They Walk

Chapter Forty

While we all try to remember to breathe, we can’t but help to stare all around at the dead around us. They are all surrounding abandoned ambulances, police cars, fire trucks, military vehicles, and even blood drive vans. If I squint through the masses, I can almost see that most of the vehicles are still running and that there are dead still bodies hanging out of some of the doors. Just like the army base we went to, this place has bodies littering the ground, and the mobile dead walk and stand on them as they shuffle around. Beyond them covering the front of the building, there is a thick clear tarp lining the entrance. It flaps in the light breeze, and it causes the dead to shutter.

They walk more forcefully into the closed steel doors.

“What are we going to do?” I whisper, almost afraid to hear the answer I already know.

“We have to go through them all; it’s the only way to get inside.” Noah says.

“That’s a really bad idea.” Sam utters as he slides down in his seat, and I’m inclined to agree with him, even if it’s a possibility that my parents could be trapped inside.

“Not if we stick together, we do have more weapons now, and it’s not like we’re going to run out of ammo anytime soon.” Gabe says in a rush, and I lean in closer to him trying to steal his optimism.

“Are you both out of your mind? How can we do what apparently soldiers with bigger guns couldn’t?” Claire says as she leans around me to glare at Gabe.

I’d say something to her for being rude to Gabe, but I kind of agree with her. How can a couple teens make it through this, when trained professionals could not? I turn to stare at Gabe along with Claire, but more scared and less glaring.

“Big guns, Claire you’re a genius!” Gabe says with a smile and leans between the seats towards Noah.

“Would the machine gun work Noah?” He asks with a rush and sense of excitement, unfortunately Noah doesn’t seem all that enthused.

“There are too many of the dead here up close, we’d do more damage than good with that here.” Noah says quietly.

“Then what do you suggest then?” Gabe says with a note of irritation in his voice.

Not that I blame him, the bigger gun idea kind of made me feel relieved. But clearly, Noah doesn’t think it’ll work, so we’re back to square one. A very close quartered scary square one and it has blood dripping from its points. I shut my eyes and try to clear my head, so that nothing is distracting me. If we actually do this, I have to prepare myself. It’s been a while since I’ve had so many of the dead around to fight. Those other times I’ve always just jumped into the mess with no thought, other than protecting those I had too, but this time is different. This time, the dead stand between what we think is safety, and what if it’s not. We’ve been through so much for it all to end here.

I refuse to just give up without as much as a serious fight.

“I suggest that we grab whatever we can, and make a break for those door, and pray to God they aren’t locked.” Noah says harshly.

I open my eyes. A throbbing pain starts behind my eyes, but I ignore it as I glance at everyone in the car.

“He’s right, and we know it. It’s the only way, and we have to stop thinking, and just go for it. Otherwise, we’ll just give up and want to run away.” I say with an edge to my voice and I let it carry throughout the car.

“We can only take the weapons we have on us, so gear up. We’ll be leaving any food and other stuff we have, it’ll only weigh us down.” Noah says.

Gabe glances at me, and I can see the troubled thought play across his face, but I can’t let it make me feel bad about what we have to do. I look back through the windshield and I can see Noah watching me in the rearview mirror, and he nods at me. Before I can understand what he means, he’s already opening his door and jumping out.

“Oh shit.” Sam squeaks as he slides out of his door, right behind Noah.

Claire loads an arrow in her bow and opens her door, as she slides out I can hear the gunfire from Noah already. Gabe gets out next and has his gun drawn and is aiming for a dead guy running at us, and I quickly follow out behind him. As soon as I am out of the car, I feel like I’ve been transported to another world entirely.

There is hundreds of the dead pouring out of every direction.

All of them are rushing at us, and it takes my breath away.

The others are already in the thick of things, and Gabe is a couple feet from me firing into bodies that come for him. Around me, I can see that three dead guys dressed as soldiers are rushing at me, and I know I’ll be good as dead if I don’t collect myself and let everything go. My vision narrows down to just the dead in front of me and I grip my ax and raise it high. I swing it up around in a high arc and knock aside the three dead army dressed guys that are getting close to me.

They are just falling to the ground from the hit and I’m already running to catch up to Gabe, who is shooting repeatedly into the moving bodies. I can’t see where everyone else in the chaos, but I can hear the sounds of they’re fighting, so at least I know that they are alive for the moment. I’m just getting closer to where Gabe is stationed near an ambulance a couple feet away, when I get closed in by at least five of the dead. They are dressed in hospital scrubs and are all covered in blood and missing some of their limbs. It doesn’t stop them from coming for me though. Raising the ax and my already tired arms, I swing at them and try to keep them at bay.

One of them rushes from the group though, and snaps his teeth at me.

I back up a couple steps and nearly tripping over a body, I swing at him and catch him in his shoulder knocking him down. Two more of the dead are almost on me as I struggle to pull the ax out of the dead man’s shoulder. It slides free when the other two are within reach, and I back up another step. Getting the ax up, I swing before they can touch me.

