Emperor of a Dead World (4 page)

Lying down behind the peak of the roof, he watched and waited. Surely, they would lose interest and move on. While listening to them ravage his house he became aware of something behind him. He looked over his shoulder and turned cold. Beyond the wall of the complex, he could see the city on the other side in the moonlight. Hundreds of these things were moving in his direction. No doubt, the gunfire had attracted them.

How could I have been so stupid,
he cursed himself?

He lay on his back watching in horror. If they came over the wall or broke it down, he was dead. The only hope he had is that he still had on his disgusting disguise. He would never make the mistake of getting anxious and moving through them again. Just go with the flow.

As he watched, he filled with anxiety. Is this what the world had become? Was everyone alive a bloodthirsty killer? He put his hands over his ears to drown out the noise as the tears rolled down his face. Trying to regain control of himself, he wondered if it was worth it to live if he had to live in a world like this. He determined if they came over the wall he would shoot himself. He reached over and picked up his Beretta then held it to his head. Maybe it was best just to end his life now on this lonely rooftop. He closed his eyes and took a breath but he could not pull the trigger. He was a better man than that. He set the gun down and looked out over the wall once again. Fortunately, they had not broken through. He turned and watched until the fire burned out then started to feel confident that he was safe from any new invaders. Completely exhausted both mentally and physically he needed to rest. Though he tried to sleep, one thought kept him awake - What if he was the last man alive, what if he was the Omega Man.

Chapter 4

The sun was shining in his face when he opened his eyes and he felt relieved that he was still alive. He glanced at the wall and smiled when he saw it was still standing and the crowds had mostly dispersed. He rolled over and looked out front to find it was clear there as well. The only thing that discouraged him is that there were more bodies lying around now than he had originally burned. As he sat up, he wondered how the house had weathered the party and how many unwanted guests had spent the night. He grabbed his rifle and shotgun then tucked the pistol into his pants and walked over to the ladder. Seeing nothing on the balcony below, he made his way down. After peering carefully into his parent’s room to make sure no one was sleeping on the bed, he searched the room wondering if these things did in fact sleep. Finding the room vacant, he stepped quietly out into the hall. He did not see anyone so he quickly scurried across to his room and retrieved his sword and shield. After clearing the upstairs, he looked down below. From the top of the stairs, he could see the front door lay smashed to pieces and shattered glass was everywhere. It must have been a wild party. As he headed down, he heard a noise and noticed the first intruder. It did not see him so he continued with sword in hand. Five steps from the bottom, he saw three more. Two steps from the bottom one saw him and lunged forward. He split its skull in half with his sword then quickly set the others down as they came at him. He now searched the house and found six more. These he easily dispatched as well.

Now that he had taken care of his guests, he had a choice to make. He could repair the front door, fix the broken glass, remove ten or so dead bodies and clean the house - or move. He decided to go to Little Richard and Sally’s place. Their house was clean, secure, and only next-door. With great regret, he grabbed some clothes and moved.

After lunch, he donned his disguise, crossed the main street of the complex and one by one cleared the houses on the north side of his street. They were easy to enter because most the doors were hanging wide open and no one was home. As he searched the houses, he found signs of struggles and even some dead bodies. He cringed when he thought of the horrors these people must have endured.

While going from house to house he encountered many creatures but he moved slowly and carefully and only killed those that he could lure aside and kill discreetly. He decided it would be best to wait until he had finished clearing the community before he gathered the corpses and put them in piles. He would have his bonfire when there were less uninvited guests around to crash it.

As he cleared the community, he paid attention to it for the first time. The main street ran down the center of the complex and its name was appropriately, Main Street. There were ten intersections off Main Street with twenty houses each way, ten on each side of their respective street. The first street, A Street, had forty houses, as did all the others down through J Street. The only exception was E Street, which only ran south. On the north side of what should have been E Street sat the clubhouse, pool, two tennis courts and a park with a duck pond. The clubhouse was a large two-story building with offices and meeting rooms upstairs. Downstairs was the front office, recreation room, dancehall and kitchen. This community area took up as much space as twenty houses on this side of Main Street. Across from the clubhouse, the south side of E Street had an additional twenty properties. Excluding the clubhouse, Brad had almost four hundred houses to clear. This meant getting rid of a lot more creatures than he had originally thought. Fortunately, the place was an exclusive neighborhood and had an eight-foot wall surrounding it. There was also a big heavy gate in the front so once he cleared the place he should be safe from any new arrivals.

By the end of the day, his house was the only one on A Street left open. It was a reminder of his narrow escape. The next day, he cleared B Street and took out another one hundred or so of his adversaries. Rather than go through the trouble of traveling home he stayed on B Street. The following morning he had to deal with C Street. He was hesitant because this is where Tyrone lived. After breakfast, he hopped the wall and cleared the first house. He found if he traveled through the back yards, he could move much more quickly. When he finished all ten, he headed across to the other side of the street. As he had learned to do quite proficiently, he ambled along zombie-style. He was just crossing the street when he noticed something large moving in his direction. He tilted his head to look and
Holy Crap
it was Tyrone and he was coming towards him. He reached under his jacket and slowly pulled out the .45. He then angled himself so he could keep an eye on the mountain moving in his direction. Though he was playing his part well, Tyrone kept coming.

My God, this man could make ‘The Rock’ turn and run
, he thought.

