Harry and Isabella slowly made their way down the shimmering path. The water poured out of a gutter and made a lot of noise. Zombies were crowded around it, and one kept walking into the wall of the small shed and getting confused each time.
Harry’s phone buzzed. It was George. <
Harry and Isabella stayed low and ran as silently as possible to the pond. A zombie turned as he heard them approach. He waded a couple of steps into the pond before stopping. The stupid figure couldn’t climb back out of the pond, and it kept repeatedly walking into the side.
George could hear footsteps. He feared it was more zombies, but hoped it was his friends. The footsteps were quick and not as heavy as the grey lazy figures. Harry and Isabella turned the corner, dripping with rain and shivering as they reached George.
The curled-up figure cried out in thanks. “I’m saved! Thank God!” George said to the raining clouds.
Harry and Isabella pulled George to his feet, grateful to have finally found him. Harry searched for George’s bike and didn’t see it laying around. George was covered in mud and grass. There were large stains covering his butt and legs from where he’d sat for hours.
“Where’s your bike, mate?” Harry asked.
George pointed vaguely. “Over there.”
George stumbled a few times as he made his way over to his bike. He pulled it from the grass, and the closest bush gurgled. George stopped. He’d heard the same noises earlier. They were too loud to be zombies, but he had no idea what else they could be. He just wanted to get out of the park as soon as possible. He was dying for a walnut whip and a large mug of steaming tea. He hated being cold and wet.
“Guys…” Isabella whispered as she stood beside George, looking at the gurgling bush. “This isn’t good.”
Harry joined them as the bush made another loud noise. “It’s fine. It isn’t a zombie…” he stuttered the words out uncertainly. “It’s just the uh… um… It’s just the … uh… rain,” he said, tripping over his words as he spoke.
George looked at Harry, hoping he was right. “Or is it?” he breathed quietly.
Chapter Thirteen
Captain Petrus stared at the controls in front of him. The airport terminal stood tall and proud, looming over his head. The glass wall he had to crash through reflected the mixing colors of the sunset perfectly. It looked like a shimmering painting—something that was waiting to be looked at instead of waiting to be smashed to a million pieces.
The captain felt alone. He knew what he had to do, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“You can do this, mate. This is for all those people down there,” Harrison’s grunting voice said loudly from the radio.
Captain Petrus hated the idea of having a radio, but Harrison insisted on it, so they could stay in contact in case something went wrong. “I know,” the captain squeaked out. He was terrified and wished the radio wasn’t there. The silence was welcoming.
Captain Petrus revved the engine, and it sputtered and choked before booming to life. He secretly hoped that it would be out of fuel, but the aircraft continued to roar.
“Damn it,” he said aloud as he strapped himself into the chair. “Damn it!” he screamed louder, looking at the fading colors reflected on the large glass wall.
Harrison looked up at the enormous aircraft. The powerful machine could smash the glass and help their plan to work, but he was afraid Captain Petrus wouldn’t go through with it.
Harrison was used to being the hero. Before joining the army, he thought that being a soldier was the noblest thing a man could do. Even seeing so many of his friends die in his arms because he couldn’t save them didn’t change his view of heroes.
The werewolf inhaled deeply. The aircraft engines were roaring, shooting right through his sensitive ears. “You can do this!” Harrison yelled into the radio over the noise of the powerful engines.
“I’m doing this for him,” Captain Petrus told himself as he pushed the controls forward.
The captain was proud to do his part to help the others in the terminal. He felt a great sense of heroism as he steered the plane closer to the glass. Harrison stood on the ground, guiding the aircraft closer with giant glow sticks, the ones the ground crew used.
Harrison grinned as he guided the plane closer. “C’mon, mate. You’re doing amazing,” he said.
Harrison continued to guide the aircraft forward when an orchestra of zombie snarls and growls caught him from the left. The zombies hadn’t figured out there was anyone there, but they were still moving around the tarmac, confused, lazy, and hungry.
Captain Petrus saw the zombies saunter from the ground crew machines to the runway tarmac. Harrison stood his ground and continued to guide the aircraft in. The zombies were getting closer to him, although they couldn’t smell him.
Soon enough, however, they would hear or naturally run into him, and neither of those possibilities were good news. The distance between the aircraft’s nose to the glass wall was closing quickly, and the zombies were getting closer to Harrison.
Captain Petrus pulled a crumpled Polaroid of his husband out of chest pocket. He gripped the picture tight as he swerved the massive machine into a sideways skid, “this is for you my dear,” he told the photo as the first zombie toppled under the aircraft.
Harrison moved at the last second, avoiding accidentally getting sucked into the engine. “God damn it, Petrus!” he roared, waving the glow stick at the side of the aircraft.
Harrison watched in awe as the plane collided with the zombies one by one. The front wheel rolled effortlessly over the toppled zombies. The captain was killing the oncoming horde with ease.
The werewolf gripped the glow sticks tightly as the metal of the plane’s wing met the wall of glass. The wing scraped the glass, making a long, high-pitched sound. As the wing continued to dig deeper, it finally shattered, and a waterfall of glass shards fell from the wall. It rained down onto the tarmac below.
