Emperor of a Dead World (14 page)

Another moment and he decided he should inspect his truck. With great anxiety, he walked out. The truck had so many holes that it looked like Swiss cheese. All the glass was broken, tires were flat and many parts were hanging off. On the ground under the truck, he could see a pool of blood. He shook his head and sighed. When he looked inside, he saw only two dead bodies. How could this be? He checked again. The bearded man was missing. Had they taken him? A noise to his rear startled him. He turned and pointed the Glock.

“Hold it,” the bearded man shouted holding up his hand.

Brad lowered his gun and gazed at the man. “How did you get away?”

“I started to follow you,” he replied. “When I heard the men coming I ran and hid under that house.”

“I escaped in a similar way,” Brad said as he scrutinized the dirt-covered man. He looked down and realized dirt covered him as well.

“I waited until they left,” the man continued. “I started to come out but then I heard you and stopped because I thought you were one of them. I waited a few minutes then crawled up to where I could see better and I saw you. I did not dare to call out. You stayed so still I felt it best to do the same. It was not until you approached the truck that I felt it safe to come out.”

“I am very glad you made it,” Brad said with relief.

“Over there,” the man pointed.

Brad turned and saw a truck returning. “Come on,” he shouted.

The men in the truck had been waiting for someone to come out. They squealed around the corner and charged down the street.

Brad glanced at his friend and he was carrying an M16. “We will try to make a stand from this house.”

The man nodded and followed him into the building.

At this moment the truck turned into the opening and three men jumped out. One of them ran toward the house and Brad did not waste any time. He shot the man in the head. As this man dropped, the bearded man opened fire and hit another one. Just as they gained the advantage, four more men began shooting at them from a few houses away. They had come in from a back entrance. The bearded man returned fire and got one of them. Brad took a couple of shots then signaled to his friend that he was low on ammo.

The man acknowledged and motioned to the dead man just outside. “We have to get his gun,” he shouted.

Brad agreed but gunfire was coming from two directions. He checked his clip - two rounds. He had no choice. “Cover me,” he yelled as he took two shots at the man behind the truck then headed for the dead man’s gun. The breaded man opened up on the other men and held them down. Launching forward, Brad grabbed the assault rifle then rolled and came up shooting. As soon as he fired, the attackers ran for cover. The bearded man now took a few shots at their adversary on the other side of the truck and drove him out behind the wall. Once this man was out of sight he focused on the others and wounded a man.

It was now getting very dangerous. The noise was attracting the creatures and they came in force. In order to escape Brad headed for the house. As he ran, the man behind the wall took aim. Just as he put his finger on the trigger to shoot Brad in the back, something hit him from behind. He screamed in pain as a creature tore at his flesh and down he went. When he looked up at the terrifying thing the world went dark. The creatures now came in through the opening as Brad entered the house and slammed the door.

“We need the truck,” the bearded man said after Brad closed the door.

Brad shook his head but the man would not listen. He pushed past and opened the door. As soon as the door opened, the man screamed in pain. A bullet ripped through his chest stopping him in his tracks and robbing him of his life. Brad immediately dropped to the floor as bullets riddled the building. When he heard the truck start, he jumped up and shot but one of his enemies was already escaping out through the opening. He shot again and the creatures headed toward the noise. As they approached, he tried to close the door but his friend was lying in front of it. In desperation, he hit a creature in the face with the stock of his rifle knocking it back into another creature. He now took a couple more shots at his enemies and realized he had no choice. The creatures were flooding into the fort and he had to make a run for it.

Chapter 13

Convulsing in agony he stood. The pain was excruciating. Never had he experienced anything so unbearable in his life. He opened his eyes but his mind was blank. His instincts controlled him. All he knew was pain, anger and hatred. Slowly he looked around and saw movement everywhere. Nothing, however, attracted his interest. He took a step and grimaced. Tormented by his agony he screamed but made no sound. Noise, everywhere was noise that rang in his ears and pierced through his brain. He must stop the noise. He moved forward and searched with his eyes. He felt a need to kill. Killing is all he wanted to do. Search, seek and destroy was his mission. This was his mission but he felt it rather than thought it. Somewhere he had an enemy and he must kill it. He must kill and he must stop the noise. Kill, kill, he must kill the enemy. He became more determined with every step he took. He followed the others. They would lead him to the enemy. They would lead him to the noise where he would find the enemy and destroy it. He stumbled forward, each step consumed him with pain but he must go on. He must find the enemy and he must find the noise. Kill, he must kill his instincts told him. Desperately he moved with the others. Nothing, no thought filled his mind. He just felt a need to kill. Searching, his eyes were constantly searching for something out of place, something that did not belong. As he searched, he saw a movement up ahead that did not fit. Something was darting around quickly and attacking the others. At last, he had found his target. At last, he had found the enemy. Now he must kill it. He headed toward the enemy. He must kill. He ground his teeth together in anger. He must kill. He moved forward. He was almost upon the enemy when it turned and saw him. There was a flash then there was silence - peaceful, serene and welcomed silence. He was free from pain at last.

Brad shot the thing and moved on. He was surprised the man had changed so quickly but he did not have time to dwell on that now. As he battled the creatures, he saw a man escape over the wall. The other man, the one the bearded man had wounded, also tried to escape but a creature grabbed him and pulled him back. The man screamed and Brad turned away. He could not watch.

