Desolation (14 page)

22
T
he clank and rattle of chains echoed out of the dining hall.
The armed civilians stopped firing on the officers and turned
towards the noise, confused and curious.

Naked men and women started to emerge out of the breached
dining hall sally port, moaning and staggering towards the fresh prey.
Chains were draped around their legs and meat hooks dangled from their
flesh like gaudy jewelry.

Teddy led the group, eyes clouded, fingers covered with blood.
The people panicked and quickly started firing on the
encroaching horde, stumbling backwards.

 

The naked corpses flung themselves onto the terrified civilians,
bringing them down to the ground one after another.

 

The terrified civilians amassed at the gate leading out of the
camp, screaming, popping shots off at the undead on their heels.

The marauders fired at the people pouring out of the gate but the
numbers were too great; the marauders had no choice but to pull back for
the time being and take their place back up on the hill.

Inside the back of the dining hall where the bodies had been
hung to drain, hundreds of chains lay on the floor. Most of the corpses
had shuffled away but a handful remained snared by their chains. They
snarled and pulled at the chains that bound them, entangling themselves
more in the process.

One of the vegetable freezer doors in the corner of the room
slowly opened and Andrew and Jones stepped out of their hiding spot to
survey the scene, weapons ready.

The remaining corpses swung towards them, arms waving futilely,
excited by the presence of fresh prey.

 

Jones raised his pistol at one of the dangling corpses but Andrew
quickly placed a hand on the barrel, shaking his head.

“Don’t waste the ammunition,” Andrew said, glaring at the rabid
corpses as they swayed. “Gunfire would just lead the ones outside right
back towards us.”

Martinez and Jerri crept out of the freezer next.
Jerri held the bundled baby against her chest.

“Now we sneak out the back and hope we avoid the gunplay
going on at the front of the building,” Andrew said, nodding towards the
rear sally port.

“On it,” Martinez said, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. He ran
towards the sally port and searched for the mechanical override
mechanism.

“Some plan,” Jones said, shaking his head. “Instead of dealing
with some looters, now we have to deal with a camp full of shamblers.”
“We never would have snuck out of here otherwise,” Jerri
snapped. “So why don’t you stop bitching and do your part?”

Jones rolled his eyes.
“And what part are you playing? The nagging wife?” Jones asked.
Jerri seethed with anger and stepped towards him.

“Knock it off you two. Jesus Christ,” Andrew muttered, shaking
his head. “This is not the time. Hopefully the horde flushed the civilians
out the front gate and overwhelmed the marauders, forcing them to back
off and give us a little breathing room. Now is the perfect chance for us to
make our move. Jones, watch Jerri’s back.”

“Sure,” Jones said half-heartedly.

 

“Attention, manual emergency lockdown deactivated,
” the sally port
speaker announced as the door slid open.

 

“Got it open,” Martinez proudly announced, holding his rifle
close.

The group walked out the rear of the building and found that the
area behind the dining hall was in complete disarray. Multiple shamblers
were clustered around the slain lying on the ground, gorging on them.
Smoke was thick in the air and the cries of the dying coming from
throughout the camp were deafening.

A few sporadic bursts of gunfire popped in the distance.
“Let’s just find a way to medical,” Andrew whispered, staring in
revulsion.

One of the gangly corpses, a former FEMA officer, turned away
from his eviscerated meal at the sound of Andrew’s voice with a tattered
piece of intestine hanging out of his mouth. He dropped the meat and
stumbled to his feet, moaning.

The other shamblers nearby stopped eating and looked up
towards Andrew and his group. They all started to clamor to their feet and
move towards him in an awkward gait.

“
Shit
,” Andrew hissed between his teeth. “Run! Stay together!
We’ll snake through the alleyways!”

 

The gangly FEMA officer grunted and walked faster, trying to
close the distance.

Martinez fired and blew the top of the officer’s skull open.
The creature stumbled and fell to the ground.
The gunshot drew even more attention.

