Turning his face to the microphone on his shoulder, Kyle called out his orders. I knew a few of the men below would begin heading over to the lever across the Yard that would release the counterweight designed to pull the door open, much like a garage, on the Dead Shed.
“
Wait for my signal
,”
he called out
.“
We need to make sure they do
n’
t see it coming. They have to be close so they ca
n’
t escape
!
”
Looking across the wall, I could see the black silhouettes of our remaining forces crawling up the ladder in the darkness, spacing themselves out across the top of the cinderblock wall, each ducking down below the headlights that were getting brighter and brighter. Hearing a few weapons clack against the concrete, it knew it would
n’
t be long before Gordo
n’
s men were upon us.
Looking down at my hand gripping the handle of the hammer, I was reminded of a moment
I’
d had with Tyler. A single, solitary moment when he was sitting in my lap crying uncontrollably. Lost, I did
n’
t have a clue what I was doing as a father, as most fathers would probably admit. I remember trying everything I possibly could to calm him down, when he suddenly reached up to clasp his tiny hand around my ring finger. As if his crying was on a light switch, it just suddenly turned off. I remember watching him, with his eyes still closed, holding on like h
e’
d found his grounding. H
e’
d found his father.
H
e’
d found the person wh
o’
d protect him. There was no letting him down.
Kyle reached out his fist and extended two fingers to the group. Two minutes until w
e’
d pull the lever.
Shaking my head, I started counting down the seconds, refocusing my mind on the monsters outside. Not the dead, but Gordo
n’
s army, as they marched toward our home. Willing to murder every last one of us, this group was far worse than any zombie. They had intention. They had the ability to think. They had made the decision to kill us. The
y’
d made that choice. I felt no remorse for what we were about to do.
Kyl
e’
s hand extended once again, holding up just one finger.
Waiting to see the white in our enemie
s’
eyes, as the old saying goes, I could
n’
t help but look around the Yard. Death, fire, bullet casing
s…
the whole place was destroyed, with one exception. Somehow, the garden at the far corner had managed to go unscathed. There were still flowers from crops that had
n’
t been pulled, waving to me in the darkness. A small reminder of the beauty w
e’
d created here. A small sign of the life that was still standing strong.
“
Pull it, pull the lever
!”
Kyle spoke into the microphone.
Feeling the seconds tick by, as if watching the second hand slowly rotate around a clock, I looked to Kyle. His eyebrows were raised in anticipation, but slowly they came back down as he looked to me.
“
I said pull the lever!
!
”
“
We are, but nothin
g’
s happening. It looks like the rope to the counterweight has been cut
!”
the man on the other end cried out in a panic.
Kyl
e’
s red-rimmed eyes went wide as he pounded his fist into the concrete
.“
Son-of-a-bitch, someon
e’
s sabotaged the line
.”
Kyle scowled as he cried out, a little too loud for my comfort
,“
Remember when we said Rodgers was
n’
t as big a dick as we thought? Well, I take it back
!
”
Dropping my head, I had a fleeting question in my mind. What else could Rodgers have sabotaged?
Gunshots, slamming into the concrete above, rained chunks of rock down across my head as the fresh smell of gunpowder mixed with the smoke from the burning bodies. A scream came from someone to my right, as they took a shot to the head, dropping backwards into the Yard.
Panic struck as we all stayed glued to the crenellations, not sure what to do.
Kyle was the first to react, as he snapped
,“
Follow my lead
,”
into his microphone. Standing, as if he was fucking bulletproof, my friend lowered his machine gun and set his sight upon the wooden door of the Dead Shed.
As he pulled the trigger, I watched the muzzle flash burst into the air. Hitting his target dead on, Kyle dropped the clip and locked in another, continuing to blow holes through the wooden door.
In a symphony of fire, sparks flew outward along the entire length of our upper wall as the bullets ricocheted and reverberated through wood. It was hard to tell who was screaming into the night louder, the Zs behind the door or the men along the top of the wall, firing madly. Either way, it was working.
Arms and bodies began flooding out into the darkness like a black tide. Gordo
n’
s men could
n’
t possibly have known what was down there. Looking back, I have to assume that Rodgers was
n’
t able to get word out about the shed. He was just able to sabotage it. As such, the men standing nearly helpless in the field did
n’
t have a fucking clue what hit the
m…
until it was too late.
