Ashton Memorial

by Robert R. Best

  “Fuck shit hell,” grumbled Park. “It would be the one way the hell over there.”

  He walked over to the snack aisle and turned down it.

  A corpse sat on the floor, gnawing at the mangled remains of another body. It was a little girl, fingers coated with blood. Her ears were missing, along with most of the skin on her face. Her black hair was matted with gore. Park stopped midstep, staring down at her. No ears. She hadn't heard him come in.

  Then the girl saw him. She hissed, bloody meat falling from her mouth, and lunged for him. Her tiny fingers closed around his pant leg. Park twisted around, attempting to kick at the girl, then fell into the snacks. The shelf and Park toppled over backward. The girl held on to his leg. The rifle was pinned between his back and the shelf, out of reach.

  “Shit!” yelled Park. “Fucking kid!” He heard a creak and a thud as the shelf behind him fell over. Then the next, then the next. There was a chaos of clattering and crashing as cans, bags and auto products fell to the floor.

  The girl clawed her way up Park's clothes, coming for his face. Park's hand flailed to one side, grabbing at anything nearby. It closed on something. He brought it up and slammed it into the girl's face. It was a bag, which split as it connected with the girl's skull. Potato chips rained down on Park. The girl gnashed at the bag and the few chips that remained inside, trying to get to Park. The blood from her skinned face mingled with the plastic and salt.

  Using the remains of the bag as a shield for his hand, Park pushed the girl's face back until he had enough leverage to shove. When he did, he flung her to the floor next to the ruined body she'd been eating.

  “Just be happy with what you got there,” Park said, turning to climb up the fallen shelf. “Looks delicious.”

  * * *

  “Get out of here, Maylee!” yelled Dalton from the toilet, drawing up his legs and covering his lap.

  “Shh!” said Maylee, as quietly as she could. “There's one of those things out there!” She spun to face the door, looking for the lock. She found it and pushed it closed.

  “What?” said Dalton behind her, flushing. “Get Mom!”

  “There's no time!” said Maylee. Moaning came from outside. Then a scratching noise as the corpse ran its fingers up and down the metal door.

  “What are we going to do?” said Dalton. Maylee heard him zipping up his pants and she turned.

  “I don't know.” She remembered the bat in her hand. “I guess there's just the one, and we got the bat. If we can get to Mom...”

  A second groan came from behind the door. A different voice. Something slammed against the door so hard it shook.

  “Shit!” said Maylee, spinning around. The door rattled. The old lock would give before long.

  “Maylee,” said Dalton.

  Maylee scanned the room, panic creeping through her. She saw the toilet Dalton had been on, a sink and an old rusted space heater.

  She pointed to the heater. “Plug that thing in.”

  “Why?”

  “Just do it!” yelled Maylee. A third moan came from the door. The metal door shook again, harder than before.

  Dalton went to the space heater and, kneeling down, plugged it in. The coils hummed and started to glow.

  “Pick it up!” ordered Maylee. She ran to one wall and set her bat against it. She'd need both hands for what she had in mind.

  “It'll get hot!”

  “Don't touch the hot parts, dumbass!” Maylee ran to the toilet paper dispenser. She unrolled as much as she could as quickly as she could. She tore the mass free and ran to the sink. She shoved the paper into the drain until it was completely clogged.

  “What are you doing?” said Dalton, gingerly holding the space heater.

  Still standing at the sink, Maylee used her foot to kick the lid of the toilet down. “Stand on the toilet!”

  “What? Why?” said Dalton. The door shook and rattled hard. Any second now, Maylee knew, the lock would break. Groans and hissing came from outside.

  “Just do it!” Maylee turned on the water in the sink. Both taps, full blast.

  * * *

  Angie whipped her head from side to side, looking for the source of the moans. They seemed to come from everywhere. The gas nozzle clicked off behind her. The tank was full. The rain started full strength. Cold, hard and fast.

  Corpses stumbled from the right side of the gas station. Five of them, maybe. The rain made it hard to tell.

