by Maxey, Phil
He suddenly remembered he hadn’t barricaded the downstairs door.
“Shit, I gotta barricade the door!” he shouted to the others, but their focus was on trying to stop the tide that was seeping over the walls.
He tore down the steps, leaping five at a time and was soon in the basement room. He stood motionless, looking at the mended door four yards from him. He knew he should be moving the filing cabinets to it but, instead, he walked forward and pulled it open.
*****
Carla hit the gas pedal. The hunk of metal which was the SWAT APC lurched forward along the path which skirted the west wall.
She pulled on the large steering wheel swerving into the path of the creatures that were raining down from the top of the wall.
Crunching noises were hardly audible over the vehicles heavy engine, but then large clangs came from directly above them.
“I think there’s some on the roof!” shouted Bishop behind her.
Carla slammed on the brakes, sending two vamps flying through the air. She then surged forward again as they tried to get to their feet, crumpling them below the wheels.
“There’s too many!” shouted Keller, looking along the wall down to Tower B. The vamps were now flowing over the wall. The wire at the top was useless due to being clogged with torn bodies. Others merely clambered over them and fell or jumped to the ground.
Keller noticed the door to the tower was open. He pointed forward. “What the fuck. Look!”
The APC was now moving at a pace, driving through and over the torrent that was falling from above.
"Evan! Why's your door open? Over," shouted Carla into her radio.
Vamps were now a constant flow, hitting the ground, and slowly getting back to their feet.
She slammed on the brakes near the tower's door. A vamp was moving towards it. A shot from an M4 sticking out from one of the vehicles slit-like side windows behind her dropped the vamp to the ground.
She held the radio to her mouth once again. "Evan!"
Keller pushed over his side door. “I’ll check out those in the tower and get that door closed!”
Carla nodded to him as he jumped out, closing the APC’s door, and ran towards the tower. Two vamps headed towards him. He shot one with a burst of fire, but the other ducked and swathed. Its claws lunged at his face, but then a blur swept across them both.
Keller stood, his eyes wide, waving his rifle around not knowing what just happened. He then looked to the tower and ran inside, closing the door behind him.
Evan was at the side of the APC finishing off the vampire. He looked back at Carla in the driver’s seat, his eyes black as the coming night. Fresh blood on his mouth glistened in the APC’s headlights. He turned back towards the hordes that were now inside the walls running towards the cellblocks, and in a blink of an eye charged into them.
Carla hit the gas pedal again, this time swinging the truck around so it was partially shielding the base of the tower. Vamps slammed into it trying to gain access to the food inside. The soldiers began firing. Volley after volley flew into the hundreds of creatures that were running across them.
“We’re pretty swamped over here! Over,” came from the driver of the other APC near the east wall.
“Just hang in there, try and kill as many as you can with the APC. Conserve your ammo! Over,” responded Carla.
A vamp landed on the vehicle’s hood. She quickly opened her door, shot it with her rifle, then closed it again just as more vamps rushed towards her.
They slammed into her door.
“Joel? Over.”
The sound of rifle fire came from the radio’s speaker. “I’m here, Carla, I can see your vehicle near the other tower. What’s the situation? Over.”
She went to reply when, just audible over the grunts and roars of the things outside, were gunshots from within the buildings.
“Hold on. Over.”
She leaned back to the others in the cabin behind her. “Anyone got a good view of the doors to the prison? Have they got in?”
“Yeah, they’re in one of the side doors. But it’s a bottleneck. I can see flashes in the corridor, but that’s all,” said a young man.
She held the radio back to her mouth again as more vamps clambered on the hood, their claws slicing against the metal shutters across the windscreen.
“Joel, they’re through the door on this west side. Over.”
“I see them. Over.”
Joel looked down at the compressed mass of distorted bodies that were swarming around the human-sized entrance to the corridor which led to cellblock B.
“Holland? You out there? They’re coming in on the west entrance, near—”
The older man’s voice came back at him. “They ain’t making it much further! We got them.”
Joel looked down upon the grounds inside the walls. There were so many vamps that the ones coming over the wall were falling on the others. In the melee, he noticed a vamp that was going against the tide, its claws and fangs fighting multiple creatures. It was Evan.
“What are you doing?” he said under his breath.
He went to turn to the stairs when he noticed out of the corner of his eye another beast, another being that was slaying the Copeland’s beasts, and it seemed to be making its way to Evan.
Down below, Evan was lost to his rage and fury. Moments before, when he had arrived at the bottom of Tower B’s stairs, what he needed to do hit him. He couldn’t shoot a rifle, and the monsters were already here. Now he needed to be one too. It was the only way he could truly help.
He didn’t know how many he had killed, he didn’t care. He just needed to keep going, keep tearing, keep putting them down, those things that wanted the people he cared about dead.
But he was getting tired. This was the first time he had giving in to his primal urges, and after the initial surge of strength he began to feel the lacerations that were oozing blood across his body.
