Our Undead

by Theo Vigo

  Admittedly, the knee to his side was painful. It stunned him for a second, but listening to Sharp's high pitched, arrogant, cocky voice arouses a fire inside. Holden uses his hands to push himself up instead of blocking the barrage of punches coming from the back. Sharp stops punching and wraps his arms tightly around Holden's neck, clinging to him when he feels his body lifting from the ground. Holden does what he can to get Sharp off of him, swinging him around and reaching behind his neck for him, but the more he moves the tighter Sharp makes his grip. He resolves to ramming his back against anything hard in the area. Luckily, all of the surrounding desks and beds are adjoined to the floor. For all his efforts Holden is unable to get Sharp off of his back.

  Erika: Mmm, maybe you should step in now.

  Kerrick: Maybe you should step in now.

  Erika: Tch, fine! I'll stop them, candy ass.

  Kerrick: Relax, I was kidding. I'll stop them… Try to. I like that though, you calling me candy ass.

  He shoots a flirtatious eye at Erika, and she dismissing him, pointing to the brawling men. How could he think to flirt with her at a time like this? But then she remembers who she is dealing with. He approaches the two men. Holden is still trying to wag Sharp off of his back, but the fighter won't let go.

  Kerrick: Okay, that's enough, guys. Come on. Don't make daddy have to break you two up, now.

  They ignore him as expected. He ends up having to do what he really doesn't want to, and sticks his hand in to try and separate the two of them. When he gets too close, Holden swings hard to the left and continues, going in circles. He takes Sharp for a ride and Kerrick has to duck out of the way to avoid his whip-tailing legs. Around and around they go, getting closer and closer to Margaret. By the time she thinks to move, it's too late, and they collide with her. The impact sends her easily to the ground.

  Billy: Margaret!

  Erika: Jesus...

  This sparks action from everybody in the room, everybody except for General Feleider, who simply moves a few feet to the side when Gwen, Erika, and Billy run over to make sure Margaret is okay. The three of them stoop down around her. Bernard, who was already close by, chooses to remain standing. The whole situation has him a little stiff. Sharp and Holden continue to tussle back and forth, undeterred by the fallen cripple. Kerrick fights the good fight and continues trying to break up the bad one.

  Kerrick: Guys! GUYS!!

  Billy: Margaret, are you okay?!

  Margaret: Yea, I'm fine. Ugh, let's just get Abe and get out of here.

  Hearing what she said, Feleider ponders inwardly about how much time they actually have left. How long did the good doctor intend on staying alive? If he could be in two places at once, he would know that at this very moment, Doctor Alyster's breaths are scarce and concise. The last bits of life drift out of his body as he sits up against the legs of his examination bed. His eyes are still open, but much like the zombies' he had helped to create, they stare into nothing. He holds the controller in his hands on his lap, ready to initialize the compound's self-destruct sequence, but his body goes limp and the button goes unpushed. A deathly silence falls over the lab, but then…

  Alyster: ****HEEEEEEEEEEEEEAVE**** (coughs)

  The old man's eyes pop wide open, as does his mouth. No words leave his lips, nothing but the sound of the inward heave and one last hacking bark. He doesn't do much in his two extra seconds of life, but he does what he came back to do. He pushes the button. Red lights begin blinking on the system controller, the beginning of the end, as the good Doctor Alyster's body exhales one last time.

  Sector333-3: ***ALERT… SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED… PURGING WILL COMMENCE IN… THIRTY MINUTES… ALERT… SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED… PURGING WILL COMMENCE IN… THIRTY MINUTES…***

  Accompanied by a churning siren, the compound announces to the population, its inevitable fate.

  Feleider: Impeccable timing, young lady. Time to go. HOLDEN! THERE IS NO TIME FOR THIS! WE MUST GO!

  Holden doesn't pay the General any mind. He is still too busy trying to get his disgustingly persistent teammate off of his back, and Kerrick tries to assist him in that effort, but Sharp is not making it easy for either of them. It seems Kerrick needs her help after all, so Erika leaves Billy and Gwen by Margaret side to go and assist him.

  Erika: Would you guys please stop acting like a couple of children?!

  Feleider: UNIT HOLDEN, END THIS!!

  Billy: Come on, Margaret. Let's go.

  He and Gwen help Margaret back up on to her crutches. Kerrick and Erika end up pulling the same trick Sharp had pulled earlier, tripping Holden again. Both he and Sharp fall to the ground. He doesn't let go, but the leverage from them being on the floor gives Kerrick and Erika a better shot at prying them apart. There isn't much Holden can do with all three of his teammates battling on top of him.

  Margaret: Gwen, can you please let Abe down, now?

  Feleider: HOLDEN, IF YOU DON'T GET THEM OFF OF YOU RIGHT NOW, HEADS WILL BE LOST!!

  With that threat, Feleider pulls the handgun from his side and aims it square at the feuding team of elite soldiers, sadly, all of them are too busy to notice him.

  Gwen: Feleider, stop!! Don't shoot them!!

  Margaret: Professor, please let Abe down.