The situation was now becoming desperate. In an effort to get to safety, Brad tried to go out the front but so many were coming in that he could not go that way. He backed up close to a house and hoped his trench coat would allow him to blend in but the things were so riled up that he needed to hide until they calmed down. Out of options, he headed to his previous hiding place knocking the creatures out of his way as he ran. When he got to the crawl space, he went inside then replaced the cover and moved away from the opening. Overcome with despair and exhaustion he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

When he awoke, he felt disoriented and it took a minute for him to realize where he was and what had happened. As it came back to him, he shuddered. Three more men, good men, had died because of him. He also wondered about Tyrone and Rudy and hoped they had survived. After a moment, he looked out through the vent and it was much quieter. He pushed off the cover and crawled out. On the ground nearby was a dead creature. He glanced at his coat and it was even dirtier than before from going under the house again. He brushed it off as best he could then slowly walked over to the creature and bent down, scooped up a few handfuls of gunk and wiped it on his coat. In order to cover his back, he rolled on top of the thing and wiggled around to the disgusting sounds of cracking bones and hissing noises as puss squirted from the body. For the final touch, he used his fingers to apply some puss to his face. When he finished he looked at his reflection in a window and his face resembled that of an Indian with war paint as portrayed in the old western movies. Slightly nauseated, he turned from the window.

Knowing his enemies could come back at any time, he decided to leave the fort and search for transportation. As he headed off, many creatures were still hanging around but they had calmed and paid no attention to him as he shuffled along. Experience had taught him to move semi randomly as he made his escape. Any sudden movement could put these things back on high alert. Before he left the fort, he remembered what Tyrone had said about stripping the dead of their arms. With great care, he knelt down and carefully picked up all the ammo he could scrounge off the dead. After he filled his pockets, he grabbed an assault rifle then retrieved his sword and shield.

Once he made it out of the fort, he was not sure where to go. He did not want to go near the racetrack and it was too far to walk home. As he looked around, he saw cars everywhere. Many had their doors hanging wide open but for some reason people had taken their keys. This truly puzzled him. If someone were running for his life from a bloodthirsty killer, why would he take the time to grab his keys? Perhaps this action was born from years of repetition. After wandering around for a while, he approached a motor home but the doors locked. He glanced back to make sure none were watching then broke the passenger window with his elbow. He was inside before the creatures knew where the noise had come from.

Now safe and secure he contemplated what he should do. As he sat in frustration, his stomach growled and he realized he had not eaten all day. After searching the cupboards, he found a can of chili. He quickly washed his face and hands then heated it on the propane stove. While he ate, he decided the racetrack might be his best destination after all. He needed to know if Tyrone and Rudy were there. It was about four miles away so it should be dark by the time he arrived.

Once he finished his meal, he stepped out and headed down the middle of the road. This is something he had seen the creatures do and it gave him a good vantage point to watch for trouble. He just needed to shuffle along so he would not attract any attention to himself. He also needed to keep a sharp eye out for his enemies. As long as he saw them first, he could move discreetly out of sight.

Traveling this way he was not bothered by the creatures but it took much longer to reach his destination than it normally would have. This was okay because he did not want to arrive too early. As he neared the racetrack, he headed up Walker Street hoping to come in from the back. From here, he could look in and see if Tyrone and Rudy were inside. If his enemies were there, perhaps he could play sniper and take out a few before they realized where the shots came from. The hardest part would be shooting his gun without attracting the attention of his other deadly enemies. Before he headed to the track, he raided Costco for food. Getting in was easy because the place had already been raided many times but there were still a few things to dispel his hunger.

After eating, he wandered around outside the racetrack trying to determine the best place to gain entrance. Though he had checked the inside for weak spots, he had never looked at the fence from the outside. While he considered what he should do, he sat and ate some cookies. He was very grateful he had brought his coat because he simply had to sit still any time he saw a creature and it soon meandered away.

When he finished the cookies, he tossed the empty bag aside then stood and stretched. His butt was sore from sitting on a cement barrier. As he finished his yawn, he noticed movement off to his left and froze. He knew if he stayed still, the thing would eventually leave.

“Don’t move,” the thing said.

Brad glanced over and turned cold when he saw a man with an assault rifle pointed at his head. Another man walked up and took his weapons.

“Who are you guys?” Brad asked.

“We are the ones whose home you destroyed,” the man growled.

Brad already knew this but he played dumb. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

The man turned to his friend, “What do you think?”

“I think he is lying.”

“Me too,” he smirked. He turned back and hit Brad in the stomach with the butt of his rifle.

Brad bent over and groaned. When he looked up, he saw several men standing on the roof watching.

“Yeah, we saw you,” the man laughed. He was about to say something else when he heard gunshots. He cussed then hit Brad in the head knocking him cold.

When Brad awoke, he could not see and when he tried to move, he could feel the rope chafe at his skin. He knew he was in the trunk of a car because he could feel movement and hear the tires on the road.

Why am I still alive and where are they taking me?

Whatever they had in mind he knew it would not be good and he wished they had just shot him in the head. Speaking of his head, it hurt like hell. He wiped his face on the carpet and he could feel dried blood. After trying once more to free himself, he laid still and listened. He could hear them speaking but his ears were ringing from the blow to his head and he could not make out what they were saying.

How long have I been unconscious?

For several minutes, he listened intently. He needed some clue to his whereabouts so he could find his way home if given the opportunity to escape. He picked up a few words here and there but learned nothing of value. It seemed another hour passed before the car stopped.

Now I discover my fate.

A few more minutes went by before he felt the men get out of the car and he heard the doors slam shut. When they opened the trunk, he could see it was still dark outside. The men grabbed his arms and pulled him out. He took a deep breath of fresh air and looked up at the sky. He could see dawn breaking and he knew he had been out for several hours. How much of that time he was traveling he did not know.