  Angie looked to the station. Park struggled with a corpse inside. Moans came from the left side of the station. From where the bathrooms were.

  Angie's chest tightened and she ran toward the bathrooms. “Maylee! Dalton!”

  Corpses stumbled around from the left side, blocking her way.

  * * *

  Park climbed up the fallen shelf, heading for the shelf behind it. Bags of chips crunched underneath him. The girl's fingers closed on his leg from behind.

  “Dammit, girl! You could have attacked me when I didn't have my fucking gun on my fucking back!” He considered reaching for the rifle, but if he let go of the shelf he would slide down to her waiting hands and mouth. He kicked blindly with his free leg. He connected and heard a wet crunch. The girl let go and Park clambered to the next shelf. Magazines. Cars, musicians and porno. He climbed up the shelf but the slick glossy paper gave him no footing. He slipped and fell back toward the first shelf. He turned, struggling to reach the gun. His hand found the barrel but it was again pinned between his back and the shelf. He saw the girl coming for him.

  He grabbed a magazine as he slid toward the girl. Drunk and Willing, the magazine said. Park had several issues himself. He rolled the magazine up and slammed the girl across the face. Her head whipped to one side but she quickly corrected. She climbed back up on his chest, hissing and snapping at his face.

  Park shoved the end of the rolled-up magazine into her mouth. She gurgled and gnashed her teeth at the paper, shredding it. Bits of paper floated down to Park's chest as he pushed the magazine and the girl away from him.

  He shoved hard and she fell back. He turned and climbed up the shelf. This time he made it over the magazines and onto the next rack. Auto supplies. Oil and steering fluid. This was the aisle the teen was in. Park briefly wondered where the teen's body had gone, then realized it was hidden under the fallen shelf.

  He cast a glance back at the girl. She was coming after him but was still climbing up the snacks. Again he considered the rifle, but he couldn't afford letting go of the shelf.

  “Sorry kid,” Park said, “but I gotta go.”

  He turned and started to climb up the auto supply shelf. A new hand closed on his arm.

  Park looked at the hand and followed it to the source. The teen, most of his head chewed open, was grabbing for him.

  “You gotta be fucking kidding,” said Park, pulling his arm away. The teen was weak. He moaned softly and moved his head limply from side to side. Dark blood and slime oozed from the shallow hole in the teen’s head.

  Park heard hissing from behind him and turned to see the girl. She was on the magazine rack now. Her bloody face dripped onto the paper. She gnashed her red teeth at him. The teen from his side moaned and grabbed for him again.

  Park turned back to climb up the shelf. Beyond the shelf lay the window leading outside the station. The teen clutched at his shoulder, stronger now. Park struggled to pull away. He could hear the girl getting closer behind him.

  Park grabbed a can of motor oil and turned as best he could with the teen's hand on his shoulder. He flung the can at the girl as hard as he could manage. It slammed against her forehead with a loud “crack”. She blinked her bloody eyes and slid back down the shelf.

  The teen to his side gurgled and leaned in to bite. Blood pooled in the teen's mouth and drained from his ears. Park grabbed a second can and brought it down on the teen's head. The teen gurgled and let go. Park brought the can down again. The boy's skull popped and brain matter oozed out. The teen gave a final, soft moan an
d fell back.

  “Dammit,” said Park. “Stay down this time.”

  The girl hissed behind him. Park looked back to see her nearly upon him.

  * * *

  Maylee watched the sink fill as Dalton climbed onto the toilet, holding the space heater. Corpses banged on the door. The door shook and rattled, sounding looser all the time. Maylee wondered how long they had.

  “Maylee,” said Dalton from the toilet. He sounded nervous.

  “Hold on,” she said. The sink filled up and water overflowed onto the floor. Water spread to Maylee's feet and beyond.

  Maylee turned and looked at the door. The groans behind it were too numerous to count. The banging and clawing were coming faster. The door rattled hard, nearly giving way.

  She ran to the toilet and climbed up next to Dalton. There was barely enough room for both of them. She struggled to balance.

  “Give me the heater,” she said.