The first of the creatures to reach the cars poured around them like water sliding through a sand castle. I watched as the monsters crept through the grass and over the vehicles while pulling down Gordon's front line forces.
There was a sense of sweet madness in the air as we watched those men get taken down. I felt myself cheering inside as I watched from the wall. Trying to retreat, Gordo
n’
s forces turned back, sprinting through the grass. However, the men on the front line, the first to fall, had risen and were already up and sprinting after their prey. None of them had a chance once the whole thing really got going.
After standing there in amazement, for what was probably too long to be safe, our group finally lowered down behind the safety of the wall. We continued to gaze out between the crenellations into the darkness of the field. The horde, fueled by our creatures from the Dead Shed and stoked by the men the
y’
d overrun, had already reached Gordo
n’
s base. Looking through my scope, I patted Kyl
e’
s back in amazement as I watched the creatures crawling over the gunship, tearing through its passengers and pilots. I could
n’
t hear them screaming, but I doubt Mozart himself could have crafted a sound more beautiful.
We had won. I could
n’
t believe it. W
e’
d pushed back Gordo
n’
s forces. The dead were taking them down. We were safe behind the walls. It all seemed too good to be true.
In boxing, they tell you that i
t’
s not the blow you see coming that you have to worry about. I
t’
s the one that you do
n’
t see that will knock you on your ass. Nothing could have been closer to the truth.
Suddenly, from behind us, there was a BOOM. Twisting around, looking beyond the hill to our back, we saw light shooting out from the Greenbriar Hotel. The sound waves from the explosion actually made my body armor rattle against my legs.
“
What the hell was that
?”
I asked, already knowing the answer.
“
The
y’
re coming in from the back, through the Greenbriar entrance
,”
Kyle yelled, clearly as surprised as I was.
In that moment, it hit me. The frontal attack was a distraction. W
e’
d been flanked.
Gordo
n’
s men would be entering Avalon. Now I feared the maniac was right. There was
n’
t a thing we could do about it.
Chapter 31
Darting through the mud and leaping over burnt corpses, what was left of our little group slid down the stairs leading toward the oversized entrance of the Avalon bunker. Seeing the circular metal door wide open, as if someone had popped the top to Pandor
a’
s box, I cringed as we approached the dark halls leading down deep into the bunker itself.
Flooding through the opening like mice trying to escape a storm, scattering down the hallways, each person headed to what they knew to be our only remaining option.
Richards stood by the entrance, waving his hand as we darted by. Worriedly making eye contact with Kyle, nothing was said, but we knew exactly what he needed us to do. We just had to make sure everybody was in the bunkroom, one of only two reliable places that the gas wouldn't penetrate. The other being the cafeteria, where Richards would be heading off to in just moments.
Sprinting down the long hallway, I winced as the florescent lights above flickered, followed by an earthshaking blast. I couldn't be sure, but I was guessing they had just broken through the metal blast door leading into the Great Hall itself. The
y’
d only have one final door to bust through before our halls would be filled with the enemy.
Screams of the dead floated down the corridor, slapping into my face like a brick, as I realized we had
n’
t gotten them all. Somehow, some of the Zs had managed to escape from the Yard, infiltrating the only safety we thought we had left. Stepping over the body of an African American man with a blade sticking out of his forehead, Kyle and I continued charging further into the depths of Avalon.
Monsters inside, Gordon's men coming in soo
n…
death was floating around the walls of our home, looking for anybody to tap on the shoulder.
Deanna and Claire knew to be in the bunkroom with the kids, along with nearly half of what was left of Avalo
n’
s inhabitants. The steel doors protecting the place, where most of Avalo
n’
s people normally slept, would be our last line of defense against anything living or dead. Kyle and I knew we needed to get to the bunkroom, where the switch to our final weapon, Project BOHICA, would need to flipped on.
We had the thing rigged so that it would automatically shut all the doors to both of those rooms just moments before the gas was released into the air ducts running through the hallways, which we learned early on were not connected to the bunkroom or the cafeteria, creating a perfect delivery system.