He’d done it.
The plane was still powering towards the zombies, knocking them down as if they were dominos in a run. The wing continued to shower glass everywhere in a destructive form of art. Harrison smiled proudly. The captain had done it. Through all his fear, sadness, and cowardice, the captain had pulled it together and made it all work out.
Suddenly, Harrison became very worried about the pilot. “Oh, shit!” He yelled angrily at the plane as it skidded out of control. The wing wasn’t strong enough to continue the destruction of the glass wall, but the captain wasn’t stopping. “Captain Petrus, stop this!” he yelled into the silent radio.
He was met with nothing but more silence.
“Captain, please don’t,” he whimpered as he watched the plane struggle to finish the glass wall.
More silence.
Harrison jumped out of the way, fearing the aircraft would explode from all the pressure. “Captain, please report,” Harrison said into the radio. “Please…”
Harrison sped as quickly as possible to a safe position, far away from the aircraft. “Please just say something!” he barked into the radio.
The wing wobbled frantically as it finished smashing through the wall, but the screeching vehicle did not stop as it rolled into the terminal. The wing stuck like a massively dangerous veranda over the main terminal where the people screamed and ran.
“No…” Harrison desperately spoke into the radio. “Please God no…”
The radio crackled faintly. “Harris…” the throaty voice of Captain Petrus was quiet and faint in the radio.
“Captain Petrus! Talk to me!” he yelled back, hoping to keep the captain talking.
The radio crackled briefly. “Sorry, mate, but the saddest things come from the most beautiful.” He breathed faintly. “Tell him I love him, will ya?”
Harrison jogged closer to the aircraft, not understanding what was happening.
“Tell him I love him so very much.
Tell him I never wanted to be the monster, but to save them, I did.” There was a pause before the captain continued. “Tell him I became a monster to be a hero.”
The tired and exhausted Captain Petrus watched the sun slowly slip behind the horizon. He was at peace as the plane skidded to a bumpy stop. The group of zombies lay dead by the large wheel, and the glass littered the bloodstained tarmac triumphantly. The mission was complete.
He fluttered his eyes, looking into the faint eyes of his husband. He’d done it, and he was proud of himself for saving so many people. Captain Petrus smiled to himself, folding the tattered picture of his husband in his hand. He breathed out heavily, closing his eyes as he accepted his fate. He took his final breath and let it escape slowly.
Harrison was once again met with silence over the radio, confused as to what happened to the captain.
“Captain Petrus, talk to me!” Harrison screamed through the radio, but there was no answer. The plane had come to a stop.
The zombies on the tarmac were defeated, and the glass wall was shattered. Harrison knew the mission was complete, and he had to return to the others in the terminal. He had to be the one to tell them that Captain Petrus had fallen in the line of duty. He had died with the greatest honor and heroism.
Harrison took one last look at the mangled plane. The cockpit was smashed in and blood sprinkled the cracked glass. “Thank you mate,” Harrison told the aircraft. “You did good.”
Not wanting to waste any more time in his selfish pain, Harrison ducked his head and picked his way carefully through the battlefield of glass and metal. The colossal noise from the shattering glass had drawn the zombies towards the crash.
Barry, Lena, and Emily were flicking anything and everything at the grey figures as they quickly made their way around the broken terminal.
Barry could see the figure in front of him. “Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker!” he cackled as the projectile soared through the air, burying itself in the zombies gnarled forehead.
Lena kicked the zombie hard. The projectile in his forehead had caught him off guard, but the tall slab of zombie wasn’t gone yet. “Yippee…” she attempted as she kicked him again where his testicles would have been.
“Nice shot!” Emily giggled as the zombie before her fell to a greyish clump on the floor.
Harrison swiftly wiped the heartbreak from his face and threw a suitcase at the zombie that was looming over a small, crying girl. The suitcase smashed into the zombie’s chest, knocking him over. The grey figure lost his balance and fell forcefully to the ground.
Harrison stood over him menacingly, and with one swift move, he stomped on the figure’s face. The satisfying cracking noises made him smile softly.
“Good of you to make it back!” Barry yelled at Harrison as he took out another small zombie.
Harrison nodded back. Jonny Wray smashed a zombie with his briefcase, and Crystal the copilot mule kicked the closest zombie to her. She knocked him to the ground in one quick move before delivering a painful kick to the side of his head and rendering him unconscious. Ben and Jessie, the reunited couple, beat the enemy with anything they could find.
Lena smiled to herself. She’d faced down soldiers holding various weapons on many different battlefields, but nothing compared to the one she was on right now. The people in front of her were new to killing zombies, and many hadn’t known how, but they were quickly learning. It was beautiful to see humans fighting together instead of against one another. Today, the enemy wasn’t human at all.
“This is like being in one of my own games,” he said aloud to anyone who was listening.
“I bet that was a lot of fun, designing video games,” Emily responded.
“Yeah,” Barry said, firing the next projectile at the next victim. “I always imagined I would be like Bruce Willis in this kind of situation…” His voice trailed off as the zombie came closer. “But I guess I’m… not.” He whimpered as the zombie was almost on top of him.