As Brad watched Tyrone, he realized he was not mistaken. The large man was coming straight at him. Holding his .45 tightly he slowed and as he prepared himself he noticed something strange. There were corpses all over the ground behind Tyrone. Who had killed them he wondered. He had not done it. He stopped and stared at Tyrone and the man had a red stained crowbar in his hand.
Hold on. These things do not carry weapons.
He gazed at Tyrone’s face and attire and he did not look like the others. He could not believe it. Tyrone was normal. As Tyrone got closer, the crowbar started going up. Suddenly Brad realized he was dressed in his disguise and Tyrone thought that he was one of the creatures.

“Hey Tyrone, hold on,” he shouted.

Tyrone did not stop.

Brad stepped back. “Hold on dude. I am on your side.”

Tyrone did not seem to hear.

Brad held the gun up and aimed. “Stop God Damn it.”

Tyrone got ready to swing and Brad pulled the trigger sending a bullet whizzing over Tyrone’s head. Tyrone stopped and stared closely at Brad. Finally, he lowered the crowbar and said, “You’re not one of them?”

“Holy crap, no!”

Tyrone began laughing like a mad man. “Why you dressed like that?”

“It is a disguise!”

“A disguise,” he ejaculated. “Does it work?”

“Sure, it protects me from everyone but you.”

The large man threw the crowbar up in the air and it landed on the ground behind him as he bent over, slapped his thighs and roared with laughter. Both filled with joy and started dancing around in the street.

“I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it,” they both shouted with delight. “Someone else in here is normal.”

“High five dude,” Brad exclaimed.

Suddenly Tyrone picked up the crowbar and swung it toward Brad. As it came at him, he ducked and heard a thud behind him. He turned and saw that Tyrone had crushed in a creature’s skull. He now looked around and they were everywhere. These things had heard the commotion and come out in force. He pulled his sword and started hacking away with Tyrone.

“Back to back,” Tyrone shouted, “Roman style.”

Brad backed up to him and they fought their way towards his house.

“Tyrone,” Brad yelled, “All the houses on this side are clear.”

“Screw that, my house is the only one I trust.”

Ten minutes and almost a hundred bodies later, they entered Tyrone’s residence. He slammed the door then secured the entrance by placing his crowbar in the makeshift holder across it. He then turned to Brad and said, “Beer?”

“Sure, why not,” Brad replied as he plopped down on the couch.

“Hey fool. Watch the furniture. Get your ass cleaned up before you mess up my shit.”

“Sorry,” Brad said as he jumped up and wiped his hand across the leather cushion.

“Just leave it. I’ll clean it later. Now take off that smelly coat.”

“I usually keep it in the garage.”

“Then put it out there and take a shower.”

“No problem, do you have any clothes that will fit me?”

“Sure, my little brother was about your size. Course he was only twelve. I’ll get you some of his stuff to wear.”

Brad looked at Tyrone and did not doubt his statement.

“The shower is right over there,” Tyrone pointed. “I’ll get you some clothes then you can meet me in the kitchen. I’ll shower upstairs and don’t worry. There is plenty of water pressure.”

Brad headed off and when he came back out Tyrone was already sitting at the table drinking a beer. He tossed one to Brad.

“Thanks,” Brad said. He then asked, “You have anybody left.”

“No,” Tyrone sighed, “what about you?”

“I’m not sure,” Brad replied as he sat across from Tyrone and opened the can. “My parents left to find a safe place and I can only hope they found it.”

“Why didn’t you go?”

“I was sick.”

“Lots of people got sick. But not me,” Tyrone said proudly, “not even a little.”

“What about your family?”

“They got sick,” he said as he took a drink and looked away. “I took care of them as long as I could. Hardest part was when they went crazy like the others. I had no choice but to put them down.”

“That must have been rough.”

“It was. I locked them in their rooms and tried to feed them but as soon as they saw me, they tried to attack me.”

“How long had they been sick before they attacked you?”

“It happened pretty quickly, only a few days. When I realized there was no hope I just couldn’t leave um like that.”

“I’ve been securing all the houses in here,” Brad said to change the subject after a slight pause. “I have finished A, B and part of C Street.

“I’ve just been killing any that I saw on my street.”

“I wondered why there were so many bodies lying around.”

“I had things under control until that big fire the other night.”

“That was me,” Brad shrugged.

“You a damn fool,” Tyrone laughed. “You got these things all riled up. Were you shooting guns too?”

“Sorry, I was just trying to clear the place.”

“I thought somebody else must still be in here but it was too crazy to go out and see what was happening. Not long ago it was like that around here all the time. Gunfire and screaming and…” Tyrone stopped and looked at Brad then sighed. “As far as the fires, I like the idea of burning the bodies but let’s keep the blaze a little smaller next time.”

“Alright, we’ll keep it small and take out any that come to watch.”

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

“Yeah or whatever you want to call them. By the way, do you know how this happened? I was laid up in my room with a fever and I think I slept for about three weeks.”

“Three weeks,” Tyrone exclaimed. He stared at Brad and noticed a faint trace of the blotches. “You say you had the fever?”

“Yeah but I’ve been getting better. I woke up about two weeks ago and my face has almost cleared up.”

“My family had those same blotches when they got sick.”

“It is not the same. You said it happened quickly. I got sick over a month ago and I am getting better.”

Tyrone stared at him with suspicion.

“Anyway, do you know what happened?”

“Nobody was clear on the news,” Tyrone shrugged as he sat back and took a drink of his beer. “It just happened so fast. Nearest I could tell is if a sick person cut or scratched you, you got infected. Even a condom couldn’t protect you from the virus. Hell, a little kiss could kill you.”