by SD Tanner
Pax suggested somewhat unhelpfully, ‘Maybe it’s a different woman? A twin?’
Shaking his head, Gears grunted, ‘That’s stupid, Pax.’
He was as curious about the woman as Gears was. He stopped walking, so they all did and he peered intently into the woman’s face. She was tall at about 5ft 8, but he was 6ft 4, so she still had to look up at him to meet his eyes. Staring into her blue eyes, he saw she had no pupils and that the edge of her iris was bleeding blue into the whites of her eyes. The woman blinked. There was a flash of blue and, like a cat, a third blue-colored eyelid slid half way over her eye and back again.
Surprised, he pulled back slightly and asked, ‘Did you see that?’
Pax and Gears crowded in and looked down at the woman’s face. She looked at each of them, appearing to be unworried by their attention and, blinking again, her third blue eyelid swept across her eye.
‘Woah,’ Gears exclaimed. ‘That’s weird. You’re the medic, TL. Whatdaya make of that?’
‘I’m a combat medic, not a doctor,’ he grumbled. ‘Or a vet.’
Chortling happily, Pax said, ‘Hey Gears! Ya new girlfriend’s a puddy tat!’
Gears shot him a dirty look and said, ‘Shaddup Pax!’
While they continued to trade insults, he gently ran his hands across the sides and back of the woman’s head to see if he could find any signs of injury. He doubted her current mental state could be explained by an injury. There seemed to be more going on here. She survived the alley alone and unarmed and her eyes were definitely not normal.
He looked down at the rest of her body. On closer inspection he realized she wasn’t wearing a dress, but it was a hospital gown of some sort. Pushing up the sleeves of her tunic, he saw there was dried blood on her right wrist and both wrists were badly bruised. Under the grime covering her legs, there were angry purple marks around her ankles. He guessed the woman had been tied by her hands and feet, and the bruising looked like the sort of injury caused by restraining cuffs usually used in hospitals.
Pulling his small emergency medical kit from his pouch, he started to gently clean and bandage her wrist. The woman didn’t seem to notice and she ignored his ministrations.
Woman thinks: This man is kind and he means well. His touch is gentle to find me well. These men they want to keep me safe. It makes my heart be filled with grace. But they must rest easy for I am able.
Pax was watching him as he worked on her injured wrist and asked, ‘Did she escape from a lunatic asylum or somethin’, ‘cos I really doan need any more crazy women in my life.’
Gears snorted at him and said dryly, ‘You ain’t got no women in your life right now, Pax, so don’t be so damned fussy.’ Turning to him, he said in a more serious tone, ‘Whoever she is and whatever happened ain’t important. Right now, she’s on her own and she’s vulnerable. She comes with us.’
He was just finishing taping the bandage and glancing up at Gears, he said, ‘That’s a given, Gears.’
Pax was still watching the woman and he asked curiously, ‘How do ya think Gears’ puddy tat survived hunter alley?’ Do ya think she’s a hunter?’
Looking at him as if he’d lost the last of his mind, Gears retorted, ‘Why would ya think that, dumbass? Have ya ever seen a hunter bleed blood?’
Shrugging, Pax pursed his mouth and conceded, ‘Fair point. So why was she tied up?’
Rolling his eyes in disgust, Gears said, ‘Ya know what I know, dumbass.’
They resumed walking and he looked around at their surroundings. As they weaved their way across the country, they’d been to many towns over the past month and he couldn’t remember the name of this one. When they passed through a town, they would stop and take anything they needed to keep their trucks running and maintain a sensible level of ammo, food and medical supplies. This one was a large looking town and across a dirty dry looking field, he could see a cluster of houses. As they drew closer, they began scanning, assessing and disregarding houses they could use to hole up in for the night.
Gears said, ‘Let’s look for a house that might have a basement.’
That didn’t please Pax and he said, ‘I hate basements. They’re hard to clear and I doan like bein’ buried alive.’
Gears said pragmatically, ‘Quit whining, Pax. We’ve only got an hour of daylight left and we still gotta find a house and secure it for the night.’