Andrew took off running down the alley next to the dining hall,
the alley next to Jerri’s torched dormitory. Martinez and Jones followed
close behind, popping off shots at any shamblers who got within arm’s
reach.

Jerri struggled to keep up in the rear, cradling the baby against
her. Her leg muscles throbbed and her lungs burned as she started to lag
behind.

Andrew turned the corner and ran down another alley situated
between two sealed dormitories. Both were on fire. The tent encampment
in the alley had been torn to shreds by the earlier barrage of arrows.
Haggard tenuous reanimated corpses staggered out from behind the
tattered tents, swiping at Andrew with their boney hands.

Andrew shoved the infected back, shooting only when he had
too. Most of the frail bodies were flung aside and went down easily
enough .

Jones and Martinez stayed close together, terrified. They popped
off shot after shot and ended up going through their limited supply of
ammunition in no time at all. They dropped their depleted weapons and
drew their batons, caving in the skulls of any infected who encroached
upon them.

Jerri shoved her way through the clawing infected and kicked
their dusty skeletal frames aside. A reanimated woman emerged from
behind one of the tents and clawed at baby Jacob, moaning, tearing
through the shawl that covered the child.

Jerri drew her knife and stabbed the woman in the eye.
The dead woman gave a feral cry and stumbled back.
Jerri flicked the gore off of her blade and continued running after
the group, breathing frantically. She was slipping further behind.

Andrew turned another corner and saw the medical barrack
ahead. Unfortunately, the alleyway was thick with shamblers and it would
be impossible to pass though unscathed.

The only choice was to cut through one of the neighboring
dormitories and skip the alleyway altogether.

The shamblers in the alley took notice of Andrew and started to
trudge towards him, arms outstretched, making hungry guttural moans.
Two FEMA officers wearing riot gear were at the head of the pack,
tainted arrows protruding from their thick tactical vests.

Andrew stepped back and searched for an exit. Dorm 16 was on
his left and Dorm 17 was on his right; both were standard dormitories so
both had skylights.

Martinez and Jones ran up behind him, huffing and puffing.

“We’re going to have to take one of dorms, go through one of
the skylights, and jump down in front of medical,” Andrew quickly
explained. “The alley isn’t going to cut it.”

Martinez and Jones nodded.

 

Andrew turned towards the two men and concern washed over
his face.

 

“Jones,” Andrew said, looking around frantically. “Where is
Jerri?! Goddammit! You were supposed to watch her back!”
Jones started to say something but was interrupted when Jerri
bounded from around the corner.

 

She was struggling to catch her breath and held the baby against
her chest.

 

“See? She’s fine!” Jones said.

 

“No thanks to you, asshole,” Jerri said. She kicked sand on Jones’
boots and walked towards Andrew, hands trembling.

 

“You okay?” Andrew asked as he stared at her trembling hands.
Jerri nodded and stared down the alley at the approaching
infected.

 

The encroaching shambling herd trampled through tents and
clotheslines as they made their way down the alley.

“Medical is on the other side. We need to snake through one of
the dorms,” Andrew said. He ran towards Dorm 17 and pressed his ear
against the sally port door, listening carefully. “The dormitories are still
under emergency lockdown, but my pass can override the lock. Now it’s
just a matter of picking the right curtain…”

Jones stared at the approaching horde and panicked. He ran
towards Dorm 16 and started to bash the sally port’s keypad with his
baton, making it spark.

“What the fuck are you talking about?! We don’t have time for
that! They’re coming!” Jones shouted as he bashed the keypad.
“Careful! You don’t want to open the wrong door!” Andrew
shouted.

 

Martinez stood in the center of the alley, terrified.

“One dormitory is as good as another! Stop fucking around!”
Jones yelled. He bashed the keypad one last time and the controls shortcircuited.