  Dalton handed it to her. “No arguments there!”

  Maylee winced as she took it. “Shit, this thing is getting hot.”

  “I told you,” said Dalton, rubbing his hands on his shirt.

  The door shook so hard Maylee thought it was opening. She tensed, afraid they weren't ready yet. The door held, but barely. Dalton squirmed behind her. Maylee watched the water on the floor spreading from wall to wall, sink to door.

  “Maylee,” said Dalton.

  “Hold on,” she said, waiting. The heater burned her hands. She held it as loosely as she could. The water covered the entire floor now. It kept pouring from the sink.

  “Maylee!”

  “I said wait!”

  The door shook and slammed open. Corpses stumbled into the room. The one in front was a muscular man missing one arm. Thick blood ran down his side from the stump where his arm had been. He groaned and came for Dalton and Maylee. His feet splashed in the water.

  Maylee screamed and flung the space heater to the floor. It hit the water and sparks shot from it. There was a loud crackling sound and the corpses shook violently. They convulsed and twitched. Sparks flew from the heater and from the outlet. Dark fluid oozed from the corpses' mouths.

  The outlet and heater gave out one last spark and the room went dark. The corpses all fell into the water, still.

  For a moment Maylee panted and stared at them. Her hands smarted. The running water in the sink was the only sound.

  “How did you know that would work?” said Dalton.

  “I didn't. I just hoped shocking the brain would hurt them.”

  Then she heard Mom screaming.

  “Mom!” she yelled, leaping from the toilet. She hit the water and nearly slid into the wall. She stepped over the still corpses as quickly as she could and got her bat. Behind her, Dalton jumped off the toilet.

  “Come on!” she said. She ran to Dalton and grabbed his hand. Holding the bat in the other hand, she pulled him from the bathroom.

  * * *

  “Dalton!” screamed Angie as she backed toward the car. Corpses stumbled toward her from both sides of the gas station. “Maylee!”

  Angie backed up until she met the metal of the car. She had to get to her kids. Her insides screamed at her to do it. But how? There were too many of them. The cold rain pounded all around her. Corpses stumbled through it, toward her.

  The lights in the gas station flickered, then went dark. The display on the pump went out.

  Angie screamed at the corpses coming for her. She wanted to rip them apart with her bare hands. One got close enough for Angie to reach. Angie rushed up and shoved it backward. It moaned, reaching for her as it fell backward into the corpses behind it.

  “You bastards!” she bellowed at the corpses. Into the rain. She felt like she was losing her mind. She heard moans behind her and saw corpses approaching the car from the rear.

  She screamed and ran at the corpses, stopping when she nearly tripped on the gas hose. A corpse, a woman with a torn throat and ripped cheek, hissed at her. Angie screamed back and pulled the nozzle from the tank. She flung the hard metal nozzle at the corpse. The nozzle cracked against the corpse’s head and it went down.

  “Mom!” she heard from behind her. She turned to see Maylee and Dalton run from the side of the station. Maylee let go of Dalton's hand and started swinging her bat.

  “Maylee, no!” yelled Angie.

  * * *

  Maylee rounded the corner, pulling Dalton with her. Cold rain fell everywhere, running into her eyes. Corpses were everywhere, their backs to Maylee. Mom was at the car. The corpses closed in around her.

  “Mom!” yelled Maylee. She let go of Dalton's hand and gripped her bat with both hands. She swung at the head of the nearest corpse. Its skull cracked and it went down.

  “Maylee, no!” yelled Mom, sounding very far away through the moaning corpses and the pounding rain.

  “Maylee!” yelled Dalton somewhere behind her.

  “Stay close to me!” yelled Maylee, swinging wildly. “We gotta get to Mom!”

  Corpses turned and moaned at her. At Dalton. Maylee swung as fast and hard as she could, but knew there were too many. She'd made a mistake.

  Maylee swung and Dalton clung to her back. The corpses closed in.

