The Dark Trilogy (7 page)

“
Listen!” he shouted as he stepped toward her. She stepped back, and he halted. This time it was not skittishness, but skepticism that kept her from allowing him to get any closer.

“
I told you that you needed to trust me.” He sighed and looked at the ground, unable to endure her judgmental glare any longer. He had no idea what he was trying to do or if it would work, but he couldn’t let her see the doubt in his eyes, or they would both be lost. He shook his head. “Look, this may be crazy, but it’s all we’ve got. If we don’t get these … these diseased monsters out of our way, we won’t make it.” He lifted his head and stole a glance at her, then cast his eyes back down to the ground as he fumbled for something else to say.

“
Fine.”

Jeff paused when he heard the word. His mouth slammed shut and he raised his head again, the uncertainty on his face apparent. She smiled at him, which was a first. It looked sickly on her face, as if she were nauseated rather than pleased, but that was good enough.

He nodded down at the ladder. “Help me with this?” Rubbing her arms one last time, she nodded and picked up her end. Together they maneuvered it toward the wall, the woman continuing to struggle with its weight.

Taking from his pocket the pair of wire snips he had grabbed out of the glove box, Jeff began clipping the wires.

“
Could you go grab my bat?” he asked without looking up. He could see her bouncing nervously from foot to foot out of the corner of his eye and hoped the minor chore would keep her occupied until he was finished.

He could see her hesitate before turning and stopping again. He did his best to focus on the fence. She would go, or she would stay and fidget. Either way, he had a job to do.

He did not hear her leave, but as he cut through the last piece of barbed wire, he could no longer see her shadow hovering directly behind him.

Jeff grabbed the ladder, dragging it forward. Tipping it over the wall, he let it slide down inch by inch, careful to avoid letting it slip through his fingers.

When he heard the satisfying thump of the legs landing on the hard surface below, he tested it for stability. He adjusted the top, and put one foot on it, jiggling it. Nodding in satisfaction, he relaxed. They were cutting it close, but they’d make it.

“
You ready to climb down?” he asked and patted the ladder, smiling. When he didn’t hear a response, the smile faded.

Jeff turned and scanned the lawn, and his blood ran cold.

The mob had finally caught up with them and was streaming around the minivan toward the back yard. In front of them stood the other survivor, clutching the baseball bat as she slowly backpedaled. The first of the horde were only about fifteen feet from her and closing fast.

“
Run!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. His words were swallowed by the screams and squeals, the growls of rage and hunger. He knew she didn’t hear him, and he doubted it would have made much difference if she had. She was paralyzed with fear.

Jeff watched as the scene unfolded in front of him. The ladder was directly behind him, offering a quick escape. There was nothing he could do for the woman except get himself killed trying to save her. It was just like it had been at his house with his wife and kids. He would be too late.

All he could do was watch her die.

Jeff felt his pulse race as a low, crazed noise that was not quite a growl escaped his lips. Before he even realized it, he was running, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Chapter 9

There were five closing on her. All Jeff could see were their blood-red outlines, as raw hatred hammered through him. Passing the woman, he threw his body sideways, blasting into the bodies as though they were bowling pins.

Three fell from the blow. He thought he heard bones snap like kindling, but was already rolling out of the way, avoiding jagged fingernails and snapping jaws as he popped up and faced the rotten monsters still coming at him.

“
Get down the ladder NOW!” was all he could yell as he dodged the two still standing that were almost on top of him. He had no time to see if his command had been followed as he darted to the left, his foot lashing out at the midsection of the closest fiend.

It doubled over, but the other surged forward and lunged, its eyes wild as it grabbed hold of his arm. Jeff squealed in surprise at the vice-like grip and yanked backwards, avoiding the creature’s teeth as it bent to take a bite out of his exposed forearm.