Being unable to see in daylight, the hunters only hunted their prey at night. When it was light, the hunters would hide anywhere dark, including houses, buildings, alleys or even dense forests, and anywhere dark wasn’t safe from hunters during the day or night. In this new world, the nights were terrifying and hunters could attack wherever you were to feed on you.
Woman thinks: I see their minds and thoughts that dwell. These men are hungry I can tell. There is plenty food that surrounds us. Why not eat enjoy the freedom all about us. I hear their voices I feel their concern, but I see nothing to raise alarm. Why do they worry when all is well? But I will follow for I should. They saved my life and they are good.
At the end of the road, there was a tidy house with open curtains and they agreed that would make it easier to assess if there were any threats inside the house. The front and back doors were locked, and when they peered through the windows they saw no movement. Pax kicked down the front door holding his handgun in one hand and knife in the other. Gears was kicking in the back door so they could enter the house together and kill any hunters or shamblers that might be lurking.
The ground floor of the house had a large kitchen, dining, lounge and separate laundry area. After Gears and Pax cleared the ground floor rooms, he went to the kitchen, taking the woman with him while they checked the rooms above. The house was immaculately tidy. The curtains had been pulled back and tucked perfectly, but there was a thick layer of dust covering every surface. He found a door off the kitchen he figured might be the basement, but left it alone for the moment. The woman seemed to have the survival instincts of a two-year-old child, and he wasn’t going to risk a fight with a hunter that might be hiding in the basement while he was alone with her.
The woman was ransacking the cupboards by pulling out pots, pans and crockery and hurling them to the floor noisily when Gears and Pax stamped back into the kitchen.
Grabbing the woman’s arm, Pax shouted, ‘Hey! Cut it out!’
She turned to Pax and looked blankly at him before huffing, stalking away and perching herself on the kitchen table. He thought she looked a little sulky, but he wasn’t sure whether she was sulking at being shouted at or because there was no food or water in the house.
They had no water left and hadn’t found any on their walk to the house. He wasn’t optimistic, but he asked, ‘Did you guys check the toilets for water?’
Wrinkling his face in disgust, Pax replied, ‘Yeah and I wish I hadn’t. Whoever was here kept usin’ ‘em even when they weren’t flushin’ no more.’
Gear was eyeing the basement door and said, ‘Let’s get it done.’
He and Gears stood on either side of the door they assumed was the basement and, as Gears flung the door open, a hunter hurled itself out of the darkness and grabbed at him. He put his forearm up to its throat, holding its snapping teeth away from his face and he could smell the stench of vomit leaking from its mouth. Gears stepped up from behind and grabbed the hunter’s forehead, covering its eyes. The head continued to vibrate, but was unable to move in the grip of Gears headlock. He watched as Gears jammed his handgun directly into the base of its skull and, seeing that Gears was ready to fire, he pushed himself off the body of the hunter, twisted his own body out of the line of fire and called, ‘Clear.’
Gears fired a single shot into the base of the hunter’s skull, effectively destroying the brain stem. There was no blood, but the wound leaked black viscous gore. The hunter dropped to the floor still moving, but now its brain and body were no longer working as a team, it was aimless movement. He and Pax grabbed the feet of the hunter and p
ulled it out of the kitchen and into the hallway. As he pulled the hunter, he noticed it was wearing a dirty brownish dress. It had been a woman, but now it was bald, lean limbed and its unhealthy tan-colored skin was stretched tight over its fatless flesh. Aside from the remains of their clothing, all hunters were utterly sexless and looked pretty much the same.
Gears pulled away from the open basement door back into the relative safety of the now fading daylight. Hunters were a bit smarter than shamblers. There might be another hunter in the basement waiting to attack, and he knew this could easily be the start of a fight and not the end of one. They stood silently near the basement door, listening intently to catch any sound of movement in the basement. He noticed the woman was still sitting on the kitchen table watching them and she seemed more curious than scared.