He ducked as a vamp scythed its clawed hand across him then repaid the effort with his own slice across the thing’s stomach, sending its guts to the ground. But he had been distracted long enough for another two vamps to flail away at his back, and the burning told him they had been successful with their attacks.
He staggered forward, finding himself against the wall. He looked up. From the heavens came more death. A never-ending flow of vamps.
Growls drew his attention back down to a few yards in front of him. Twenty or so vamps were rushing towards him. They knew he wasn’t like them. They knew he had to die.
He looked to his left at the APC near the tower and wondered if he could get their attention, but the vehicle was covered in vamps. Like ants attacking a larger prey.
No help from there.
He thought about his parents and Bill, the old man that he loved. His eyes reverted to their human state, bringing forth a tear that rolled over the drying blood on his cheek.
He breathed in deep and stood up as much as he could, resisting the pain.
It would be an honorable death.
Some of the vamps that were heading towards him slowed, trying to turn around, but were instantly felled. A creature that Evan had heard about, but until now hadn’t seen, was tearing into them.
A werewolf.
The creature moved quicker than the vamps around it, being even more ferocious, its claws sharper, and its teeth in its short snout doing more damage.
The other vamps now knew they needed to take notice of this beast amongst them and turned away from Evan and swarmed towards the wolf-man. As they were almost upon it, it leapt into the air, and landed a few feet in front of Evan who stepped back against the wall.
The wolf-man looked at him, pointing to itself. It was unable to pronounce human words, but amongst its growl Evan caught the sound of “D”.
“Donnie?”
The creature growled at the vamps that fell around him, tearing into some, but Copeland’s legions were too many. The werewolf stepped backwards until, it to
o, was pressed up against the wall with Evan.
Evan pointed to the tower. “We need to get to the tower!” he shouted to the creature by his side. It growled in response.
Evan’s eyes turned black once more, and they both charged forward, slicing vamps where they could.
Joel had watched everything from Tower A. He got back on his radio. “Carla? Evan and Donnie are trying to get to the tower near you. Can you give them cover? Over.”
Carla tried to see out of the small slits in the metal shielding that covered the APC, but the vamps clinging to it were blocking her view.
“I can’t see through all the damn vamps! How far away are they? Over.”
“Not far, but there’s a whole lot of vamps between them and you. Over.”
“Okay, I got this. Over.”
Tower’s on my right. Wall too. I think.
She threw the APC into reverse and surged backwards, crunching through a swathe of vamps. Then she put it back in gear and did the same forwards. As vamps flew from the hood, a small gap opened up in the window slit in front of her. She leaned closer looking into the maelstrom outside.
There was a small dimple of destruction moving towards the tower.
Got to be them.
Pushing the gas pedal down the APC bumped over bodies, knocking vamps from its substantial grill, driving alongside the south wall. She hit the brakes when she saw something that wasn’t a vamp and Evan.
Donnie sprung into the air, landing on the hood while Evan staggered forward, jumping onto the side of the vehicle. Carla put the vehicle into reverse and pushed through the hordes that were clawing at it, stopping near the base of the tower.
Donnie jumped to the ground, immediately transforming into his human self and going to Evan’s aid.
The tower door opened with Keller standing in the doorway. He beckoned the two young men to him. When they were inside, he waved Carla away, and closed the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Anna peered out of the window to a large forecourt which backed onto the north-east corner and Tower E. It was packed with vamps, all illuminated by the prisons exterior lights.
We’re too high up, they can’t scale the outside wall.
A pale-looking boy, one of five seriously ill people under her care, tried lifting his head. “Are they getting in, Doctor?”
She went to reply when Lee walked over to him. Within his large smile all problems were solvable. The boy leaned back on his pillow.
Lee put his hand on the boy’s forehead. “Don’t you fret, none of those monsters can get in here, and if they did, well—” Taking his hand away, he leaned in closer to whisper. “We have monsters of our own to fight them!”
The boy smiled.
“Try and sleep, Donald, and when you awake, the sun will be shining and today will just be yesterday.”
Donald nodded then closed his eyes.
Lee walked to Anna. “You need to stop looking outside. There’s nothing we can do out there. Our focus needs to be in here.”
She nodded. “I know.”
A noise came from the door to the corridor which led to the small operating theatre.
They both looked at each other.
Anna walked towards the door.
“What are you doing?” said Lee.
“I need to check!”
“Just make sure this door is locked and leave it.”
“And what if there’s a hole or something and they are getting in? We could be swamped!”
Lee frowned. “Fine, I’ll go.”
Anna’s eyes briefly turned black. Lee stopped in his tracks.
“One of us has the strength of like five men or something, maybe that should be the one to check?”
Lee sighed. “Just be quick.”
She walked to the door. “I intend to be.”