There was screaming from around the corner, then a woman yelling in pain. Her last words were those to God before I could hear her gurgling on what sounded like her own blood. Pulling my hammer up high as we reached the end of the wall, I slid through a puddle of blackish-red gore as we turned the corner.
A stain. I
t’
s all tha
t’
s left of us when w
e’
re gone.
Three creatures were hunched over, tearing into the flesh of the woman. All stopped and looked up at us with those savage red eyes. Things seemed to stop for a moment, frozen in time, as drool mixed with bile slipped from their mouths; they looked like a set of starving bulldogs. With the same effect as the sound of a gunshot to start a race, I could see a drop fall, splashing to the concrete. Things were so quiet in that instant, I actually think I heard it hit. Then things sped up fast. The monsters all leapt to their feet in unison and charged toward us.
Dropping my shoulder, I flipped one of them over my back, watching it fall to the ground with a hard thud. Kyle shoved the butt of his rifle through one of their faces while I raised my hammer from my crouched position, bringing it directly through the third monste
r’
s jaw. As it dropped to its knees, I put my foot on its shoulder and yanked, pulling the bottom half of its face clean off.
Finishing up the monster who had flipped over my back, Kyle looked up at me and nodded down the corridor. We were beyond talking. Our primal instincts had taken over. One single objective shared between our two minds. We needed to launch BOHICA, and the switch was sitting in the bunkroom.
Racing past the communication and monitoring room, I noticed blood smeared down the inside of the glass wall that would normally display the dated-looking equipment blinking in the darkness. A crash from within the black depths of the room grabbed my attention as I realized there was a Z in there destroying the place. Someone appeared to have locked it in, helping me understand why no one had seen Gordon coming in from the rear.
We were, for all intents and purposes, blind to the exterior walls from down there.
Calling into the microphone on his shoulder, I heard Kyle try to confirm that the bunkroom was filled. A few gunshots could be heard in the background as Mia's panicked voice came back, telling him that they had everybody they were going to get, but that they wouldn't be able to hold back the creatures trying to enter through the entrance much longer.
"We'll be there in twenty seconds!" One final sprint, the door just fifty yards away. Bodies were piled up, creatures that the men guarding the entrance had dropped as they tried to penetrate the room. Nearly being mistaken for the dead before calling out to the firing squad, we slipped in through the door just as they dropped a few of the Zs at our heels.
"Hold the hallway," I heard Mia order to a few men, including our sniper God, who held a larger than life rifle. One by one, they fell back into the room, keeping their weapons pointed down the dark tunnel. A few shots rang out as we were joined by a few other final Avalonians from outside. Meanwhile, Kyle darted over toward a metal closet in the back of the room, which contained the BOHICA switch, as I turned to look into the crowd. I needed to find Tyler.
Panic sucker-punched me in the gut as my eyes darted around the room from bunk to bunk. Tyler was nowhere to be seen. Calling out his name, the only response I received was from Mia, who ran up next to me.
"Deanna, Claire, and the kids haven't shown, John."
I didn't respond, looking blankly into the air.
"Before the intercom went out, they signaled to us that they were trapped in their room with some of the creatures outside in the hall
.
”
Gripping my hammer, I dropped my head then looked to the door.
“
Sorry, John. We just could
n’
t get to them. Maybe they made it to the cafeteria. They could be fine
.
”
I wasn't willing to bet on it.
Glancing at Kyle, who was frantically playing with a bunch of wires by the switch, I sprinted over to him.
“
Rodgers must have fucked this thing up too
!”
he yelled out while twisting two yellow wires together.
“I’
ve got to go back after my son
!”
I said, looking into his beaten-down face.
Pausing for only a second, he slid his grandfathe
r’
s watch off his wrist and tossed it to me
.“I’
ll have this up and running in seven minutes. Get your son and head to the cafeteria
.
”
He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the weapon light that h
e’
d picked up at the Stripe
s’
tree fortress
.“
I
t’
s dark out there. This thing may work on the Zs
,”
he said as he slapped it into my palm with a handshake.
Sliding the watch over my wrist, I looked up, making eye contact with him one last time.
“
I want that watch back when this is over
,”
he said with a half-smile.