“The skylights! The fucking skylights! We have to make sure
that–”

 

“
Attention, emergency lockdown of Dormitory 16 deactivated,
” the sally
port speaker interrupted Andrew.

 

Dorm 16’s door slid open.

 

“Ha!” Jones shouted as he waved his baton over his head. “Looks
like you’re not the only one with special access!”

 

A cavalcade of cold boney hands emerged out of Dorm 16’s open
sally port and pulled Jones inside.

 

Jones let out a bloodcurdling cry as the infected residents of
Dorm 16 tore him apart and sunk their teeth in his flesh.

 

“Fuck!
Fuck
!” Martinez shouted, backing away from the scene.
Infected staggered out of Dorm 16, stepping towards Andrew’s
group.

“I tried warning that fucking idiot! The skylights are not arrowproof!” Andrew shouted. His hand was forced as the infected approached
from every direction. He quickly punched in his code and Dorm 17’s sally
port opened.

“Attention, manual lockdown of Dormitory 17 deactivated.
”

“Manual lockdown? That’s odd,” Andrew muttered at the
computer’s response. “This dorm was locked down by the occupants
before the emergency lockdown took effect…”

“I don’t think we have the luxury of waiting to make sure it’s safe,
Andrew,” Jerri said. “We’re a little low on options!”

 

Jerri held Jacob and ran inside the dorm followed by Martinez.
Andrew stepped in afterwards and sealed the sally port shut
behind him, unaware of what horrors awaited him inside.
23

D
orm 17’s hallway was far from welcoming. Most of the lights
were off and the skylights had been covered by plywood. The air smelled
like rot. Dried blood streaked the sides of the wall. Thick puddles of
crimson caked the carpet. Along the length of the corridor were many
candles, melted and long since extinguished. Most of the dormitory doors
were closed and the buzzing of flies filled the air.

The air was stale.
The dorm hadn’t been accessed for quite some time.

“I don’t like this,” Jerri muttered, scanning the area cautiously.
She slid the knife from underneath her belt and gripped it tightly, ready.
Jacob made muffled cries into her chest, kicking and screaming.

“Me either,” Martinez said.

 

“At least the skylights are covered,” Andrew said, pointing up at
the plywood. “We don’t have to worry about arrows.”

 

“Yeah?” Martinez asked, “Then where is everybody?”
“Don’t know , don’t care,” Andrew snapped. “Let’s just get inside
one of the rooms and crawl out one of the skylights.”

 

Martinez opened the door nearest to him and stepped inside.

Many religious talismans covered the dresser. A half-decomposed
man lay dead on the center of his bed, both wrists slashed. He held a
razor blade in his left hand. An aged, tattered bible lay on his chest. Two
pennies covered his eyes.

The skylight above his bed had been boarded shut.
Martinez stepped back into the hall and looked over at Andrew.

“This shit is fucked, man,” Martinez said as he pointed towards
the room. “This guy killed himself. He’s been dead for weeks...”
Andrew looked inside another room and saw a similar scene and
shook his head.

“Fanatics,” Andrew said. “That plywood wasn’t to keep the
arrows out, but rather to keep the sunlight out. Let’s just keep moving and
see if we can find an empty room to work in. I’d rather not choke on
decay while I’m trying to pry plywood off the ceiling with my bare
fingers.”

Jerri didn’t like any of it. She heard about the fanatics – even seen
a few around - but never saw a dorm full of them. The fanatics thought
that they had been left behind on Judgment Day and were tasked with
making penance through various forms of mortification of the flesh. It
seemed their perverse take on religion had grown popular throughout the
camp recently.

Jerri lost her religion many years ago and wasn’t too concerned
with finding it again. She held Jacob against her chest and walked down
the middle of the hall. The child screamed and wailed; his cries echoed
down the desolate hall.

Room after room they passed reeked with the same stench of
decay and excrement. They passed the bathroom and saw that the FEMA
poster hung above the sink had been vandalized.