by T. L. Frost
He checked the rear again, there were maybe half a dozen vehicles there all together, none of them looked like they had moved in a while.
“Right. You two take the empty fuel cans and tube you brought, remember what I showed you. We need as much fuel as we can get from that army truck, one of you keep a lookout.” Carter nodded towards Rob and Lee and they ran off hesitantly.
When they got there Carter waited, watching as they removed the fuel cap and started setting up the gear, then he waved for Jack to follow him and they moved quickly to the rear door to the hotel. A sign on the floor there said ‘Staff Only’, it was on the floor because the glass of the door was completely shattered and the door itself was broken into pieces. Light from the doorway barely illuminated the area behind, there were stains all over the walls and floor, Carter was pretty sure what they were. He waited, listening. Moans, barely audible could be heard, some shuffling footsteps.
“Too dangerous.” Said Carter quietly to Jack “Could be one or two or hundreds in there. Let’s try the front.”
Raising his arm he caught the attention of one of the others, signalling that he and Jack were going around to the front.
“Looks clear.” Said Carter trying to get a good view through the dirty glass at the front of the hotel.
It was brighter inside, the larger doors and other windows lighting up the lobby area. Carter tried one of the doors and it swung in a little as he pushed it. Glancing at Jack, he nodded and swung it open, stepping inside and holding the door as Jack came in too, then he closed it slowly and they stood there, ears straining for any sound apart from their own rapid breathing, searching the shadows for any movement. Pointing to a door behind the reception counter which also had a ‘Staff Only’ sign, Carter moved towards it, pressing his ear against the wood, he listened for a minute then pushed it open slowly.
“This is nuts?!” Hissed Jack “Let’s get the fuck out of here!”
Carter held a finger to his lips, a hard look on his face. The kid was ready to snap, he thought.
“You stay here, hold the door for me, in case I need to get out quick.”
Jack hesitated, glancing back at the entrance, then nodded once, pushing the door open a little more and standing with his back to it as he looked all around, eyes wide. Carter knew there had to be some kind of storage area at the rear, maybe a kitchen. Using the dim light from the open reception area door, he moved slowly, ears straining for any sound. The first door he came too was an office, it was busted wide open, hinges broken, dark, old blood stains all over. Papers and computer parts scattered around the floor. He moved on, some moans coming from ahead, muffled, indistinct. A staff room, the door was closed but he thought he heard movement on the other side, a soft footfall, a quiet thud as someone or something bumped into furniture. Might have been worth a look but one thing put him off the idea. Bullet holes, there were about a dozen of them in the door. All dark and splintered, no light on the other side. He stepped lightly away, his foot hitting something which skittered across the floor, freezing him to the spot. The dim, light coming down the hallway barely showing anything. The moans grew louder behind the door but he waited, minutes stretching on for ever until the place became quiet again. Another door. This time he risked pulling out a small torch he was carrying and switching it on, shading the light with his hand. A sign said ‘Storage’ and Carter almost blew out a sigh of relief. No sounds could be heard as he listened at the door, the handle turned noiselessly and he stepped inside, raising the torch quickly in one hand, his iron bar in the other.
“Jackpot!” He whispered.
It looked like everything a small hotel could need was stored here, in bulk. Clean laundry, boxes of new crockery, industrial sized bottles of bleach and other cleaning chemicals next to large packs of cloths and at the far wall, some shelves completely filled with canned goods. Tomatoes, beans, hot-dogs, tuna. All in catering sized tins, still wrapped up in full trays. Carter looked around some more and found a hand trolley, he smiled. It didn’t take long to pile it high with trays full of tins, then tilting it back he pulled open the door, turning off his torch as he pushed it out into the hallway, turning the heavy load awkwardly towards the barely perceptible light coming from the doorway to reception. He could see Jack, still holding the door open, his head swivelling, left and right and left, eyes still wide. Carter moved on and Jack jumped as he saw something move in the dark, taking a step back he almost let the door close. He hesitated and seemed to relax a little as he realised it was Carter.
