Making eye contact with Kyle, I threw my hands up ever so slightly as to sa
y“
What now
?”
He pointed toward the fire, and ran his arm around the tree line that led to Gordo
n’
s men. Then he lifted his gun a bit, and pretended to shoot it.
The fire was spreading around the tree line. With their spot in the woods closer to the blaze, it was only a matter of time before it reached them. I only prayed that the creatures would
n’
t find the three of us before the fire found them.
Looking out across the parking lot and field, I saw that there were more Zs stumbling around now. Their shadows from the fire were elongated across the far side of the forest wall, giving the illusion that they were at least thirty feet tall. Each step they took, amplified through their shadows, showed just how mangled their lifeless bodies were. I could hear the pots clanging together from the back of dead backpacker
s’
gear. Each step created a small ding that rang through the night sky.
Beyond the clanging cookware, the crackling of the fire was getting louder. Trees and branches were incinerating quicker than I would have ever imagined. I found myself completely amazed at how easy it was to start a forest fire.
Yep, no doubt about it, Smokey the Bear would have been super pissed.
Snapping back from watching the blaze, I realized that the cracks were louder than they should have been. With the fire still across from us, the noise was coming from the woods behind me. Not moving a muscle, with my face still pressed against the tree, I listened as each step broke another set of limbs and dry leaves. Clutching the hammer in my right hand, I fought hard to control my breathing.
It was right behind me, but I had no idea if
I’
d been seen. It came closer, and I could almost feel its fingernails running down my spine. Another twig snapped under its feet, seemingly inches from where I sat. Thoughts of not moving, playing dead, pretending I was
n’
t there, all ran through my mind. In the end, I was
n’
t waiting for chance to make the decision as to whether I was going to see my son again.
Patience, John, I thought to myself. The creature needed to be close enough for me to make one swing. I would
n’
t get another chance at this. No noise. No screaming. No alerting the others. Everything depended upon me cracking the skull in one quick move. Everything depended upon me doing this right.
A small bit of cold saliva ran down my neck. That felt close enough.
Gripping the hammer with every bit of strength I had in my fist, I swung around toward the darkness. Connecting squarely with the creatur
e’
s chest, I completely missed its head. Clenching my teeth together as it let out a grunt that
I’
ll never forget, I brought the hammer back down across its skull. Bone fragments shot across the dry leaves, making it sound like someone had thrown a handful of stones into the forest. The creature dropped with a thud across a fallen tree to my right.
Realizing the thing had grunted pretty damn loud, I crossed my fingers as I slowly turned around, only to find three more creatures honing in on my position. This was about to get nast
y…
and fast.
Chapter 18
Jumping to my feet, I stepped away from the tree ready for battle. Taking on three of the creatures was the least of my worries. Trying not to get shot by Gordo
n’
s me
n…
now, that was a different story. Kyle threw his hand toward me in a downward motio
n—
Tomahawk Chop-style for the Atlanta Braves fans out there. All the while, he kept the shotgun scoped on where he thought Gordo
n’
s men were hunkered down. He had my back, but I needed to cover my front.
Knowing there was
n’
t another choice, I stepped toward the first creature to reach me. Bringing my hammer around in a vicious swing through its jaw, I watched as the
Z’
s mangled teeth broke out across the second monster, who relentlessly darted past its fallen comrade. Not having time to bring the hammer back up, I arched my back, wrapped both hands around the oversized handle and threw it upwards with every ounce of force I could muster. The curved sharp end of the hammer drove through the throat of the monste
r—
causing its eyes to push out from the force of the blow.
As the creature dropped, I realized the hammer was stuck in its neck under the jawbone. Pushing my boot across its chest, I gave a good heave and yanked the jaw loose, flipping it into the sky over my shoulder.
Breathing heavily, I glanced toward Kyle. He was watching me with one eye while keeping a close lookout for the bastards across from us. As the final monster approached, I brought the hammer across i
t’
s knee and quickly slammed my boot down through its face just as it hit the ground.
Kicking chunks of brain off my foot, I shot my gaze over toward where I thought Gordo
n’
s men to be. For the briefest of moments, I thought maybe they had taken off, slipping away without us realizing it. We were the perfect distraction. How else could they just sit through all of this?