Woman thinks: The men fight the bald one hard. To me they are of no regard. The bald ones are foolish and low of wit. I do not worry even a bit. They die too easy at my touch, but for these men the danger is much. I did not know that this was true. The bald are not my enemy through. These men they should not worry still. I will not let the bald ones kill.
Looking grimly into the dark of the basement, Gears asked, ‘Whatdaya think?’
Pax grinned at Gears and said, ‘I think we’re gonna have to go down there.’ Then he winked at Gears and added cheerfully, ‘There could be more babes down there.’
Glaring at Pax, Gears said sharply, ‘Don’t wink at me, ya freakshow!’
They had no flares, so he grabbed a newspaper, set it alight and threw it down the stairs. It was not the best solution, but setting fire to the house was better than dealing with a hunter in complete darkness. Gears grabbed hold of the bannister and swung his head down, peering into the gloom. His headlamp didn’t provide much light, but he said grimly, ‘We got company.’
Pax moved in behind him, handgun drawn and stood with one leg at the top of the stairs and one leg two steps down and crouched to see if he had a shot. They had 19 bullets left and had yet to survive the night. Pax confirmed, ‘I see it. I can take a shot.’
It was unlikely to be a killing shot. Shooting a vibrating head in the brain stem with a handgun was almost impossible, but doing it in the dark was impossible.
Gears instructed, ‘Take it.’
They often used this tactic. Even a single shot might push it back long enough for them to dive down the stairs and manhandle it to the ground, where they could take the killing shot. He hoped there were only two hunters. These hunters were likely to be the original inhabitants of the house and he suspected once they’d eaten all their supplies, they either committed suicide or starved to death in their own basement. Suicide didn’t guarantee you wouldn’t come back unless you destroyed your own brain stem and even then, the virus had been known to activate in the few seconds before your brain died.
As he threw himself down the stairs, Pax fired three shots. Gears followed Pax into the dark basement and he crouched watching them from the third step, ready to join in or pull them back up the stairs. He could see Pax and Gears launch themselves at something he couldn’t see in the dark of the basement and he assumed they were grappling the hunter to the ground. He listened as both Pax and Gears grunted and swore while they pinned the hunter down. Finally Pax must have got the killing shot, and he heard the gun fire once and then twice.
Pax grunted in satisfaction and panting heavily, he said, ‘Got ‘im.’
He quickly stepped down into the basement and saw it was not so much a basement, but a small concrete cellar. He thought, this is going to be a miserable night. No food or water, precisely 14 bullets left, a dank basement for the night and, as an added bonus, the basement stank of vomit. All three manhandled the still moving body up the basement stairs and dumped it next to its partner. He and Pax made sure both front and back doors were locked, while Gears tried to work out how he could secure the basement door.
He noticed the woman was no longer sitting on the kitchen table and, glancing around the room, he asked, ‘Where’s the woman?’
Gears immediately swore and left the kitchen to look for her.
Pax called to Gears, ‘Give it up. It’s gettin’ dark. We gotta go.’
Gears came back into the kitchen and sounding frustrated, he said, ‘She’s not in the house.’
There was not a lot they could do and they returned to the basement. Looking around the basement, he could see it was a shambles. Shelving was tipped and pieces of garden furniture and tools were scattered haphazardly around the floor. The only thing he saw of interest was a generator. Dusk was falling, and Gears was at the top of the stairs still trying to find a way to secure the basement door and Pax was in the basement grabbing items to pile on the stairs. They figured if the hunters breached the door, the debris might slow them coming down the stairs.
He heard Gears say, ‘We got a problem. I jus’ saw two hunters at the window.’
Of course you did, he thought and asked, ‘Did they see you?’
Gears replied bluntly, ‘Do bears shit in the woods?’
Pax pointed towards the clutter he’d thrown onto the steps and said, ‘We gotta get that shit up behind the door.’
Woman thinks: I hear the bald ones they whisper loud. Eat, eat, eat. They are so foolish, but now there is a crowd. They know humans hide here low. It’s time I hunt to kill their flow. Bald ones are not my enemy true, but I owe these men my life through.
