Rise and Walk

by Gregory Solis

  Nikki stepped back from the rack, ejected the magazine from the spent weapon, and fished the last clip from her pocket. She slammed the magazine home and closed the action, in the manner that she was taught just twelve hours earlier. Two more creatures came to the breach in the wall. Their heads were not visible, just arms shooting forward into the shack. Why can’t I see their heads? Nikki wondered. With only four bullets left, her only hope was to wait for a better shot.

  Outside of the shack, the fallen undead had formed into a pile of once human remains. The more Nikki dispatched, the higher the stack of bodies beneath the breach grew.

  The walking dead had neither respect nor reason to regard their fallen brethren. They stood upon the slippery remains of the others, clawing for access to the warm living matter within the shack. Arms outstretched, they didn’t need to see their prey; their instincts told them where the meat was. The former cheerleader, Mindy had taken a good bite out of Lance because she was small. She was able to wriggle in between the larger creatures. Once the feeding frenzy began, she was tossed aside by the hungry aggression of the others. Her braces, torn from such animal like biting had come undone in several places. The wires now protruded through the decayed tissue of her swollen black lips. As the others slipped about on top of puss filled wrecks of inhuman creatures, she found herself forcing her fingers through a different part of the shack. There was food inside and her instincts wanted it. Hunger and rage blended forming a hellish alchemy. As slivers of old weathered pine slipped underneath the skin of her fingers, they curled around the plank and pulled. She formed thunderous cries from the constricted passageways of her throat as the plank flexed outward. Wordless desire formed in the gelatinous stew that made up her brain; the urge to consume hot flesh. The plank flexed further. Wood stressed from the middle but the nails on each side resisted.

  Much to Nikki’s relief, Veronica rejoined her side, shotgun at the ready. They still couldn’t see the heads of the creatures through the breach. Veronica thought against trying to poke the thin barrel of her weapon out the hole to try for a head shot. The arms of the beasts could find her, or she might lose her gun to their grasp.

  “Grab that shovel,” she said to Nikki.

  Nikki didn’t hear her over the continuous thumping on the walls. She just stood, pistol raised, sweaty and visibly shaken. Her eyes trained on the creatures waiting for a good target. There was a dark determination on her countenance that Veronica never expected to see. She didn’t bother asking Nikki again. Veronica laid the shotgun down next to her feet, being reminded of her pain once again as she stooped. She picked up the longer of the two shovels and stood. Holding the shovel, she thrust at the swiping hands. Moving to the side, she jabbed in between a pair of outstretched arms. The sharp tip of the spade dug a small gouge in the ribs of a ghoul. She thrust again and sliced at the thing’s right armpit. Veronica pushed forward, forcing its shoulder away from the breach. She ducked to avoid its other flailing appendage. It grabbed her shovel and pulled it from her hands out through the hole. As the monster tore the shovel away, it bent down for a moment allowing Nikki a shot. She fired with one eye closed, determined not to waste any more bullets. A copper coated chunk of lead sailed into its cheek and out the top of its head. It rolled back and fell, still clutching the shovel.

  “Three left,” Nikki said with her gun still pointing at the opening. Her hands shook as she concentrated on her aim.

  In the corner opposite the bench, on the same wall as the hole that Nikki was watching, a plank violently broke in the center. Veronica, alerted by the sound of creaking wood, snapped up her shotgun and aimed at the girl creature with the distorted mouth. Another larger ghoul threw the cheerleader easily aside to gain access. It lowered its face in towards the gap and received a blast from Veronica’s shotgun. Homemade shrapnel shredded the beast’s rotting features.

  How many more are out there, wondered Veronica. She replaced a shotgun shell feeling only two more left in her pocket. The hammering of fists and palms on the walls told here that there were plenty more monsters to deal with. She wanted to save her shots. Nikki fired again, the loud report making Veronica flinch.

  “Did you hit it?” Veronica yelled.

  “Two bullets left,” was her only answer.