A scream sounded.
It was distant and barely audible. Another scream answered it, then more. They were outside somewhere and as Carter struggled a few steps forward, Jack looked at him once more, mouth open as if to speak, then he let the door go and ran. It started to close slowly, the spring loaded device at the top of it controlling its speed, slowing it down so it didn’t slam shut, disturbing any guests sleeping there. Carter watched as the pale light from the doorway slowly vanished. With a soft thud it closed, leaving him in total darkness, not particularly loud, but in a dead hotel, in the dark, it might as well have been a bell ringing.
Carter felt his heart thumping as adrenaline surged through him. Moans and bangs came from somewhere in the hallway, wood shuddering at a sudden impact. Carter switched on his torch and looked around. The door to the staff room seemed to bow outwards as something hit it, the wood splintering around the bullet holes. Screams came from there, sudden and loud, echoing around the corridor where Carter stood. Taking a quick look around, he saw a fire exit farther behind him, leading to the rear car park. Taking a deep breath, he threw the torch towards the reception area door, watching it skid along the floor, hitting the door and bouncing back to light the way out. That will have to do, thought Carter as he grabbed the trolley and dragged it backwards, further down the corridor into the shadows.
The staff room door lasted maybe a second more, large pieces of wood flying outwards as the weight of the frantic zombies behind pressed into it. They scrambled out and fell over each other in a rush, decayed lips pulled back in savage snarls as they sensed prey nearby. Carter froze, the darkness around him stifling as he saw the silhouettes of the zombies in the dim light from the torch, arms and legs flailing. Some turned, heading for the light, others following madly, pressing forward, the crush of bodies pressing against the lightweight door, designed to resist fires not a pack of bloodthirsty, crazed cannibals. Backing off as quietly as possible, Carter felt behind him in the dark, his hand finally touching the handle of the fire exit, just as the door to reception burst outwards, dim light from the reception area seeming suddenly bright in the previously dark corridor. As the zombies tumbled over each other, falling in a heap through the door, Carter caught a glimpse of someone standing out there, Jack.
“Run you idiot!” Carter whispered.
Then the view was blocked as the corridor emptied of zombies, the ones at the rear scrambling over the first ones through the door, crushing them and throwing themselves over the counter at reception. Their screams terrifying as they chased after Jack, hurling themselves through the large glass panels at the entrance. Carter waited a minute, releasing the breath he didn’t realise he had been holding. It was suddenly quiet, no sounds apart from screams and moans in the distance, receding fast. He listened at the fire exit door then pushed on the bar, swinging it open. The sudden daylight almost blinding after the darkness of the corridor. It looked clear outside and he dragged the trolley out, closing the door and leaning back against the cold metal, releasing a large sigh of relief.
Chapter 7
After a few minutes Carter stood and looked around. There was no sign of Rob or Lee, the truck they had been syphoning fuel from was abandoned. The containers they had been filling were still there, the tube still inside the truck’s tank with fuel slowly overflowing from the now full container, forming a pool around it. Leaving the hand-trolley with the food, Carter checked around and moved to the truck, pulling out the tube
and fitting the caps to both of the fuel cans. Screams could be heard, but all distant, mostly to the south. After placing the fuel with the food he went back to the truck, opening the passenger door and climbing up. Convenient handholds allowed him to pull himself up onto the cab roof so he could stand and get a good view towards the compound.
“Damn.” He said.
A large group of zombies were at the compound’s fence. At the centre they were fighting over something, lunging into the mass of bodies, teeth snapping and even at this distance, Carter could see the bright red of fresh blood covering many of them. Others had spread out, unable to join in the feast but still in a feeding frenzy, they hurled themselves at the fence, climbing awkwardly, getting caught on the barbed wire at the top. The fence was starting to lean forward as more zombies, perhaps slower than the rest, arrived at the fence. A movement to the right caught his eye and Carter looked to see someone at the main gates which were still closed, the chain holding them shut. Jack, he thought, as he watched him pull at the gates, trying to force them open, his head turning. A second later a zombie appeared, there was no mistaking the shuffling, stiff jointed run and Carter watched as it tilted its head back, mouth opening, but the scream was lost at this distance, the crowd of zombies at the fence drowning out everything else. Jack stepped away from the gate and ran, heading for the rough, overgrown land to the south of the compound, the zombie following him, others appearing close behind.