With a yell, I throw my whole body into the swing, and knock them both down at the same time.

The woman I hit’s flesh is softer than the man before her, and the ax slices right through her face. Ignoring the blood that sprays on me, I run around the other dead near me and head for where I saw Gabe last. There is movement all around me, and I’m constantly swinging the ax and knocking them aside as I plunge through them. I don’t stop to get my bearings though; all I need is to get surrounded again. The sound of gunfire gets louder the closer I get to the ambulance before me, but I don’t see Gabe there anymore, and my heart races as I reach it. Coming to a brief stop I scan any which way and find that Noah, Claire and Gabe are a couple feet to my left in a semi-circle together backed up against a fire truck.

Relieved I’m about to run to them.

A body slams into me from the side though and knocks me into the ambulance.

My head is spinning from hitting the side to hard, and I have to struggle to lift my arms up between us. It’s all hands and teeth, and I have to use all my strength just to keep its mouth from me. I can hear the others yelling to me, but I know it’ll be too late for them to help me, as I can feel the dead’s cold breath nearing my bare weak arm. I’m yelling now too, and I force my arms to obey my screaming demands to move. Just as I almost feel its teeth grazing me, something slams into the dead and they fall to the ground with a resounding bang.

Surprised, I find that it’s Sam and he had plunged the fire poker into the dead’s back from the fall.

He stands up with a wide smile, and I can’t stop my own from coming forward. I’m just taking a step away from the ambulance, when another of the dead jumps him from behind. Before I can even scream to warn him or help, it latches onto his shoulder and tears into him. Yelling he falls to his knees, and I raise the ax and rush to his side. He’s trying to push the thing off him, and I can’t get a good shot without hitting him to. With no time to think, I reach down to my ankle and unhook the small knife.

I have and take it in my free hand.

At his side now, I notice that the others must be somewhat helping, because no other dead have gotten near us yet. When I get to him, he’s already fallen onto his stomach, but is still yelling and struggling. I don’t even hesitate as I kneel and swing the knife up into the things chin, and causing it to release its hold on Sam. It rears up even with my hold on it, and tries to snap at me and almost manages to knock me over.

This close, I can see that it was once a large man.

Now it’s mostly covered in blood and missing large portions of skin.

Getting to my feet, I plant them firmly on the ground. Then shove the blade of the knife more forcibly into its head. It twitches and I quickly let go of the knife leaving it in him and get enough room, so that I can shove him to the ground. Taking the ax in both hands now, I swing it down into his neck with all my strength and feel a sick satisfaction as his movements cease.

Breathing heavily, I rush over to where Sam is trying to get to his feet.

There is a chunk missing from the bite in his shoulder and blood is pouring down the front of his shirt, even as he tries to stop it with his hands. I help him to his feet, and let him lean on my free arm, and pray to God he doesn’t turn on me. We are just turning around and headed for the fire truck and to the others, when another dead is about to pounce on us. It gets almost right to us, when an arrow hits the back of its head and slides right through his left eye.

I pull Sam away as the man falls to the ground, and rush to where Claire is loading another arrow in her bow. We are getting surrounded now, and it’s all the others can do is to keep shooting and keep them from touching us. I can literally feel the wind from the bullets as they pass by my head, and have to trust that Noah and Gabe’s aim is accurate. Finally I reach them, and am only just in the circle of safety before Noah is signaling for us to back up to the buildings door, that is a couple feet behind us. He takes the lead and is constantly firing his two guns, as he moves, and Claire is right on his heels. Gabe shoves me and Sam right after her and places himself in front of me. He fires a gun in each hand as fast as he can, and I even have to use the ax as well as I can, to keep the dead from our sides.

Sam keeps getting limper and limper in my arms, and I have to use every reserve of my strength to just stay on my feet and not let him go. My head is pounding beyond pain now, and my vision is going grey but I don’t stop, instead I grit my teeth and push on. Glancing behind me quick, I see that Noah is just passing under the tarp that is hanging over the front of the building, and is firing into the bodies that are coming through it at the same time. The last of the dead falls to the ground and he is about to rush the doors, when they fly open and a dozen men in black gear come rushing out carrying guns.

We are all forced to come to a stop, but before we can even be shocked.

The men are shooting their rifles into the bodies of the dead that are still pouring out behind us. There are more of them just inside the doors, and they yell something to Noah. He nods and runs underneath the tarp and vanishes from my sight through the doors. Claire doesn’t hesitate, and quickly follows right behind him. Sam is leaning all of his weight on me now, and I’m struggling to take a step forward, but Gabe comes to his other side and helps us to the doors. There are two men dressed in black on either side of the door waiting, when we pass under the tarp and I don’t like the look they give us as we do.

It makes me hold on to Sam even tighter, and hurry to get inside.

The rest of the men are still firing into the dead behind us, but when we are just walking through the doors, they press against us like a wave and rush inside as well.