  Two corpses appeared in front of Veronica, furiously tearing at the slats. More planks tore off, making her breach a foot and a half by four feet. Only one column of four foot planks stood firm between the two breaches. The framing of the shack was durable however, a broken plank left a space where the creatures could get their hands in, and tear larger openings. Veronica wanted to know what time it was, but had no time to check her watch. She hefted the shotgun to her cheek and fired. A creature went down with a wet sound. She reloaded the shotgun.

  Nikki was trying not to hyperventilate. She was concentrating with all her faculties on her opening. Her consciousness had formed into a sort of tunnel vision. She knew that she had two bullets left. She had to hit her targets. She had missed twice and wasn’t going to miss again. A mop of brown hair appeared in her breach. The creature was female, in a cheerleading shirt. As Nikki looked at the girl beast, her rapid heartbeat skipped its rhythm. The creature was familiar. Nikki knew her from school. Knew her, Nikki thought; past tense. The creature growled a disgusting display of torn braces. Nikki fired. The .380 hit the young monster in the temple, blasting out her ear on the other side. Nikki hit her target and became very distressed; she only had one bullet left.

  “Last bullet!” Nikki hollered.

  Veronica lifted her weapon, pushed it in close through the swinging arms of a creature and fired. The thing went down, blown away from the shack by the blast. Reloading her weapon, Veronica felt like she was part of an assembly line of death. The constant thumping and clawing at the building was much less now, but still encompassed the shack. They were very fortunate that the creatures had not concentrated on the breaches. These things are not very smart, she thought. She had an idea. Veronica backed away to the other side of the shack. She kept her eye on the breach but moved very close to the far wall. Two ghouls were there hammering and yowling for entrance. She could see the shadows of their forms through the slats.

  “Hey guys. You hungry? I’m right here!” she yelled in a wavering voice.

  She slapped her hand on the wall repeatedly. Their response was a horrifying increase in pounding. Their snarls and howls became even more ferocious. Her goal to encourage the ghouls on the other side in the hopes of keeping them there was successful. It also had the effect of exciting the others. A creature that had been pressing against the door for sometime, decided to try another area. It rounded the corner to Nikki’s breach, put a foul claw on the top of the lower plank, and lost its footing on the slippery mass of bodies, tearing the wood free as it fell. The plank flew off like a shingle blown away in a storm. The breach was growing. The creature braced itself on the pile of bodies and attempted to push up. Nikki fired; her slug punched a hole into the top of the thing’s head, exiting just under the chin. The corpse fell as if it were suddenly switched off. Flies soon found the body and started their work.

  The pistol stopped with the slide locked back, chamber open. It was empty. There were no more bullets. Nikki was spent. She stood, looking at the weapon; at her hopes for survival. The incessant pounding and moans of hunger had diminished since the siege began, yet Nikki couldn’t tell the difference. It took Nikki a moment to realize that Veronica was yelling at her.

  “We got to keep them on this side, away from the holes,” Veronica’s voice said from afar. Nikki turned and saw what her friend was doing. Fear welled up within the young blondee with the understanding of Veronica’s plan. She moved to the far side filled with disgust. Nikki didn’t want to get close to the walls. She began to slap on the planks while her stomach turned from the foul smell of their putrescence.

  “Keep them interested,” Veronica urged. Nikki pounded harder. The plan was sound. She slid the pistol into her po
cket and used both hands, making sure to keep a two-by-four in front of her, thinking that it was the strongest part of the wall. Veronica left to attend the breaches. From the center of the shack, she tried to count the creatures. There were two on Nikki’s wall, two shadows at the back, possibly three. She saw one shadow move towards the breach wall and aimed her weapon in response. It appeared through the corner of the break as Veronica fired. The shot shell tore away the skin on the thing’s forehead and imploded its left eye, though it only reeled back. The home made shell failed to penetrate the hard bone. It recovered its balance and reached into the shack, roaring with hunger. Quickly reloading, her fingers were like jelly, but they managed to function. Veronica snapped the gun closed and took careful aim. She fired, tearing away the top of the monster’s forehead. That was it. No more ammunition and four, possibly more things to deal with. She looked to Nikki.