Emily saw the oncoming undead, and she grabbed the heavy trashcan beside her, struggling to pick it up. “You’re not bald enough to be him.” She huffed out the words as she summoned every ounce of energy inside her to launch the trashcan at the zombie.
The heavy metal can cut through the air and knocked the attacking zombie to the ground. Barry panted quickly. Emily relaxed a little as Barry’s attacker was no more. The lights above flickered one by one and buzzed loudly.
“This is not good,” Lena said loudly as the bulbs flickered faster.
Harrison had heard the whining buzz before. The electrical system was about to explode. They had to get out of the main terminal and fast. “We have to go now!” he called out, grabbing the closest civilians and pushing them towards the exit.
Lena followed suit. “Barry!” she yelled across to her friend. “Time to go. Pass it on!”
Barry and Emily quickly looked at each other. “We have to run,” Barry said, pushing passengers towards the hallway out of the main terminal.
The lights flickered faster and whined louder as the time wore on. The crowd rushed through in a panic, pushing and fighting to get out of the line of danger. The zombies were mesmerized by the flickering light. They were like bugs drawn to a zapper in the dark night. They stood motionless, their glazed over eyes fixed intently on the dancing lights above.
“Lena!” Barry caught up with her as they pushed the crowd out of the terminal. “It’s dark outside now. If the power goes out, that’s not going to be good.” He panted as he spoke. “Dark airport, scared people, zombies—definitely not good.”
“Do airports have emergency lights?” Lena asked, already knowing the answer.
Emily pushed herself to Lena’s side. “Yes, but only out closer to the runways, air traffic control towers, and control rooms of the main airport. We’re nowhere near any of the main controls.”
Lena sighed. “Shit.” She had no idea what to do. “What about battery powered lights or backup generators?” At that point, she was pulling at straws as the lights continued to flicker wildly.
Barry racked his brain for ideas. He’d gotten his characters out of worse messes than this. Usually, his characters would have guns and knives, and they would have survival gear like torches and power bars. None of his avatars were ever stuck with just their tired and hungry emotions and nothing but a few suitcases in an overrun airport.
“This is real life,” Barry said, slightly defeated. “There are no cheat codes.”
Lena sighed. “I know, but there has to be some…” She let her words fade. The store across the hallway from them was filled with airport electronics, phone charges, and camera memory cards. The entire store was brimming with things travelers could need, including lamps, battery powered torches, and headlamps for backpackers.
“Bingo,” she said with relief.
Barry grinned, following her gaze to the electronic store. “Scrabble!” he added with a smirk.
Lena rolled her eyes at him before pushing her way through the frightened crowd. The lights were buzzing louder and louder as the last passengers dashed from the main terminal. The hallway was getting hot and muggy from the body heat, and the stench was getting worse than ever before. The passengers were getting hungrier as the hours wore on.
Harrison pushed the last passenger into the hallway just as the lights shook wildly. The one directly above Emily sputtered and popped. The large terminal plunged into utter darkness, one bulb at a time. The bulbs showered electric current as they popped and cracked, and the zaps and sparks crackled as the outage continued to make its way around the terminal.
“Damn these fucking blister packs!” Barry said into the darkness. Some of the passengers offered a soft, tired laugh.
Lena stopped in her tracks as the darkness made her blind for a split second. Her eyes adapted quickly, and soon enough, she could see Barry struggling to get a battery-powered lamp out of the packaging.
“Here!” She laughed as she took the blister pack from him. Using a
ll her strength, she pried the two bits of plastic apart.
Barry couldn’t see what was going on. The dark airport was eerie but cool. He’d dreamed countless times about frightening airports after leaving his parents behind at one. He would dream of them coming to hunt him down and eat him. It took him years to come to terms with what he had done, and that it was for his own good. He was happier with his life without his parents breathing down his neck.
“This is like a nightmare I had once,” he said to Lena. “I dreamed my parents came to eat me here.” He chuckled lightly, trying not to think of the zombies lurking in the darkness.
Lena caught the lamp as it fell out of the blister pack. “Why did your parents want to eat you?” she asked as she flicked the lantern on.
“It needs batteries,” Barry said, nodding towards the lamp. “Those things never come with batteries,” he added, hoping to avoid the conversation about his parents.
Lena turned the lamp upside down, opening the battery slot. “Where do I get them in a dark airport?” she asked.
Barry shuffled awkwardly in the darkness. He’d never been able to move around very well with little to no light. “Hang on. I’ll check the counter.” He walked with his arms outstretched, laughing at himself as he went. He felt like a zombie in a cartoon because they always walked with outstretched arms for some reason. It helped him forget about the real-life zombies lurking in unknown corners of the airport.
“Barry, please hurry!” Lena urged, feeling uneasy in the dark as odd noises filtered through her ears.
Chapter Fourteen
Light instantly filled the room, bringing comfort along with it. The passengers crowded in the hallway and cheered heartily. The light projected a beam of comfort over the tired, battle worn crowd.
“Barry,” Lena whispered as loudly as she could without bringing attention to herself. The light was a comfort, but it also illuminated what they did not want to admit was there.
Pandemic Z | Book 2 | Pandemic Z 2 Page 12