  Gwen: General, where does it end?!!

  Feleider: It doesn't, it gets better!

  Margaret: Professor, please!! Take Abe down!!!

  Gwen: Doctor Bernard, would you please take her friend down from the bed?

  Bernard starts for the controls but stops two steps after, distracted by everything that is going on.

  Gwen: General, please put the gun away.

  Feleider: One well-placed shot will separate them. Perhaps no one will have to die.

  The general takes aim at the four unsuspecting super soldiers again, and lowers his brow so he can focus better. It makes Margaret feel incredibly nervous, for Abe is in line with the tussling four, still trapped and on display behind them. If by some chance the General misses his shot, he might hit Abe. He might not even have to miss. The bullet might just go through them and hit Abe anyway. She can't have that happen. But why isn't he descending yet? She turns her head to figure out what the hold up is and sees that Bernard has ignored Gwen, just as Gwen had ignored her. The cowardly doctor stands there frozen. He hadn't even taken five steps toward the damn controls.

  Her irritation had been building ever since she first stepped into this room and saw that they had Abe slung up like some carcass in a butcher's shop window. It grew larger and more potent every time they ignored her request for him to be taken down. Seeing once again that they've failed to meet her request, Margaret gets pushed over the edge.

  Margaret: WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE ABE DOWN FROM THERE RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!

  Her imposingly loud voice shakes General Feleider out of his focus. His annoyance, too, has been building, for as much time, if not much longer than Margaret's, and it just so happens that her outburst causes him to get pushed over his own little edge.

  Feleider: Young lady, your friend is a mistake and an abomination of what the true Conditioning represents! Let me do you a favor!

  He changes the trajectory of the bullet and pulls the trigger. **POW*

  THE ORIGIN - PART 3

  Five zombies have broken through the front window and are pushing their way through, one by one, plopping on to the floor on the inside of the house. The father stays in between the monsters and his family, and then yells for them to leave out the back door. He waves them off in that direction and his wife leaves, but not before grabbing a family photo that sits on credenza in their living room. The father looks around the room for something he might be able to use as a weapon, but there is nothing of use so he follows his wife and daughter to the back of the house.

  In the backyard, his women are waiting for him. They are both wondering what to do, but even the father isn't sure. What the hell is going on?! His senses become clear for a mome
nt, and he realizes that he still has his car keys in his hands. The best thing to do now is get away from the area, so he leads them around to the side of the house heading for the car, but not before grabbing a shovel from out of the toolshed.

  The father pushes the side gate open and is followed closely behind by his wife. His daughter is behind his wife, but her shirt gets snagged in the gated fence when she tries to go through. The blonde teenage girl tugs on her shirt, but no matter how hard she pulls she can't get it free. The zombies that had broken in through the front window have already made it out through the back, and they begin rounding the corner that the family is heading down. When the girl sees them she begins to panic and calls for her father.

  He runs back to her, but the zombies reach her first. Her panic does her the favor of keeping the zombies at bay. She kicks at them and pushes them away, but is just not able to free her shirt from where the fence has it hooked. The father makes it to her before she takes any fatal damage, handing the car keys off to his wife when he passes her. He clubs the closest zombie over the head with the shovel and sends it to the ground. The other one makes an attempt to grab the father's arm, but the man moves out of the way and cracks down on this one's skull, too. The third one is still a little behind, making its way around the corner, so the father takes the opportunity to rip his daughter's shirt free. He bellows for her to run and follows behind her, closing the fence to make it as hard as possible for the last three zombies to follow them to the front.

  When he gets to the front of the house, his neighborhood has completely transformed. Less than ten minutes ago, he had pulled into the driveway with his daughter. Everything had appeared normal at that point. Or maybe they weren't. Maybe he and his daughter were to into their own heated discussion to notice that the world around them was falling apart. Now, on the streets in front of their home, people are being chased by groups of growling monsters, screams can be heard far off in the distance, as well as close by, and there are more people out of the street than there has ever been in the past, ever.

  He hurries his family into the car, telling his wife to drive while he gets into the passenger seat and his daughter gets into the back. The wife tries to start the car right away, but her trembling hands make it fairly difficult. He doesn't want to put too much pressure on her, but when he sees the zombies from behind his house making their way out to the front, he has no choice but to voice to her their presence. The support seems to work. The shaken woman gets the keys in the ignition and starts the car. The zombies from their backyard try to chase them down, but they never catch up as the family reverses out of the driveway and accelerates down the street.

  The streets outside of their immediate neighborhood are not as busy and panicked. The father assumes that in this initial phase of The Crater Lake Contagion, most of the action must be allocated in the neighborhoods and medical spaces where most families must be trying to keep their sick relatives safe, only to have them change unexpectedly. The roads are calm for the time being, but they would have to expect the worst when they get to the city. The signs begin to prove the father's assumptions correct. They start passing abandoned cars on the road and start to see more people running feverishly out of alleys and apartment buildings. Even some stores and facilities already have their windows shut, blocked, or in the process of being boarded up. It is fascinating in a dreadful sort of way, how soon the effects of this new disease are becoming visually evident all around them. They need to find somewhere safe to hold up, figure out what the whole story is, and the sooner the better.