  “Keep them on that side,” Veronica said

  Nikki’s fear calmed a little as she pounded; the physical act forming some sort of release valve. She felt like venting, letting her anger out.

  “Come on you bastards, over here, it’s hot and delicious!” Nikki screamed with fury.

  Her words sent a shiver down Veronica’s spine. The thought of being hot and delicious wasn’t very comforting. Veronica knelt feeling her side throb and set down the shotgun. She quickly pulled the two paint guns towards her. Leaning out her long body, she retrieved the last shovel, a machete and a hammer. She pulled her haul close to Nikki and left it strewn about the floor at her feet.

  “Come on you fuckers, I’m right her,” Nikki continued, with tears in her eyes. Her anger fueled by the stink of the creatures’ rotting proximity drove her outbursts. Veronica handed her the shovel. Nikki accepted it and continued her pounding. Picking up one of the paint guns, Veronica made sure that it was ready to fire. She had no idea if the dart gun would work, but it did fire something. Anything was worth a try now. Jack said that she would have to be close. The gun was tuned to fire at full strength. She would aim for the eyes. If the dart failed to make it through the orbital bone, at least she would be able to blind another creature. Thinking that she might need two shots, Veronica knelt down and put the strap of the second paint gun over her shoulder. She stood. There were no targets at the moment.

  “You mother fuckers, come on, you know you want this!” Nikki screamed at the creatures through the slats. She was practically crying but her words said rage. Veronica put her hand to her shoulder. Nikki flinched back in fear, startled by her touch.

  “Take it easy,” Veronica said. Nikki looked at her with the tormented eyes of someone on the edge of madness. Sweat and dust clung to her face while her lower lip trembled. Veronica put her arms around Nikki and felt her go weak. The young girl whimpered. In the relative peace provided by the reduced numbers of attackers, she whispered reassurance to Nikki.

  “There’re very few left, we’re gonna make it.” Nikki pulled away and stood straight up. For the first time she noticed that the thumping was much less now. Her own pounding and screaming had been too loud for her to recognize the difference. Reality seemed clearer to Nikki, maybe they were going to get through this. Veronica removed a rubber band from her pocket. Adjusting the strap of the paint gun over her other shoulder, she tied her hair back.

  “Shooting gallery is over; now we have to fight,” Veronica said trying to encourage her friend. Nikki nodded and started pounding again, this time with more control.

  “Hey guys, I’m still here, come on,” she looked to Veronica with a touch of confidence. They followed her voice from the outside with pitiful starved moans.

  Veronica crept slowly towards the second breach. Two shadows of the undead signaled that they were on the other side of its corner. She thought about luring one over to the breach to try the darts, but feared the other following it. She was willing to attempt using the air rifle against one creature, not two. It would be best to deal with the things one at a time. Looking on the floor she saw the machete. A horrid idea formed in her mind.

  “Keep it up, it’s working,” she said to Nikki as she put down both dart guns. Snapping up the machete and a hammer she went to the corner of the shack opposite the breach. The two creatures were on the outside clawing and pushing against the pine planks. Veronica stooped and looked at the form furthest from the breach. It was thin and small, possibly female. Sizing up the creature with her knowledge of anatomy, she found the area between the boards that would work best.

  “Hey there, who’s hungry,” she said through the planks. The creatures pressed harder, dragging jagged fingernails on the wall in a starving frenzy.

  Veronica braced both hands on the handle of the machete and placed the tip in the small space between the planks. She ran the blade into the creature’s rib cage with all her strength. At first the tip met with resistance, pushing against tough tissue. Then as the blade cut into skin, muscle, and soft viscera, the machete slid further. Foul gas escaped from the opening in the thing’s flesh with a slow wet whoosh. It was gristly work that turned her stomach, but it had to be done. Pounding on the handle with the hammer, she forced the blade as far as possible into the creature. As long as it didn’t push away from the wall, it should stay in place.