Across from us, a giant branch fell from its perch. Crashing down into the flames, it blasted tiny bits of dry burning leaves into the air. I watched in horror as they floated back down like tiny parachutes, setting another section of the forest ablaze.
The fire would have been beautiful if it weren't intent on destroying everything in its path.
Just then, snapping me from the thought, I saw Jarvis lift his head up to look around the parking lot. Something had him spooked. Tuning my own senses to listen beyond the crackling of the flames, I dropped down as I suddenly heard it. Something, or rather some things, were moving at record pace just beyond the forest walls outside the parking lot.
It hit me in that momen
t…
this fire would turn out to be the death of all of us. Turning into an unstoppable beacon for the dead, it screamed into the night, calling to the fastest creatures from the mega-horde, pulling them right in on our position.
We very quickly realized that the horde was not as compact at the edges as it had appeared from the sky. There were front-runners for sure, moving faster and more nimbly than the middle of the pack.
The first of the dead to reach the parking lot darted out of the darkness, hunched over, maniacally spinning around and searching for any signs of life. Digging my face into the ground, I peered through the tall grass, watching in stupefied horror as they moved between the cars and other fallen Zs. Somehow these creatures understood the flames, adding an amplified madness to their movement that I had
n’
t yet seen. Any hope of it being a distraction like a good old spotlight might be was soon squashed as I watched them charge in toward the flames. The
y’
d move in close enough to feel the heat, and then turn back and dart toward the black tar parking lot. They knew we were out here, and the bile coursing through their veins was boiling for the fight.
By the time I had crawled over to Jarvis and Kyle, there were six of the creatures running back and forth toward the fire. The crunching, snapping noises through the leaves behind us told me that there were more on the way.
“
Did Gordo
n’
s men takeoff? Is it clear
?”
I whispered above the roar of the fire, hoping that we could take off into the woods and away from this hell.
“
No, I have
n’
t seen them move
,”
Kyle said without hesitation
.“
The
y’
re out there
.
”
It was killing time, and I did
n’
t see a clear way to make sure we were
n’
t going to be on the wrong end of that equation.
A shriek, thirty feet from where we thought Gordo
n’
s men to be, broke our conversation.
“
Ohh
God!
No no
noooo
!”
Two men jumped up, scattering out into the parking lot. Three of the faster monsters were descending upon the poor bastard they had left behind, who was calling out to the Lord Almighty. Screaming at the top of what his smoke-filled lungs would allow, he discharged his weapon into the air as the first Z caught hold of his leg, tripping him backwards while the other creatures dove down atop the unlucky son of a bitch, pinning him down.
I did
n’
t have the right vantage point to see everything that happened. However, I could see his arms flailing around trying to hold back the dead as he madly threw punches into the air. The bloody spray accompanying the dark flesh being torn from his body was the last thing visible before he finally stopped moving.
Wildly firing their weapons into the creatures surrounding them, the two men, now in the middle of the parking lot, stood at each othe
r’
s backs. They spun around, discharging a flurry of bullets into the dead circling up around them.
The chest cavity of one of the Zs blew out toward us. I could actually see the muzzle shot of the weapon through the dripping hole. Relentlessly, the monster continued to advance on the guy until he pulled his shit together and put a bullet into the thin
g’
s skull.
We were knee-deep in death. Complete mayhem broke out as both of our two little groups stepped from our hiding places, ready to kill, or be killed. Gordo
n’
s boys were less than twenty feet from us, and taking the bulk of the onslaught. Even with the light from the forest fire now engulfing everything around us, the gunshots still flashed brightly as each Z dropped around them.
The monsters were emerging from the forest in larger numbers now. Kyle appeared to be saving his rounds and was taking them down with the butt of his shotgun. I watched in amazement as Jarvis, dragging his crippled leg behind him, used the wrought iron fence post that Kyle had found earlier with spectacular precision. Not flinching for a moment, he dropped each creature that came within striking distance.
There was no hiding. We were
n’
t going to run up to the top of a building to get a break, or take off in our heavy duty Hummer to escape. We were in the open. We could
n’
t even climb a tree to get away. They were all on fire.