Nodding with as much confidence as I could muster, but not saying a word, I turned and sprinted back toward the door to the tunnel. Looking out into the darkness, I had the realization that Gordon's men were likely moving in through the hatch by now. The place was crawling with Zs, Kyle was about to pull the switc
h…
and I was about to step back into the nightmare to get to my son.
Calling to one of the men in the firing squad to throw me his handgun, I caught the nine mil in my left hand, squeezing the base of my hammer tightly with my right.
"Keep that door open," I said, staring toward the men guarding it while they were just starting to push the hatch closed.
They glanced to Mia.
"NOW!" I screamed.
Mia yelled
,“
Well, what are you waiting for
!
”
Stepping my right foot out the door, I looked back to God who said
,“
The door stays open. Not one of them will touch you while yo
u’
re in my sight
.”
Nodding, I turned my eyes down the corridor and stepped into the hall as I heard Mia screaming to God and the rest of the firing squad, "Cover him
!
”
Darting down the hall, stumbling through a puddle of what looked like intestines, I looked up to see a number of Zs flowing down the hallway toward me. Gritting my teeth, I lifted my hammer ready to go to battle. However, every time one of them came within ar
m’
s length, all I saw was black mist spurt up into the air as the men behind me took them down.
Putting my faith in their aim, I lowered my head and took off at top speed forward.
As one final creature fell right ahead of me before I turned the corner, I knew I had to get past the communications room and then down an even longer corridor before I made it back to my room. I couldn't think of the possibility that Tyler was dead, or worse. Just had to keep pushing forward.
For a moment, the world became eerily silent. Each of my footsteps echoed off the walls around me, and I could literally hear my feet squeak across the linoleum as I turned down each hallway.
As soon as I realized how quiet it was, tha
t’
s when the world around cracked and then boomed. A deafening blow rang through each hall, enough to drop me to my knees. I was disoriented for a moment as the lights above flickered, rubble fell, and the whole core of Avalon shook.
Reaching up to my ear, I pulled my hand back down to see blood smeared across my fingers. Something had popped. I had no time to think about whether it was permanent or not. Standing back up, trying to move forward, everything was ringing. Shaking my head, I steadied myself on the wall and got the second wind I needed to keep moving.
Turning the final corner, I nearly gasped as I approached the pitch-black hallway leading to my room. The lights were completely knocked out, creating the kind of dark your eyes do
n’
t quite adjust to. The kind where you never see the dead coming up on you until it's too lat
e…
and I could hear them, lurking out there in front of the door to my room.
Another boom, although much lighter, could be heard bouncing around the hallways. At that point, it was clear to me. Gordon's men had blown the final hatch and had pulled it off. The halls would be flooded with their men in moments. I knew Kyle would
n’
t have a choice. H
e’
d have to pull the switch.
Glancing down to his grandfathe
r’
s watch, I could see that I had less than three minutes left. Time is such a relative thing. Sitting in a cold office waiting for beer thirty would turn minutes into hours. Sprinting through a cold dark hallway and being chased down by Death himself would turn hours into seconds.
Three simple rotations around a ticking watch. Tha
t’
s what I had left.
Ducking down against one wall, I slowed my breathing and silently slid the nine mil into my holster. Reaching to my front pocket, I pulled the strobe light out, finding the switch on the side with my thumb. It was
n’
t fitted for the nine mil, and I couldn't aim worth a shit in the dark. From this point out, it would have to be my hammer and me if this thing didn't work.
Practically walking on my tiptoes to get as close as possible without being detected, I could hear the creatures ramming into the door to my quarters. I had no idea how many there were, but their maddening, rapid moans had me nearly shitting myself at the thought of there being more than I could handle.
Just ten or so yards away from where I thought they were, I cautiously slipped my thumb over the switch, knowing the flash would need to be right in their faces. No getting around having to be up close and personal. No sneaking by. This was to the death, theirs or mine, and no matter the odds, I was getting to my son.
Lifting the hammer high up over my shoulder, with the strobe held in front of my chest, I had just feet, maybe inches, before
I’
d find out if my confidence matched my ability. Sometimes confidence makes up for lack of ability. Sometimes, it gets you killed. At least, I had the element of surprise.