t you seen the news?”

  One of the women staggered over with a glass of cheap wine in her hand.

  “Who cares?” she muttered, “they can join in if they want!”

  Zack interjected, “Come on people, listen to yourselves. There’s some serious shit going on out there. We need to get out of here.”

  “Shut up, tough guy,” laughed one of the others as he returned to the sound equipment.

  “Max, if you want to go, go, otherwise leave us in peace,” said the man.

  He leaned down and pushed the lead back in, the music kicked back in almost deafening Zack. The rest of the revellers moved back to their seating or instruments and continued where they’d left off.

  Max signalled to Zack to follow him. The two made for the kitchen area that was at the back of the house. Though the sound was deafeningly loud they could just about hear each other.

  “Zack, you’re sure this is the real deal?” asked Max.

  “You bet! I’ve checked all the news sites, video feeds, the lot. The shit has hit the fan right across the world. If we wait much longer we’ll never get out,” he said.

  They were interrupted by the flickering of the lights. With just two flashes the lighting in the house was cut. There was a lot of shouting from the group around the band equipment though the music still kept playing. Max and Zack stepped back into the room, wary of what might lurk in the darkness. A shape moved passed them and they both watched it carefully. As their eyes adjusted to the light they noticed it was the drummer, he disappeared into the hallway. Zack looked around, checking for any sign of the zombies. So far it looked like they were okay.

  With a flash the lights came back on, the man must have left the room to flick the trip on the consumer unit. There was no sign of him though and this concerned Zack. The man on the microphone shouted over the speakers for the drummer to come back and get in the game.

  From the hallway the drummer emerged, but to the shock of Zack and Max he was covered in blood. Taking just a few steps he staggered into the room and then collapsed. One of the women screamed, the rest dropped their instruments and ran over to the wounded man. Max stood in disbelief and finally believed that something bad was really happening. Zack on the other hand ran straight for the door where the drummer had come from. He threw he weight against the door and swung it shut just as a bloodied arm pushed through the gap. He tried to shout to the others for help, but the Saxon song kept on pounding away. The arm waved around trying to grab at Zack. He turned to Max but he was still stood there, doing nothing. Zack waved at him, trying to draw his attention. Finally Max snapped out of it and grabbing the nearest thing he could find, a DVD box set of Dirty Harry films. He ran forward, smashing the box down on the hand. It loosened its hold and the two of them were able to force the door shut.

  Zack slid the door’s bolt across, sealing the room, at least for now. Whilst Max stood watching the unfolding scene, Zack ran across the room and pulled the cable on the music. With the sound gone it was replaced by groans from the injured drummer. A large puddle of blood expanded across the floor and it was obvious to most of them that he was going to die. A woman screamed, whilst the others tried to stem the flow of blood from the hurt man. The two, who until now had been sleeping or more likely passed out, were forced awake by the shrill scream. The drummer started to shake, blood spurting from his mouth before finally laying still.

  “Fuck!” shouted the Tony, the oldest of the group.

  “Is he dead?” screamed the drunken Naomi.

  “Of course he’s dead,” shouted Tony, “look at the fucking holes in his body!”

  He turned to look at Zack, “Did those fucking zombie things do this?”

  Zack backed off, sensing danger from this man.

  “Probably, why don’t you look outside?” he suggested.

  “Yeah, maybe I will!” he shouted.

  Leaving the body of their friend on the ground, Tony walked over to the large bay window that looked overlooked the street. There were two large curtains currently pulled across it to keep passersby from looking in. As the rest of the group continued talking he ripped open the curtains to reveal the full bay window. At every pane of glass was a bloodied and pale face.

  “Fuck!” shouted Tony as he stumbled backwards, falling onto his back.

  Laura, the woman who had been screaming was hiding in the corner of the room, muttering to herself, obviously scared to death by what she’d seen.

  John, one of the men that had being playing the guitar knelt down to the wounded drummer.

  “Have you seen this?” he asked.

  The rest followed his gaze as he pointed out the wounds on the man. There were what looked like bite and chew marks on his neck, shoulder, waist and arm.

  “He was only out there for a few seconds. What animal would attack like that?”

  “Look, people!” shouted Zack as loudly as he could.

  “I’ve already told you. There’s some kind of outbreak going on and they’re attacking the living. That’s you and me. We can’t stay here. You need to get out of town, that’s what me and Max are doing.”

  The door to the hallway started shaking as the creature tried to force its way inside. Tony ran up to the bay window and closed the curtains, covering the windows. He then turned back, giving a forced grin, and moved to the wall socket pulling the plug on the sound system, finally quieting the room.

  “I can’t take looking at them anymore,” he said in a matter of fact tone.

  With the music now gone they could all hear the hammering and battering sounds from scores or maybe even hundreds of the monsters trying to work their way in.

  The glass shattered and the curtains were quickly ripped down. Tony turned to see dozens of the creatures forcing their way through the smashed glass windows. Almost simultaneously the door to the hall ripped open and a number of zombies staggered into the front room. These two groups now surrounded the revellers in the large room. To their front was the smashed bay window, to one side was the broken door to the hallway and at the back of the room was another door that led into the kitchen. Steve, one of the guitarists, tried to escape from the room but was caught by the first zombie in the corridor and thrown up against the wall.

  Naomi started screaming again, whilst the others panicked and each doing what they thought was best in the situation. Tony lifted the drum and its cheap metal stand and swung it at the first creatures coming into the room. The other men grabbed the guitar and microphone stand and joined in, smashing and striking at the zombies at the bay window.

  “Get this fucking thing off me!” screamed Steve.

  Zack and Max attempted to help the man at the wall who was trying to avoid being bitten. As the three struggled with the tall zombie even more poured in from the corridor.

  Naomi, still screaming simply drew attention to herself by her noise and was soon dragged down by three zombies. She reached out, grabbing the only
item that was on the floor, it was the remote control for the television. She lifted it and swung it hard into the face of one of the zombies. It knocked the creature to the side but it was quickly back and bit into her hand forcing her to drop it. She opened her mouth to cry for help but another zombie climbed over her and bit down into her throat, tearing out a mouthful of flesh. As the blood gushed from the wound she made one final effort to throw the closest one off her, but it was too late. With the massive trauma to her body she passed out and it was probably for the best as more of the zombies joined in the feeding frenzy.

  Laura, who was still delirious from whatever she had been drinking or eating previously, staggered to the corridor with a fire poker in her hands that she must have grabbed from the fireplace. She may have been as drunk as Naomi, but she had no intention of simply screaming and then dying. Two more zombies entered the room from the corridor and screaming loudly she rushed at the first one, stabbing hard with the weapon. With little effort the heavy lump of metal smashed into the creature’s chest and impaled it on the door. Even as it lay pinned it kept moving, trying to bite and snap at her. On the shelf next to the door was a lamp. She grabbed it and smashed it hard on the zombie’s head. The lamp smashed into pieces and yet the zombie still wouldn’t die.

  “Die, you fuck!” screamed Laura as she grabbed onto the poker and pulled at it. With one final tug she managed to pull it from the zombie’s body and without hesitating she stabbed again but this time at its head. With one swift motion it penetrated the front of the head and smashed out through the rear of the thing’s skull. It collapsed lifelessly in front of her. Another zombie tried to grab her but she ducked under its arms and kicked at its leg. The brittle bone snapped at the knee and it fell to the ground near the skewered zombie.