***
Standing outside, at the back of the hospital, nobody said a word, seemingly shocked by what they had seen. No one wanted to believe that their loved ones could already be amongst the walking dead, ready to grab them if they tried to go home.
Kevin feared what they had seen had only startled them, and that most of the team, along with the doctors and nurses, would soon be trying to flee home to check on their families. Indeed, two of the nurses broke immediately, running for the parking lot, to what they thought was the safety of their automobiles.
Kevin could only grimace in frustration from the screams as the nurses were torn limb from bloody limb by the ravenous undead.
Kevin led the way once again, his M-4 aimed firmly in front of him. He looked around the alleyway they had found themselves in. Aside from the dumpster and some old boxes the alleyway behind the hospital appeared to be empty.
He motioned for the rest of the team to head down the alley first, giving one last look back before stepping out into the moonlight. He could swear he saw shadows converging on the mouth of the alley behind them, and he was sure that if they had been able to avoid the things before the current group he was leading would definitely alert them to fresh meat. Hurriedly, Kevin searched for a ladder and found one on the corner of a building.
Kevin was the last to begin the climb up the ladder, a low shuffling reverberated throughout the alley as he climbed up, post haste. They must be coming on fast... they know we’re here. DeShane thought with a growing sense of frustration.
Kevin was at the top of the ladder before they burst out of the darkness and shambled into the ghostly light of the moon. Now that the four officers and three civilians were up on the roof the trail had gone cold for the mindless corpses and a long, weary shuffling sound began as they tried to locate their ‘dinner’.
Kevin slumped down on the roof, his back against the wall, M-4 propped up beside him. It had only been a half hour since the first of the dead had re-animated, but he was spent, spending all day in a war zone and now this.
“What the hell are they, anyway?” Kurt Rogers asked as he studied them from their perch atop the building.
Kevin said nothing. He couldn’t bring himself to say the only obvious thing and admit that what they were facing was a full-fledged zombie outbreak. It just seemed so... childish, to sit up here thinking about zombies. He wracked his brain to find something else to say, some other possibility, but there wasn’t one. It had to be zombies. Normal folks do not get up and walk around when they die, normal folks stay dead.
“Zombies,” Doc Hooper said, seeming to read Kevin’s mind.
“What? Zombies?” Kurt said, wheeling around to face them.
Kevin looked into Doc Hooper’s eyes and felt a small connection. He knew he was having the same reservations about calling them zombies, but he had, evidently, reached the same conclusion Kevin had. There was nothing else these things could be... they might as well call them by name.
“Yeah, zombies,” Kevin said with a sigh.
Kurt looked from Doc hooper to Kevin and back again, trying to figure out if this was all just a horrible joke at his expense. Hoping to see the slightest hint of a smile forming on their faces, but they remained completely serious.
“No, come on. You’re trying to pull my leg here. They can’t be zombies.”
“Kurt, they're zombies. Think of all of the horror movies you’ve seen, think of everything you know about zombies.” Doc Hooper said before pausing, giving Kurt time to think. “The only thing they can be are zombies. You know as well as I do that dead bodies do not, normally, get up and try to make a meal out of you after they die.”
For a moment Kevin could see the gears turning in Kurt’s head as he thought about all he had seen today. There seemed to be one small detail preventing Kurt from simply accepting the idea that the was being overrun by the undead.
“Zombies aren’t real.”
Kevin sighed, “Take a look around you Kurt. Take into consideration the destruction you see, the people you saw die when these things got ahold of them, then get up and come after you. Zombies are real.”
“It has to be something else. It has to be. Some kind of disease that’s making people go cannibal or something.” Kevin couldn’t help but snicker at this. Kurt ignored him and continued on. “If it’s a disease, there’s probably a cure somewhere that can help these people.”
There was an awkward silence when Kurt finished talking. Both Doc Hooper and Kevin were trying to think of an appropriate response. It was taking all of Kevin’s willpower not to laugh at such an outrageous statement. There was just onething he could not hold in.
“I’ve never heard of that cannibal disease before, Kurt, please tell me how it works.” Kevin said with a grin, taking a perverse glee in making the man feel stupid. Kurt only glared at him.
“Well, I’m not a God-damned biologist, I don’t know how it works! But there’s no way those things down there are zombies!”
Doc Hooper put his hand on Kurt’s shoulder with a gentle touch, lest he offend the man. “Kurt, they’re zombies. As a doctor I know the signs of death, so trust me when I tell you they’re zombies. Kevin knows they’re zombies, and deep down, I know you know they’re zombies.” Kurt opened his mouth to say something but Doc Hooper raised his hand to quiet his protest.
“I know it’s hard to believe, even I’m having a hard time believing it. But, as far as I know, when dead people start walking around trying to eat the living, then you’ve got a zombie outbreak on your hands.”