He thought, this is going to be a long bad night. Pax was standing at the bottom of the stairs and he’d clearly come to the same conclusion and casually remarked, ‘We’re kinda screwed here.’
Gears replied equally as casually, ‘Looks like.’
He wasn’t feeling optimistic, but said, ‘We might get lucky.’
All three stood at the bottom of the stairs with their heads cocked listening for any sounds. They heard a window smash and could feel and hear the vibration of loud thumping in the dining and kitchen area. Faintly, they heard more windows breaking and then the sound of loud hissing, screeching and growling from outside the door drowned out all the other sounds.
No one spoke and they stepped back from the stairs and tensed. They were ready for the door to burst open and hunters to spill down into their position. He wished they grabbed the flashlights attached them to their M4A1s and lit the room a little better. Depending on how many hunters came down those stairs, visibility was going to be a problem. They learned over the past month that it took at least two of them to take down a hunter. One to tackle it and the other to shoot or cut through the brain stem.
They waited, adrenalized and grim, jaws clenched and with tension rippling through their bodies.
The noise outside the door was growing into a mass of different overlapping sounds. He heard crashing, banging, shrieking, howling and scrabbling, and the noise was starting to merge into one continuous racket.
They waited.
It sounded like the house was being torn apart. The basement door creaked and groaned from time to time. There was the occasional thump on the door, but it remained closed. Initially, hunters hadn’t seem to understand doors. Providing it was a strong door, it would hold even as hunters threw themselves at it, however lately hunters seemed to be learning how to use door handles, and they had taken to barring and locking doors at night.
The thing he hated most about their situation is that it kept changing. The shamblers never changed other than to slowly rot, but the hunters seemed to be evolving. Originally hunters spilled organs when gutted, but now their torsos had become a sack of thick, viscous black ooze that stank like rotting human feces. As if to ensure their ongoing survival, their physical state and behavior continued to adapt.
Glancing at his watch, Gears said, ‘It’s been 30 minutes and that door is holding.’
He shook his head at Gears and replied, ‘It can’t be holding. It’s not strong enough. It’s not even locked.’
Pax suggested, ‘Maybe they haven’t seen it?’
Sha
king his head, Gears said adamantly, ‘Doubt it. They’re stupid, but they ain’t that stupid. Two of ‘em saw me in here.’
Pax shrugged at Gears and said, ‘Maybe these ones are stupid.’
He could see Pax was starting to fidget. He learned about Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD from one of the medics who trained him. It sounded so much like Pax he’d looked it up on the web and since then had been tempted to slip him some Ritalin in his morning coffee. Thinking he might as well take advantage of Pax’s ADD, he said, ‘Pax, why don’t you get the flashlights off the M4s?’
Gears grunted, ‘We shoulda thought of that earlier.’
He didn’t think this was the right time to hit the subject of how poorly he thought they were all performing, but one of them needed to step up and get them organized before they were all dead. Looking over at Gears, he said, ‘Since the world ended, we haven’t had our head in the game.’
Looking annoyed by his comment, Pax retorted, ‘Says who?’
Gears replied for him and said, ‘I agree with TL. We’re running about like newbie jarheads.’
He was glad Gears agreed with him, but now Gears was warming to the subject and, sounding frustrated, he said, ‘Look at what we did today. Shot three guys in the head. I’m not sayin’ given the circumstance there was a whole lotta options, but what were we doin’? We shoulda confronted those guys when they shot that man and boy and not waited until they threatened another innocent.’
Although he agreed with everything Gears said, he didn’t think they were in the right time and place for that discussion and said, ‘Not now, Gears.’
He could tell Gears was glaring at him in the gloom and still sounding frustrated, Gears said, ‘Ya started this line of discussion, TL. I’m not happy with how we’re dealin’ with our shit. We dunno what the hell we’re doin’ or why and that ain’t any way to live, even at the end of the goddamn world.’
They were stuck in a dank basement, with almost no ammo and clearly a considerable number of hunters in the house above them and he wanted everyone to stay calm. Deliberately sounding relaxed, he said, ‘I agree, Gears, but let’s get into that when we get out of this.’
