They Walk

Chapter Thirty Six

As Noah slowly pulls up to the front of the stone building that is on my right, we all let out a collective breath. I for one have a hard time taking a deep breath back in, and the state of the building is why. No way can anyone be alive inside, and I wonder if coming here was a mistake. The building is set back from the road, and is a one floor wide across structure. I guess you probably wouldn’t really call it a base, more like a post or something. There is a wide parking lot that goes from the side and all around the back, to where an exit meets a side road.

Even from the front of the place, we can all still see the abandoned military vehicles that are left behind. Some of them actually have bodies in them, and that doesn’t really settle well for me. Speaking of bodies, the front lawn is littered with them, and some of them are still moving. Most are missing their heads, while others have so many holes in them and must have been finally brought down by a head shot. The moving bodies were lying down, but as we pull up, they too get up.

They look about as worse as the actual dead ones that are all shot up, and it still bothers me that they are moving around.

“Shit.” Sam whispers, as he scoots lower in his seat.

We all pretty much second that, since the bodies getting off the ground are multiplying to more of them moving than not. Which leaves about fifteen of them and only five of us, and I ask myself why I even got out of bed this morning. Then I remember the hopeful payoff, and I have to suck it up.

“The front entrance isn’t that far, maybe a couple feet give or take. We can make it if we run, just keep weapons at the ready.” Noah says in a commanding voice.

“I think that is a given there buddy, you do see the amount of dead right?” Sam says as he glares at Noah.

“Sam, just pay attention to keeping your gun steady, got it?” Gabe says in annoyance.

Sam sighs, and I know he won’t say anything back to Gabe. I remember not that long ago, Gabe having to put Sam in his place. It seems to be a recurring theme, and one that is starting question if Sam will be able to keep up.

“We all need to remember to keep steady.” Claire retorts under her breath as she loads an arrow into her bow.

I start to reach down for my ax, when I realize I’m still holding Gabe’s gun in my grip. I lean over Claire then and reach across to Gabe, and pass him the gun. He turns towards me at my movements. As he takes it from me, he gives my hand a quick squeeze, and I know he’s saying be careful. Grabbing his eyes with mine, I offer a reassuring smile.

“Alright lovebirds, someone has to let me out.” Claire says as she turns to me with a knowing look.

I find myself blushing again that day, and quickly look away to grab for my ax and I hold it tightly to me before I even reach for the door handle. I notice that the others are also getting the weapons they have together, like Claire with her arrows and Sam with his trusty fire poker. Gabe and Noah both have their guns positioned, and when I hear them practically hit the safety off at the same time, I know it’s time to get out and face what is outside waiting for us.

Pushing open the door, I step out into the early afternoon heat and wish I could stop smelling anything ever again. The smell is bad enough already, but mix that with the sun for a few days and that’s the result your nose will never forgive you for. The dead were already getting to their feet when we pulled up, but now that we are getting out of the car, they are rushing at us. Gabe and Noah don’t even hesitate as they get close, they just shoot at them. Claire is the same way, but she has to reload her bow, so she stays near them just in case she doesn’t have enough time. With the three of them alone, half of the dead are already on the ground again. Then there is me and Sam. He got out of the front seat and ran into the masses, but I had to go around the car to just get to them.

Not that the dead were ignoring me or anything, a few of them are already coming my way.

One of them is in a soldier’s uniform, but the front of it is all shredded with bullet holes, and I can see the bite taken out of his right cheek. As he comes for me, his hands are outstretched and I can see that his fingers are all broken, and I wonder if that happened after death. Dismissing the thought, I lift the ax and stand my ground as he gets closer. When he is in range, I swing out at him near his head with all the strength I have. I thought the ax would get imbedded in his neck like it has in the past, but his flesh is softer and it slides right through it. As the ax comes out the other side I stumble to find my balance, as the headless soldier falls to the ground.

I don’t have time to be impressed with my skills, because the second dead are just about within my reach now.

This one is a woman in a solders uniform, and I’d think she was alive if she wasn’t running at me with her mouth open and blood dripping out of it. That thought alone makes me to slow to raise the ax again, and she hits into me from my side. The hit sends us crashing back into the car, and she snaps at me with her teeth while I try to hold her back, but my hands are trapped at my sides. From the blow of hitting the car, my head is spinning, and I’m having a hard time lifting the ax up in my hands.

I wonder for half a second if I’m still too weak to fight, but I refuse to die here today though, and I force the ax up between us. I can feel it tear into her stomach as I lift it and I try to ignore the cold blood that pours on me from her. The ax is now up higher, and I use it as leverage as I shove her back off of me. She only stumbles back about a foot, but it’s enough for me to prepare to swing the ax.

Before I can though I hear a pop, and her body jerks before falling to the ground motionless.

I look around in alarm trying to catch my breath, and find Gabe up further on the lawn lowering his handgun. I can see that the others are already rushing towards the doors, and all the dead are still once more on the lawn. With shaking arms, I lower the ax and start toward Gabe, but he meets me halfway. We crash into each other’s arms and I sigh in relief, letting him envelope me tightly. I lean into him, and hide my face in the warm crease of his neck. This has to be the hardest and easiest part for me.

“I thought that thing almost had you for a minute there.” He whispers into my hair.

I sigh even deeper into him, if that’s possible and shake my dead, while mumbling something resembling ‘I’m okay’. I think it’s easy, because it feels like breathing to me to be able to be with Gabe now. But it’s also hard, because I can’t imagine ever losing him forever. From the way he holds me and not even thinking about letting go, I know he feels the same way. But eventually, we step away from one another and turn towards the building where the others are waiting. I take Gabe’s free hand in mine, as we pass through the bodies of the dead and I try to not look down at them.

Claire and Sam are waiting just outside the double doors, but Noah is nowhere to be seen. So I’m assuming he’s already inside, hopefully checking to see if it’s empty or not. As we approach them, Claire comes over to us with a worried expression on her face.

“Are you alright? I saw you struggling with that woman, but Gabe shot it before I could.” She says in a rush and her eyes are wide.

I let go of Gabe’s hand so that I can lightly touch her arm. He wanders toward the open door where Sam is practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“I’m fine I swear it just caught me off guard is all. I swung too hard at the first one and lost my balance.”

She’s about to say something else, but Noah joins us again and signals the all clear for us to go on in. I’ve never been so happy to go into a dark unknown place in my life, anything is better than being out here with all the bodies. Once inside, the air becomes thicker but it’s cooler than outside, and I wonder if it’s from the concrete walls on either side of us. The main area is a small lobby with a welcome desk, and the only place to go is a hallway straight in front of us. So, we walk in a single file line through the darkened hallway, and the only source of light is from the closed door at my back, and a lighter that Noah is holding.

We pass numerous doorways but we don’t stop to go inside any of them, and eventually we come to a stop at the end of it. I pear around the others, to see Noah standing in front of a closed door, and I watch as he opens it swiftly without hesitation. We all let out a breath as nothing comes out of the open door besides a rush of warm air.

“This is the weapons locker; you can help yourself to whatever you want.” Noah says as he steps inside.

With the flickering light of his lighter, I can see a little bit of the room he’s walking into. It’s not very big, maybe eight by ten feet each way give or take, but every inch is covered with rows of shelves. Each shelve is stacked from floor to ceiling and are all labeled for what they are holding.

They aren’t even close to being empty either, so it would seem we finally hit the jackpot.