  Now the hard part, Veronica thought. She dropped the hammer and scooped up the paint guns. Looking at the corner directly beside her breach, she saw the other ghoul’s shape. Luring the thing over frightened her but once again, it had to be done. Veronica forced herself to get very close to the opening.

  “Hey you,” she called. The ghoul stopped pounding.

  “Over here,” she said again.

  It moved fast, almost feeling its way around the corner. Veronica raised the paint gun, aiming for its eye. She fired. The dart was propelled by a large burst of compressed gas. It glided through the jelly of the eye, penetrated the orbital bone and lodged without harming the brain. The ghoul roared and sought after Veronica’s flesh with festering arms.

  “Shit!” she cursed, dropping the paint gun and readying the other. She moved in close, extending the gun as far away from her body as possible and fired. Jack’s gun was the more powerful of the two. It coughed a four inch dart at over three hundred feet per second through the thing’s eye and into its brain. Amazed that her plan had worked, Veronica looked on the floor for another dart.

  Nikki’s voice was growing horse. Tired of yelling, she had been able to keep her ghouls interested by prodding the wall here and there with the shovel. Seeing Veronica successfully dealing with the remaining creatures increased her optimism for their survival. She watched Veronica remove the barrel and load another dart in a paint gun.

  “What time is it?” Nikki asked with a scratchy voice.

  “Eight fifty,” Veronica said looking up from Jack’s watch disappointed.

  Looking around the room at the various tools, Veronica was out of ideas. There were at least three more creatures out there. The machete appeared to be holding the one ghoul at the rear, but the others were free. She wasn’t sure about using the darts again. Veronica wanted other options.

  “Any ideas?” she asked Nikki.

  Nikki thought and looked at the workbench. She had an idea but was afraid to mention it.

  “Move the bench away and smash their heads,” Nikki said.

  “What?” Veronica questioned in disbelief.

  “Look how low the hole is. Get them to try and crawl in, then smash them in the head.”

  Veronica looked at the bench. It was very low, about two feet from floor to the top of the hole. The things would have to bend down to gain entrance. They would make perfect targets at that level, crawling in head first. She was optimistic that they could pull it off with only one creature, but two of the bastards made her nervous. Still, the thought of the men not making it back, frightened her. She had to work under the assumption that there was no help coming. Looking at the axe, she thought it might be the perfect weapon for the job. If they managed to kill one mon
ster, its body would block the hole, making it more difficult for the other to get in. As the second one struggled over the remains, she could use the axe again. It could work, Veronica thought. She took a deep breath.

  “Okay, you pull the pick out and I’ll …” Veronica stopped and listened. She heard the distinct sound of a motorcycle wining high in the distance. Both women exhaled in exhaustion and looked at each other with relief.

  THIRTY-NINE

  Topping the rise onto the flat open area at high speed, Mason saw the shack in the distance. Something was different, something was wrong; something was trying to break in. He cranked his throttle down hard and flew across the dirt road. A few moments later, Tony appeared in the truck. Mason’s approach alerted the ghouls. Tony bounced the truck across the field honking the horn. They turned and started towards Mason. He stopped his bike twenty feet from the shack and laid it on the ground. Pulling his Katana from the scabbard, he squared off with the two creatures, sword ready. Mason swung his sword hard at a male ghoul, striking it in the neck. The blade severed the vertebrae, yet lodged deep in the tough muscles. The corpse dropped, its head leaning grotesquely to one side. Mason pulled away from the monster as it fell allowing the sharp blade to carve itself free. The second creature lunged at him. Mason ducked low, bringing his shoulder pad into the thing’s midsection. Mason exerted an explosive leap from his legs, propelling the ghoul up and over his shoulder, to land flat on its back. It floundered on the ground, arms flailing.