“Damn.” Carter repeated, then climbed down from the truck.
He ran down the side of the hotel, the way they had first come. The front looked clear, so he kept going, heading for the motorway again. Glancing back quickly, he saw the large glass panels of the hotel’s main doors were smashed, probably didn’t slow them much thought Carter. Then he was running, heading back to the compound, his only thought now was to get Sally, then get the hell out of there. The road was clear apart from one slow, limping zombie not far ahead. One of its legs looked broken and it was dragging it along. As Carter came up behind the zombie, it started to turn, head swivelling as its mouth opened. He didn’t slow down, just swinging his heavy iron bar as he ran past, and being rewarded by a satisfying crunch as it connected with its head, sending it toppling forward, face first into the road. After a few steps Carter glanced back again, seeing it lying unmoving, blood spreading slowly out from its head. Carter grinned and kept running.
When he got to the main gates into the compound there was no sign of Jack. Threading the chain through the mesh of both gates, he quickly had it open and stepped through, refastening the chain. There was no sign of movement but he could hear some screams from the south where Jack had headed, they were quickly drowned out as he ran forward towards the compound buildings. The fence to his left was buckling dangerously, the large group of zombies there spotting him and setting up a huge roar of hatred. Carter felt a cold tingle all the way down his spine even though he was warm from the run. Zombies threw themselves at the fence, some falling back, others gripping and trying to climb. At the centre, where the main pack had been feeding on something, they were crushed against the metal wire, more zombies climbing over them, hands and arms shredded as they grabbed the barbed wire, the fence began to lean inwards there too, sheer weight of numbers forcing it to give.
“We’re leaving now!” Yelled Carter as he burst through the door to the officers’ mess.
Sally and Sharron had shocked looks on their faces, but not from Carter’s sudden appearance.
“Rob and Lee, they…” Sally began.
“No time for that now.” Interrupted carter “Into the mini-bus, go!”
He saw that Sally was already holding a pack, ready to go. He kissed her quickly and headed behind the bar.
“Where’s Jack!?” Asked a terrified Sharron “Why isn’t he with you?”
Carter turned as he fumbled in his pocket for the key to the bar’s small store room.
“He ran off.” He said as the key slipped into the lock, then he turned to Sally “Get the mini-bus started, I’ll be right behind you.”
Sally nodded and pulled the reluctant Sharron behind her. Carter grabbed bottles of spirits and started throwing them at the fireplace where a small fire was still burning. It soon became a big fire and he backed away towards the door, smashing two more bottles before turning and leaving. Running for the main gates, he waved for Sally to follow and a glimpse to the north convinced them all to hurry. The fence was slowly tipping, the weight of the zombies too much for it as the supports gave way, scream and moans lounder now as they again spotted their prey, this time heading away. Some managed to scramble over the backs of others and half-fell, half-jumped into the compound, quickly rising and looking around.
“Shit! Come on, come on!” Yelled Carter as he fumbled with the chain holding the gates closed.
The officer’s mess was now fully ablaze, thick black smoke swirling around the compound buildings. Some zombies ran in that direction but a few chased after the mini-bus. The chain came free and Carter quickly pushed the gates open, throwing the chain behind him as Sally drove forward, leaning over and opening the passenger door. Grabbing it Carter jumped in, slamming it shut and looking back.
“Step on it Sal.” He said as he saw some zombies running through the smoke towards them “Get us out of here now!”