For the briefest of moments, the parking lot was devoid of creatures, giving us enough time to look over at Gordo
n’
s men. They were breathing deeply, awaiting the next wave of the horde. To my surprise, they both appeared young. Too young to be out here firing guns at us. I remember thinking that they looked no older than seventeen. When I was that age, I was fighting acne. These kids were out here fighting for their lives.
Making eye contact with us, both of the kids lifted their guns toward Kyle, who already had the shotgun pointed in their direction. The fire was blazing, weapons were drawn, and we had a giant horde of Zs honing in on our location.
Yet nobody pulled the trigge
r
…
I watched as the kids looked at each other. Even through the smoke, I could see the fear in their eyes. This was a no-win situation, and we all knew it. Kyle nodded over toward the woods, while still making eye contact with them. In that moment, I realized that we had an unspoken agreement.
The enemy of my enemy was now my friend - at least for the time being. The odds were too stacked against us. We needed each other to get out of here alive.
I watched the taller of the two boys, who was wearing a red handkerchief around his forehead and a belt of ammunition across his chest, nod back and turn toward the woods with his machine gun.
Teenagers are often plagued with delusions of invincibility. At least, I know I was at that age. Nobody can hurt them, and the
y’
re about as coo
l
in their own mind as the
y’
ll ever be. Mix that with the fact that they know everything, and you have a dangerous combination.
I had the feeling that any thoughts of knowing everything and being invincible left this ki
d’
s mind the day the Zs started to rise. The same day he probably saw his first peer get mangled by the dead.
An image like that will kick start the hell out of adulthood. Everybody grows up much quicker now. Nobody is given the chance to enjoy it.
W
e’
d be working together, trading each step through the blazing forest for the blood of the creatures that were quickly approaching. There was only one chance. We had to make it to the chopper.
The unspoken agreement pulled our two small groups together. Kyle waved his arm at the two boys and they darted over toward us, keeping their eyes fixed on Kyl
e’
s shotgun. No words were exchanged. We knew what had to be done as Kyle threw Jarvis over his shoulder, and we started down the seemingly long path leading back toward the wate
r’
s edge.
With the backpack of meds bouncing off my back, every muscle in my body told me to stop. It screamed at me to lie down and rest.
“
Keep pushing! W
e’
re almost at the water
,”
Kyle yelled at me as he realized I was starting to slow.
The two creatures running toward us, completely on fire, helped me jump back to attention. They moved up on Kyle first. Jarvis, still over Kyle's shoulder, took a wide swing with Kyl
e’
s fence post, knocking both of the melting creatures off their feet. They struggled, trying to get back up, the smell of their burning flesh momentarily filling the air as I leapt over their smoldering bodies like hurdles, and kept moving toward the water.
Do
n’
t look back
!…
flashed through my min
d…
Keep moving!
Hitting the trail back at the wate
r’
s edge, where w
e’
d initially pulled ourselves out of the lake, Kyle turned back toward our two frenemies.
“
The chopper, i
t’
s just past the lake over there, right
?”
he said, pointing toward where w
e’
d seen it land earlier.
They both paused, unsure of how to respond.
“
Yes or no, kid? No time to figure out whether w
e’
re going to kill each other or not
!”
Kyle barked, prompting the taller of the boys with the ammunition belt across his chest to respond.
“
Yes
,”
Mr. Ammo said timidly, pointing over toward the lights that still glowed from where the helicopter sat.
“
Are there men waiting to ambush us
?
”
Mr. Ammo looked to his friend, then back to Kyle while ever so slightly nodding yes once again.
Kyle shook his head, as I reached a hand up to my face, trying to rub the smoke from my eyes.
Covered in soot, I very quickly managed to dig more black dust into my eyelids, which felt more like sandpaper on the inside than actual skin. Inching toward the wate
r’
s edge, hoping to quickly splash them clean, I found myself frozen solid. Through the tears, I could just barely see the tiny seismic splashes that echoed off the nearby bank. It was as if someone was thumping a half-filled cup of milk, and my first instinct was that a bloated Z was floating nearby.
“
Holy
effing shit
!
”
I heard one of the boys call out from behind me. Guess they saw it too, and it was
n’
t a zombie.
Gazing down the shoreline, I nearly tripped backward as I realized what the source of the waves was. The rhythmic splashes running around the entire lake were caused by something much larger than one monster. The combined footsteps of the dead, marching toward us, were literally shaking the Earth.