Kurt turned to, once again, look down on the zombies in the alley. He stared down at them for a good long time before he turned around, nodding. “All right, they’re zombies. I can’t think of a better explanation right now, but I’m sure we’ll find someone who can.”
Kevin rolled his eyes. “What makes you think anyone else is even still alive out there?” Kevin asked heatedly.
Kurt looked up at him as if that was the stupidest question he had ever heard. “Well... there has to be other people alive out there. Someone from this city must have escaped or holed up on a roof or something.”
“What about the rest of the world?”
“The rest of the world? What about them?”
“You don’t think this is just a localized outbreak do you?”
“Why not? How do you know it isn’t?”
“We don’t know anything for sure yet,” Doc Hooper interjected, looking up at Kevin. “We won’t know unless we get off of this roof.”
Kevin shrugged his shoulders and peered over the wall again. He was assuming the outbreak was worldwide and there would be no one coming to help them. Of course, he did not know for sure, but he was almost positive that the entire world had been overrun by zombies. Some of the bigger cities were probably still fighting, still stubbornly holding on, but everyone who fell to the horde joined its ranks, while the ranks of the defenders only got smaller.
“A bunch of shambling idiots wouldn’t be able to take on the Army,” Kurt maintained.
“Maybe, maybe not. The Army would have been taken by surprise by a zombie outbreak. None of the bases here in Frisco are geared up for war, so they would have been unprepared. And if some of the soldiers had gotten bit and taken to the infirmary... well, then they’d have a problem. Personally I think if nothing else, the Army is fighting for its life right now and probably losing,” Kevin replied, coldly.
Kevin could tell Doc Hooper and the rest of his team were not happy about what they had just heard. He knew they were trying to hold on to the hope that all was not lost. He was not trying to steal that hope from them but he knew they still had a chance to survive this. He just did not want them to put their faith in something that was never going to happen.
“Look folks, we’re not totally fucked here. We have weapons and right now the zombies can’t get at us. That puts us in a better position than a lot of people out there, I’m sure. Once we get some food and water we can last for weeks until we need more supplies. There is still hope,” Kevin said, more gently, trying to assuage their fears for the future.
“Sure, the zombies can’t get at us now, but you just said we need food and water. Well... as far as I can tell, there certainly isn’t any food or water up here,” Hanson replied, joining the conversation.
“I know. But if you give up hope now, then we will be fucked. We have to keep hoping, stay optimistic, or we’ll never get out of this shitstorm.” Kevin said as he looked over his shoulder, evaluating the mass of zombies. “We need a distraction.”
“Why?” Doc Hooper asked. “We have guns like you said and plenty of ammo.”
“Yeah, but we can’t shoot fast enough to hold them off. We need to get them out of the way somehow.”
“Why don’t we just shoot them from up here?” Rogers asked.
Kevin considered it for a moment. “It’s probably best not to waste the ammo. You never know when we might need it.”
Kevin turned around, looking grim. “I’ll go down, taking Dan with me, first, distract them, and lead them away from you. Then you guys climb down the ladder and run your asses for the parking lot and then get the hell to Steve’s place.”
“I’ll go with you, you’re going to need someone to look after your injured man.”
“Ok, you’re with me then doc,” Kevin replied. Happy the doctor had volunteered to go with him.
“What about you?” Hanson asked.
“I’ll be meeting you all at Steve's once I take care of the zombies.”
“How do you plan on doing that?” Kurt asked.
Kevin just shrugged his shoulders. “Dunno, I’ll make it up as I go.”
The team and nurses looked hesitant, a little nervous about a plan that really wasn’t much of a plan. Kevin admitted as much to himself, but he didn’t have a lot to go on. He really didn’t have any idea how he would get away once he had lured the zombies away from the team, but that was of no concern to them.
“Guys... you’ll be fine. No zombies will be coming your way, they’ll all be after me and the Doc. If I don’t meet up with you by tomorrow at Steve’s, just continue on without me.”
They still looked a bit nervous about the plan, but they nodded their heads in assent.
“Good. Now, get ready to run. As soon as the zoms get out of sight, get down that ladder. Don’t linger long in the alley or there’s a chance they’ll come back for you. Remember, as soon as you hit the ground, make for Steve’s as fast as you can.”
Kurt looked like he was about to argue with Kevin about the plan. If anything went wrong, they could all end up dead, or worse. None of them were relishing the thought of going back down there into the thick of things, but they had no choice.
Kevin stood on the edge with Dan draped over his shoulder in a Fireman’s carry, calming his nerves as he looked down into the alley. Then, without a word, he and doc Hooper disappeared over the ledge and began his descent into the heart of the madness.