  * * *

  Angie screamed in anguish as she watched the corpses close on her children. She grabbed hold of the gas hose and pulled the metal nozzle back to her. She ran to the front of the car and swung the hose to her left. The nozzle connected with three corpses' heads, one after the other. The corpses fell back.

  “Maylee!” she screamed. “Dalton!” She swung the hose to the right, knocking three more corpses to the side. She swung the hose over her head, whirling the nozzle round and round. The corpses groaned and tried to draw near, but the nozzle slammed into any corpse who got close.

  Angie heard a loud crash and looked to the gas station. The large window in the front of the station exploded outward and Park fell out into the rain.

  “Park!” Angie yelled. She swung the hose over her head round and round, keeping the corpses at bay. “The kids!” She felt tears coming, mingling with the rain. “The kids!”

  * * *

  Park fell out onto the pavement as the window exploded around him. He'd had no time to get to the door. The little girl climbed toward him, over the fallen shelves.

  Blinking through the rain, he saw corpses everywhere. “Fuck,” he said. Then he saw Angie swinging the gas hose in large circles, using the nozzle to hold the corpses off.

  “Park!” she yelled through the rain. “The kids! The kids!”

  Park looked to his side and saw Maylee and Dalton. Maylee held the corpses off with her bat but was seconds away from losing. The corpses moved in close, too many for Maylee to keep up with.

  “Hey!” yelled Park at the corpses. “Over here!” He yelled as loud as he could, so loud his throat hurt.

  “Hey!” he repeated, running up and shoving the corpse nearest him. It turned and moaned at him. It was an old man with exposed ribs and yellow, rotting teeth.

  “That's right dickhead!” he yelled, shoving the corpse again. “More meat over here! Hey fuckers! Over here!”

  The old man moved toward him, but the others stayed focused on Maylee and Dalton.

  “Shit hell fuck!” yelled Park. He took the rifle from his shoulder and fired once, into the air. More of the corpses turned to face him. “That was one, you dumb-fuck bastards! You better look! Come on!” He took a few steps backward and they followed him.

  “Get to the car!” Park yelled to Maylee and Dalton, then ran back into the now-dark gas station, leading the corpses with him.

  * * *

  Angie swung the hose round and round, watching as a large group of corpses followed Park into the gas station. As the group of corpses disappeared into the building, Angie saw Maylee and Dalton. Maylee was swinging her bat and Dalton clung to her back. They both looked unharmed.

  “Maylee! Dalton!” she yelled. “Over here!”

  Maylee sa
w her and grabbed Dalton's hand. They both ran for the car, rain pounding down around them.

  Angie heard a moan from her left. She looked, still swinging the hose, and saw a corpse drawing near. It was a short man, short enough to get under the swinging nozzle. Then Angie realized he was missing his legs from below the knee. It hobbled toward her on raw, bleeding stumps, reaching for her and gurgling.

  Angie screamed and swung the nozzle downward. It cracked across the corpse’s jaw, sending bloody teeth flying. The nozzle followed through to the pavement, sending up sparks as it slammed against it. Angie kicked the corpse back and swung the hose back over her head.

  She grunted, swinging it in a wide arc over her head. It connected with several corpses' skulls, knocking them aside.

  Maylee and Dalton drew near. “Duck under the hose!” Angie yelled. They did, joining her in the circle of protection provided by the swinging hose.

  “Are either of you hurt?” Angie yelled.

  “No!” yelled Maylee.

  Angie let out a relieved sigh. “Good. Now get to the car!”

  Angie backed up, swinging the hose round and round. The kids backed up with her. Slowly, inch by inch, they made their way to the car. Angie kept swinging, careful to keep the hose high enough to avoid hitting the car.

  “Get inside!” she yelled when they reached it.

  Maylee and Dalton ran to the back seat and scrambled inside. Angie heard them shut the door. She gave the hose one last swing then let it go, aiming for the nearest corpse's head. The nozzle connected with a loud “pop” and the corpse went down.

  Angie ran to the car. She wrenched open the driver's door and climbed inside. She slammed it shut as the corpses closed in. Rain pounded on the hood and roof.