His feet tangled underneath him, and he began to fall, pulling his attacker with him. Tensing, he waited for the crush of weight to fall on him. When it did, he was surprised at how light she was (the long, blood-encrusted hair was his only hint as to its sex). He quickly sent an elbow rocketing under her snapping jaw.

“
Get the hell off of me!” That was what Jeff heard inside his head, but what came out of his mouth was a garbled mess as he kicked, punched, and scratched at his assailant. She barely weighed anything, but her hand was locked on his arm with tenacious determination. Immune to the pain he was trying to inflict, she continued to snap shattered teeth at him.

He took a handful of her hair and used it to pull her head back, then rolled sideways. When he moved away from the others and toward the wall, Jeff could feel something hard jamming into his back as he worked to keep the hungry jaws at bay. Sliding off the object that had jabbed him, he saw it was his baseball bat.

Driving his head forward, he slammed it into the woman’s forehead. There was no time to marvel at how easily the bone gave way. Her grip loosened, and Jeff reached for his bat, scrambling farther back to avoid the tangle of bodies coming for him.

He was about to attempt to spring to his feet with the wild hope of making it to the ladder when he felt the teeth biting at his shoulder. Swinging the bat in a wide arc, he turned and was able to get to his feet, but he missed the arm taking a broad swipe for him.

He lifted the bat again, preparing for the next attack. The three misshapen forms he had knocked down were almost back on their feet. The one that had bitten his shoulder was the one he had kicked in the gut. It had over-committed on its attack and had fallen to one knee but was already lunging for him again.

Behind his assailants, just a few feet back, was a second and much larger wave of infected bodies. Jeff turned and fled as a flood of rotters converged on the spot he had just vacated.

He felt warm relief as he saw a head peeping over the concrete lip of the retaining wall. His scrawny neighbor was still alive.

“
Move it, move it!” he yelled as he waved at her furiously with the bat. Her head dipped below the edge, and as he reached the ladder, he saw her climbing down it rapidly. Jeff turned and kneeled, feeling his way over the edge to the top of the ladder. Tossing the bat over the side, he began his descent. As he did, he stared into the back yard.

They were still pouring in. It looked like every last one of the infected in the world was coming for him. Jeff hesitated, glancing at his shoulder where he had been bitten. A strange sound whistled between his clenched teeth as he saw the rip where his sweatshirt had been torn and soiled by the creature’s teeth. The residue from its mouth was slimy black, and the smell coming off of it was foul. Jeff slid his finger into the tear in the material and felt a surge of relief. There was no blood, no break in the skin. The ghoul didn’t have the chance to sink its teeth in. It just nibbled on his shirt a bit.

“
Come on! Hurry up!” he heard beneath him. He ignored the voice. The crowd still had quite a bit of lawn to cover before they got close to the edge.

The ladder shook as the woman below grew hysterical.

“
Please!” she cried out as Jeff looked down. She was clinging to the bottom of the ladder like a child clinging to a security blanket. He could see it in her eyes: she would lose it if he didn’t get down there right away.

“
I’m coming. Move back a bit,” he grumbled and began climbing down. Her expression showed profound relief as she stepped away, wringing her hands.

Jeff hit the ground in a rush. He grabbed his bat and turned, snatching up the woman’s hand, and they ran toward the center of the flat, dry field.

Suddenly, Jeff smiled and gave her a quick hug. She was taken off guard by it, but when he went to release her, she wrapped her arms around him in return, squeezing tight as a single tear rolled down her face.

“
What’s your name?” he asked. His words were quiet, barely above a whisper, his lips next to her ear.

She pulled back until she could look him in the eyes. With her head cocked to the side, it looked as if she didn’t understand the question.

Jeff touched his chest. “My name’s Jeff.” He smiled, hoping to encourage a response. He had told her his name earlier, but he doubted she remembered.

She looked up at the wall and then back at her savior again, her face still painted with confusion. “Don’t you think we should be getting out of here? Can’t introductions wait until we’re safe?”