***
Kurt led his small group of police and nurses as far away from the hospital as he could. Behind him, he heard the irregular beat of Kevin’s weapon chattering away at the undead horde. One of the nurses suddenly screamed out. Kurt turned, bringing up his weapon. A ghoul had her by the arm, and bit down hard on her shoulder. Gurgling, the nurse fell to the ground. Kurt fired, the slug taking the undead thing between the eyes, blowing its head apart.
For every one they put down, a dozen more joined the fray. There was no way they would be able to handle them all. Kevin had promised none of the deadheads would be following them. Well, either they had already ripped that poor bastard apart or there were A LOT more than he had anticipated. Or both. The way Kurt’s night had been going, it was probably both. And hell was about to strike.
After sprinting down two surprisingly un-hell-like blocks, he saw a National Guard HMMWV at the end of the street. Turning back he realized that there were no nurses left, although the crowd behind him had gotten substantially larger. The other officers were keeping pace. As he watched, one of the officers stumbled, and was pulled kicking and screaming into the mob, which didn’t even halt in its slow, ponderous march.
Kurt started screaming, waving to a soldier on the corner. The soldier was screaming something, but over his own labored breathing and shouting, he couldn’t hear what was being said.
***
“GET DOWN!” PFC Victor Foreman yelled out, gesturing at the police heading his way. Behind the unfortunate cops several dozen deadies shambled in pursuit. The police either did not hear Foreman or did not understand what was about to happen, because they were not listening. The dead were close, it was now or never.
The .50 caliber Browning M-2 on the Hummvee opened up, coughing its heavy duty rounds at the mob. Limbs were torn off, heads split like overripe melons, body parts disappeared, and a fine red mist pervaded the air as the undead were shredded. The cops hugged the pavement and prayed to Jesus as they felt things they would rather not think about splattering down on the pavement next to them, or, in some unfortunate cases, right on top of them.
As the firing stopped the soldiers moved into the now severely reduced crowd. None of the things were standing, but a few were crawling earnestly forward on broken legs, hauling themselves forward with arms that ended just below the shoulder.
The soldiers moved quickly, purposefully, shooting each one in the head. As they returned to the Humvee, however, they realized their mistake. The noise of the M-2 had drawn a massive crowd of undead. From all four streets the ghouls swarmed over the soldiers and police.
***
Kurt saw what was coming and put his pistol in his mouth. CLICK!
He opened his eyes, fumbling for another magazine when the first of the hellspawn fell on him, tearing into his flesh with nails and teeth.
Kurt started screaming, falling silent only when one of the undead tore his throat out. One by one, the weapons around him fell silent, as the stillness of the graveyard was returned to the street corner.
***
Back at Steve’s the mood had settled from controlled chaos to a more somber, apocalyptic tone. For the tenth time Steve checked the ammunition for the weapons they had, pacing around the house, checking the windows.
“Should we go to the basement?” Jenna suggested.
“You guys probably should. I want to be here when Kevin arrives, we won’t be able to hear him down there.”
John sighed. “I’m not going down there without you. I mean, if they break in here and eat you, I might not hear the warning screams down there.” Steve and Jenna shot him dirty looks. “Well, some people around here are in a pissy mood. I thought it was funny.”
“Are we even sure he’s coming? It’s the middle of the night!” Jenna asked, worry marking her features.
“It would take more than those things to kill that side of beef. He’ll be here. Although I will have to give him a detention for tardiness.”
“Do we have everything we might need?” John asked.
“Guns, ammo, bottled water, all the crap I take with me when I go hunting, fishing, or camping. Some food, and a couple of first aid kits.”
“Seems comprehensive enough to me.”
Steve looked again at their meager arsenal. They had four pistols, a pair of Glock 17s, an M1911, and a Beretta M9. As far as shoulder-fired weapons went Steve owned a Remington 870 shotgun, a civilian-legal AR-15, and an M-1 battle rifle. John brought his own shotgun, a 12 gauge Mossberg 500, and a Remington 700 hunting rifle.
While the disparity in weapon types meant they would not be able to share the ammunition, it also gave them a greater tactical flexibility. A tradeoff that was well worth it, in Steve’s opinion.
Steve looked out the window for the fifth time in ten seconds. God Kevin, where the hell are you?
_________________ Benno the Mad Wrote:
man, you gotta realise that thor and bos fell out of the patriot tree (like the ugly tree, but instills patriotism instead of ugly) and hit every branch on the way down.
"Gone now, dispersed by the brutal destruction of this one day, was the belief that the Darkman and his army of the dead were so superior as to be invincible. By attempting to destroy the morale of the Marines, the Darkman had restored it to full vigor. Dia De La Muerto had failed in its objectives."
The Gunny: Stand of the 300
Si vis pacem, para bellum
If you want peace, prepare for war
Gunny's color #FF2400
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