  Their journey takes an unfortunate turn when an oblivious group of citizens unknowingly run out on to the street. The wife has to make a sharp turn in order to miss them, and then another one to avoid hitting an abandoned car. They roll up on to the curb and collide into a fire hydrant. Everyone seems to be okay as far as the father can tell when he takes a brief check of everyone in the car. They have no other choice but to get out. The wife and mother makes sure not to forget her framed picture.

  Outside, they can even smell the changes that are happening. A smoky aroma now fills their once moderately fresh smelling air. The area is relatively safe from the looks of it. People are running around, a few are driving by, but there is no sight of any zombies. The father looks around and sees one of the city's hostels, located across the street on the next block. He gestures in its direction and lets his family know that that is where they would be heading. They agree and start for it, running closely packed together in the hostel's direction.

  First, they cross the street diagonally and are barely missed by a speeding car. Luckily, they are able to see it in time. When they make it to the other side of the road, they jog down the sidewalk for the hostel's front entrance. On the way there, they approach an alleyway. Earlier, they had seen a small group of people running out of it, but they never saw anything following behind them. It never registers to any of the family members that whatever was chasing the people might still be coming. They soon find out that the chasers are definitely still in pursuit of those people who were running away.

  The father is in front of his wife and daughter as they run past the opening of the alley. As a consequence of that, and not paying attention to blind corners, he is the one who gets sideswiped by the zombies exiting it. Three of them, two male and one female, knock him over, and his wife and daughter jump back to avoid them. Two of the zombies end up on the ground on top of the father. The other male doesn't get a chance to pounce, but he looks to the left and sees the two frightened women. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the wife backs herself and her daughter away from the zombie that has its sights on them, only to watch her husband on the ground fighting two of them off by himself.

  He isn't doing a bad job of it, though. The shovel he brought with him helps to keep them from getting too close to his face. In an effort to get one of them off of him, simplify things for himself, he thrusts violently to the left. It works, sending the female zombie off of him and on to the concrete beside him, but the male doesn't get thrown back as far and comes back on top of him quickly. The father doesn't have time to reset and leaves his left arm open to the zombie, which takes full advantage of the opening. It manages to grab hold of it and bites down into the father's arm around the triceps area.

  His cry of pain is too much for his wife to take. Her eyes and head shuffle around the area and stop on a pile of garbage, upon which sits a mound of wood pieces. She hands her daughter the photo and runs over to it to grab the healthiest looking piece she can find. It isn't quite the size of a two-by-for, but it would have to do. She tests it first on the male zombie coming after her and her daughter. She gives it three good smacks to the head, screaming in trepidation. To think, she would ever have to deliberately beat someone in the head, even if it is a zombie -- she has to scream through it. She gets it to the ground after a few more good hits and runs over to help her husband.

  The female zombie he had been able to knock off of him, is in the process of getting back up for another go, but his wife comes up behind it and screaming, strikes it in the head with a mighty downward swing. The female zombie falls to the ground, motionless, just as the father finally gets the last male zombie off of him. His wife comes to his side, as he gets back up to his feet, grimacing from the pain of the bite wound on his left arm. Even with it, he manages to lift the shovel and deliver a deathblow to the last remaining zombie.

  With a moment to think, his wife and daughter question if he is okay or not, but he knows that they still won't be safe unless they get inside. He hurries them to get to the entrance of the hostel at the next building, impatiently pointing to it, so his daughter runs to check it. She tries to open it, but the thing is locked shut. She resorts to banging on it, calling out in hopes that someone on the inside will hear her, but no one does as her parents come to her side. They join her. Maybe someone will hear if all three of them start banging and calling, but they fail to gain the sort of attention they are looking fo
r.

  The daughter sees something moving in her peripheral to her right and checks it. Coming out of the alley on the other side of the building are more zombies, four of them, and they are heading right for them. The daughter yells at her parents to stop banging on the door and look at what is coming. The father is unsure if they can take four of the monsters, especially with his injury, so he makes a quick decision, telling his family to follow him. They do, as he heads backward and turns up the other alley, the same one they had just been attacked from. It is empty now. No zombies or people can be seen in it all the way through to the other end, but the father is looking for neither of those things.

  He eventually finds what he is looking for, the lifeline of a side door to the hostel. He runs over to it and starts up again with the banging, using his shovel to pound on its metal. His wife and daughter join in again, as well, but it isn't too long before the four zombies that are stalking them, turn the corner and start coming down the alley for them. When they look to be getting too close, the father steps in front of them and readies his shovel to defend his own, but ends up not having to. Someone answers their prayers and opens the door.

  A young girl opens it. She has the same blonde hair as the daughter, just a little dirtier and a little longer. They both look about the same age. Their female savior opens the door up wider for them to come in, and the daughter calls out to her father, who is still waiting for the zombies. He turns and runs to the door. They all thank the girl as they enter, grateful that she may have just saved their lives.