They surged forward and Sharron screamed in terror as she saw the zombies almost reach them, arms stretched out as if to grab the bus, but they were too late. The bus pulled away, Sally spinning the steering wheel from side to side as they raced along the winding access road from the compound, the overgrown verges quickly hiding the zombies from view. As they reached the turn onto the motorway Sally stopped, looking left and right.
“Which way?” She asked, as she released the breath she had been holding.
Carter looked up and down the motorway, left was the way to go he knew, away from the city rather than towards it.
“Right.” He said, pointing “Head for the hotel.”
“The hotel?” Said Sally “What are we going to do there? We should get as far from here as possible.”
Carter pointed to the fuel gauge.
“We won’t get far. All the zombies are back there now.” He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb “It’s worth the risk.”
Sally hesitated a second then nodded, slipping the mini-bus into gear. Carter looked back, seeing the smoke rising from the burning building.
“That should help distract them.” He said “Give us a little more...” He paused “Fuck!” He shouted “Stop the bus!”
Sally slammed on the brakes as they pulled out onto the motorway, starting her turn towards the hotel. She looked back.
“Jack!” Screamed Sharron “It’s Jack, wait for him!”
Carter jumped up and moved to the back of the mini-bus, grabbing the handle and opening one of the rear doors.
“Hurry up kid!” He shouted with a grin “We’ve got a schedule to keep.”
The exhausted looking Jack stumbled down through the overgrown vegetation at the side of the road, almost falling as his feet hit the solid tarmac. He took a couple of tired steps then a scream behind him made Carter look up. A zombie tumbled down the verge, falling to the ground behind Jack, its head coming up with a snarl on its lips.
“Run Jack!” Yelled Carter holding out his hand and leaning out from the back of the bus.
Jack limped forward, his hand already reaching out as the zombie stood up behind him and started to close fast, its arms stretched out, claw-like fingers grasping.
“Get ready to floor it!” Said Carter to Sally before turning back “Come on!” He yelled again to Jack.
The zombie was close, its hand grasping at Jack, gripping the fabric of his trouser leg as Carter caught his hand, pulling him up into the mini-bus.
“Now Sally, go!” Shouted Carter.
The zombie’s grip slipped from Jack’s leg as Carter almost threw him into the back of the bus. They started to pull away and the zombie
leapt, grabbing a hand-hold on the back of the bus, its face swinging round, teeth bared. Carter kicked it in the face full-force, sending it falling back as the mini-bus sped away, its head smashing against the road. It didn’t get up again.
“That was too close.” Said Carter as he slumped into one of the bus’s seats.
Jack got up and was pulled down into the seat next to Sharron, who grabbed him in an almost suffocating hug, tears streaming down her eyes.
“Don’t ever do that again!” She said, finally allowing him enough space to breathe.
“I don’t plan to.” He replied, gazing around in wonder as the bus headed for the hotel.
Carter moved forward, sitting in the passenger seat again as they reached the turning into the hotel.
“To the left.” He said pointing the way he had been earlier.
It looked quiet, no movement at the front. The lobby of the hotel empty.
“Reverse up there.” He said “Then if anything moves get us out of here as quickly as you can.”
Sally nodded and turned the bus slowly, looking over her shoulder as she steered backwards up the road leading to the hotel’s car park. It stayed quiet, no sounds close by, just the distant screaming of the enraged zombies at the compound and the protesting whine of the buses gears. Sally stopped and they all looked around, tense, on edge, but nothing moved.
“Ok, let’s do this quick and get out of here, I want to be somewhere else by night-fall.” Said Carter as he opened the door “Jack, open the back doors, I’ll bring the trolley, you unload it into the bus while I get the fuel cans.”
Jack nodded wearily and Sharron kissed him on the cheek as he stood.
“If you see anything, shout out and get back in the bus.” Said Carter “Don’t risk one of them things taking a bite at you again, they came pretty close back there.”
Jack nodded again “Don’t worry.” He said rubbing his shoulder “I know how hard those things bite, once is enough.”