She looked through the small pane of glass to the corridor. There was one light which flickered intermittently. Through a similar door at the opposite end she could only see darkness. She was sure there had been a light switched on in that room.
She looked back at Lee, gave a thankless smile then opened the door.
She listened into the gap, but heard nothing of any note in the corridor.
Slipping inside, she closed the door quietly behind her, and stepped forward over the large squares which made up the floor.
Straining her hearing as she went, she also squinted to try to make out any sign of movement inside the operating theatre.
Nothing’s in there, Anna, stop being stupid. I’m the monster now, no need to be fearful.
She stepped up to the door and looked through the glass.
A warped, pale green face slapped up against the other side. Its bulging eyes were black and purple veins ran across its face.
She jumped back in fright.
“Just come back!” said Lee, peering at her from the other end of the corridor.
Anna looked back at him then the door in front of her shuddered. The vampire on the other side was crashing into it.
She looked up at the hinges. They were already twisted.
Not going to hold.
She still couldn’t hear the vamp, but then chastised herself for not realizing that the operating room door would have an airtight seal.
The hinges shook again.
She moved back to the door and looked inside once again. The room was full of vamps. All snarling. A faint green glow coming from where their eyes should had been. All looking at her.
She turned and started to run when the hinges flew into the air.
She was halfway along the corridor when she heard the door hit the smooth floor and then the growls and scurrying of feet coming after her.
“Dear god…” said Lee, looking past her.
He staggered back as she pushed open the door, instantly turning, closing, and locking it. She looked around the ward for anything heavy. A large medical cabinet stood out.
“The cabinet! We need it over here!”
She looked through the window to the corridor. A horde of vamps were about to crash into the door she was standing behind.
Lee struggled to move the cabinet by himself.
She looked towards the double doors which were the exit. “There should be two guards out there, get them to—” The door vibrated, throwing her back. She quickly moved forward and leaned into it.
Lee was already outside in the other corridor. He came back, his face one of confusion. “There’s no one there!”
Bodies of hungry vamps piled up on the other side of the door to the theatre. Anna turned, pushing her back up against it, her shoes sliding across the floor. “I can’t hold it, Lee, you got to get them beds out of here!”
He ran forward grabbing the end of the nearest bed, the one that Donald was in. The young boy had his knees up to his chest and was shaking.
“It’s okay, Donald, we just need to move—”
The door to the theatre room corridor started to creak.
Lee pulled the bed through the double doors, and immediately ran back in to grab the second. He glanced at Anna, her eyes were dark and her hands were clawed, but he could tell she was about to lose the battle to keep the vamps out.
He grabbed the radio which sat on the window ledge. It’s volume had been turned down, so what was coming through the speaker would not scare any of the patients.
He turned it back up.
“This is Doctor Kemp in the medical ward. We need help! The vamps are almost in here! We can’t keep them out! Come—”
A boom came from the door and the top hinge flew onto the ground.
Anna’s features were vampiric, but her expression was entirely human, and it was one of finality.
Lee knew he wouldn’t get the other four beds outside, so he ran to Anna’s side and leant what weight he could on the door.
The creaking now was non-stop as the door bowed and contorted, the screws on the single hinge almost clear of the wooden frame they once sat within.
The double doors flew open and a huge man stood in the doorway.
“You the ones that needed help?” said Dalton.
Lee nodded, thinking it was obvious because of the door they were both trying to stop from breaking apart.
“Get out of the way!” he shouted.
Lee went to question the man in front of him, but Anna pushed him to one side and moved out of the way herself.
The door flew from its frame, but was caught midair by Dalton who then used it as a barrier to the vamps wanting to pour into the ward. He walked forward holding the door on both sides and pushing the grasping creatures backwards. As he crossed the threshold to the theatre corridor, he rotated the door so it filled the width of the corridor and pushed onwards.
The vamps hissed and screeched, but they couldn’t do anything but fall backwards, fighting the obstruction that was relentlessly moving against them.
Anna watched amazed from the other end of the corridor wondering if she should help but feeling she would just get in the way.
“Yeah, he’s not the kind of guy you want to make angry.”
Anna looked to her side. Kizzy rested her elbow on Anna’s shoulder.
“Me and him fought once—”
Dalton decapitated three vamps at the same time with the door. The others fell backwards into the operating room.
“—I like to think that if Amos hadn’t done his—” Her eyes circled around their sockets. “Mind thing on us, then I think I could have taken him.”
Anna looked at the athletic but relatively slight girl and thought she must have been joking.
The theatre room filled with roars. These were not vamp roars, but more guttural. These were the sounds of an animal.
They both watched as parts of vamps flew past the doorway, and a large shadow moved around in the dark.
After a few moments, there was only the sound of a single being. Dalton appeared, walking down the corridor covered in blood.
Kizzy walked forward putting her palm up in the air. “Way to go, big guy!”
He ignored her attempt of a ‘high-five’ and walked to Anna.