Jeff’s grin widened as he tried to ignore the tension tattooed on her face. He looked over at the wall and could see the first shadow of movement above.

Nodding toward the ladder, he said, “I think we’re safe for the moment.”

She looked back up in time to see the first of the creatures reach the break in the barbed-wire fence. It stopped, looking down at the humans and moaned, its arms reaching for them. It remained stationary as others joined in. Jeff felt a sudden twinge of doubt in his gut.

Stepping closer, he tried to keep the nervousness out of his words. “Stay back. I might have to get them interested enough to take the plunge.”

He could feel a tug on his arm and ignored it. His eyes were glued on his neighbors as they growled and gnashed their teeth.

“
Can’t we just go?” Jeff barely heard her words as he willed the monsters up above to take one more step forward, just one.

Suddenly the woman was in front of him, grabbing his arm and tugging on it.

“
You know, you’re one lucky son of a bitch to still be alive. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

Jeff’s face evinced blank surprise as he stared at her. Lucky? How in the hell was he lucky?

“
Megan.”

“
Huh?” Jeff squinted in confusion.

She rolled her eyes. “You asked me my name, remember? It’s Megan. Megan LeValley.”

Jeff looked down and saw that her hand was out for a handshake. Again, he was flummoxed, unable to say or do anything as he stared at her hand like it was a live wire.

A hiss of exasperation escaped her lips. Dropping her hand, the woman named Megan glared at him. “So, now that we’ve introduced ourselves, can we stop screwing around and get the hell out of here?”

Jeff tried to adjust to her sudden change of temperament. She seemed to go from extreme to extreme. From docile and timid to angry, and now she was trying sarcasm on for size. It seemed to fit just fine.

Jeff broke eye contact with her and looked back at the wall. Before Megan could continue her harangue, he pointed with the bat at the ghoulish figures congregating above.

“
Look.”

Megan’s eyes narrowed in anger, but she bit her tongue as she indulged his request. She did a double take as she stared at the break in the barbed wire. The desire to argue further died as she was transfixed by the image.

More bodies were crowding up against the edge, bumping against those already standing there. From her vantage point, Megan couldn’t see how many were piling up from behind, but the noise was building. The sound that reached her ears was one of raw anguish and betrayal. She hugged herself, rubbing her arms to erase the chill of terror that never seem to disappear despite the heat. Her eyes darted over to Jeff. He was smiling and seemed relaxed, a look of greed in his eyes as his lips moved silently, speaking to his audience, coaxing them, urging them to do something.

One finally fell off the edge. Neither Jeff nor Megan could tell whether it had decided to walk off or was pushed, or if the surging crowd had simply forced it forward. It landed with a sickening thud at the bottom of the pit. Megan covered her eyes as she saw the head connect with the ground. It was rotten enough that it simply caved in, and the body flopped onto its back, its arms and legs spread wide.

“
YES! I knew it!” Jeff yelled, pumping his fist and belting out a wild, defiant laugh.

Megan was doing her best to hold back her queasiness as Jeff did a victory dance. Though she wanted to keep her eyes shut, she felt the need to confirm that the person who had taken the leap would not be getting back up. The limbs twitched a couple of times and then stilled. It was dead.

“
I knew those uncoordinated dumb fucks couldn’t navigate a ladder,” Jeff gloated and then pitched his voice toward the crowd. “That’s right you stupid fuck-tards! I’m talking about you. Not that you can understand a word I’m saying!”

He laughed maniacally as he egged them on. “Come on down! You’re the next contestant on The Price is Right!”

As if in response to his voice, two suddenly fell, and five more decided to walk off the edge immediately after. Soon they were like dominoes: more and more taking the plunge, either willingly or because of the surge of bodies pressing up behind them. The moans of the fallen echoed off the wall and through the trees. At first they seemed hesitant, but as more crowded around the gap in the wall, they came in a steady stream.