CHAPTER 14
I’ve always been more of a summer person, so the dark, cold and rainy weather that suddenly cloaked Kingston Valley was like torture to me. Not only was it raining and cold, but the wind picked up as well – not as in George Clooney Perfect Storm, but it was still wet and windy
With no cars in town, we were left walking and followed James down Main Road as the rain pounded down on us. Mom and Michelle walked behind me while shielding their eyes from the rain and Alex walked next to me. He seemed pretty stable on his legs and quickly got accustomed to his prosthetic, but I could see that he was trying his utmost best to overcome any discomfort he felt. Fluffy squeezed in between Alex and I, stared up with a wagging tongue and let out a whine that said this is so exciting! We’re off to some place wonderful, I just know it!
“I thought hell is all fire and flames.” Alex joked, “Why is it raining if this zombie freak is raising hell?”
“Probably just for show.” I joked.
“How do you know you can trust him?” Alex whispered and nudged his head at James.
“I don’t.” I said, “But it seems he knows what he’s talking about.”
Alex had a valid point; what if James couldn’t be trusted? What if he was leading us into a trap or something? It wouldn’t be the first time someone in his family tried to kill me. I decided to keep a close eye on James – just in case.
The unobtrusiveness of everything around us was another thing I didn’t trust. I’ve learnt that the silence in a zombie apocalypse was the silence before the storm.
“Are you sure you’re okay to continue?” I asked Alex.
He smiled at me while walking with a limp and said, “Of course, this is nothing.”
Alex was clearly layered like an onion. My first encounter with him years ago suggested that he was an arrogant bully, but the more I got to know him the more obvious it became that he was a misunderstood soul. He tried his hardest to be accepted by the world and tried to change who he was. If only he knew that once you accepted yourself, the world would follow.
“That’s good to hear.” I said with a nod.
James stopped in front of us and Alex nearly lost his footing as he bumped into him. James seemed to scrutinize the air around us.
“What is it?” Alex asked concerned.
I motioned for mom and Michelle to stay close behind me. Mom tightened her grip on the shovel she used as a weapon while Michelle took out a butcher’s knife she found in the cafeteria. I quietly inched closer to James.
“What is it?” I whispered.
James sniffed the air like a dog and said, “The dead is near.”
Fluffy tilted his head, stared at James and let out a whine which probably meant what the hell is wrong with this human? He stared at James a moment longer, and then he too sniffed the air as if picking up on a worrisome scent.
“You can smell them?” Alex asked confused.
“Can’t you?” James asked, “The air is thick with the stench. It smells like decaying rubbish being cooked in a boiling pot of water.”
Now that he mentioned it, I also noticed a strange aroma in the air. It smelled like wet dog, rotting food and human faeces. The smell was faint, but still disgusting.
“I can smell them.” I whispered.
My eyes searched the buildings around us, but everything seemed deserted.
“They’re close.” James said.
“I don’t see anyone.” I said and scrutinized our surroundings.
I heard mom scream and then a metal thud. I spun around and saw her standing with her back to us with the shovel raised. A zombie lay motionless next to an open manhole in the road.
“Mom!” I cried out.
She looked back over her shoulder.
“I’m fine,” She said between pants for air, “It just caught me off guard.”
We all stood in silence and watched as the rain formed a pool around the lifeless corpse and then drained into the manhole. A pair of bony fingers stuck out from the manhole and then another corpse emerged.
“Get back.” I ordered.
Mom and Michelle retreated as another three corpses climbed out of the manhole.
“Do something!” James yelled at me.
I looked back at him with annoyance and said, “No, I thought we could all just get eaten.”
I rolled my eyes at him, grabbed the shovel from mom’s hands and stepped forward. The three corpses staggered to their feet. I raised the shovel and just as I was about to bring it down on the head of one of the corpses, I heard Michelle scream behind me followed by a bark and a growl. I spun around and saw that she was fighting off two attacking corpses with the butcher’s knife. She stabbed them both in the head while Fluffy bit at their legs, and just like that we were being boxed in by hundreds of zombies that seemingly came out of nowhere. There was no way I could fight all of them off without endangering the lives of my companions.
“Run.” I said.
We all started running down Main Road with the dead right behind us. Mom pressed her breasts down against her chest as she ran, which made me chuckle – but I had to concentrate. I had to find a safe place for us to go. About two blocks further down the road I spotted a building with a fire escape leading up at least six or seven storeys.
“Over there!” I called out.
I pointed at the building and James led us towards it. The dead were groaning, roaring and screaming behind us. With every foot we ran, they seemed to catch up with two feet until they were at our heels scratching to catch us.
“Hurry up!” I called out.
We got to the fire escape and I fought off the front of the horde while the others made their way up the fire escape. Once everyone was out of danger, I got onto the fire escape myself while fighting off the dead. Once on the first halfway landing, I retracted the fire escape ladder out of the reach of the dead. I stood for a moment and watched them. When I was assured they could not reach the fire escape, I made my way up to the roof.
CHAPTER 15
The others waited for me on the rooftop and seemed defeated. Their faces were drained of colour and they were heaving heavily. Mom and Michelle whispered amongst each other, but stopped when they saw me. Mom clenched onto the lapels of her shirt and then one by one the others looked at me. Fluffy gave a concerning whine and had his tail between his legs. Something was wrong
“What is it?” I asked confused.
Nobody answered me. Instead, they all simply stared at me and then mom took a step forward. It was only then that I noticed the blood on her collar. I knew it could only mean one thing, but I didn’t want to believe it. I could feel my heart dropping to my feet.
“Mom?” I whimpered.
“It’s gonna be alright.” Mom said with tears in her eyes.
I rushed over to her and lifted her collar. A cold chill ran down my entire body when I saw the gash in her neck.
“When did this happen?” I asked.
“When the infected person climbed out of the manhole.” Mom said.
My mom was infected. It would only be a matter of minutes before she became one of the undead. I knew there was only one thing left to do, but how do you kill your own mother? I still couldn’t believe it and my eyes started filling up with tears.
“I don’t know what to do.” I cried.
Mom took me by the hand and led me to the far end of the roof. I could barely see through my tears, but I could tell she was crying as well. She hugged me tightly and then stepped back.
“Zac,” mom said, “You are the best son a mother could ever ask for.”
I knew she was saying her goodbyes before she turned, but I didn’t want to say goodbye.
“Don’t…” I pleaded.
“I’ve always been proud of you.” She said, “You were the best thing I ever did with my life.”
My nose clogged up and started crying like a little baby. She wiped away the tears and rain from my eyes and smiled.
“You will be alright.” mom said,
“I’ll never leave you. I’ll always be watching over you from heaven. I love you more than you will ever know.”
She kissed me on my forehead and took a step back. Before I could stop her, she plummeted over the edge. My heart stopped as if being stabbed with a knife.
“Mom!” I cried out.
I heard a thud and I knew she was gone. My entire body went numb and my knees gave way beneath me. I collapsed in disbelief. Mom was gone. It felt like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.
“Zac?” I heard a voice behind me.
I didn’t look back to see who it was. It didn’t matter to me. The image of mom disappearing over the edge of the roof replayed in my head. She was gone before I could even say goodbye. The infection took her away from me. The emotional pain slowly turned into anger as I got to my feet again. As I slowly walked over to the ledge, I could hear someone ask Zac, what are you doing?
I stared down at the sea of undead as they trampled mom’s body in the street below. These creatures were no longer human. They had no respect for someone that just died. They were monsters from hell which took away my mom. I hated them. I wanted to kill each and every one of them with my bare hands. I wanted to rip their skulls clean off their spines. The anger kept building up inside until I could no longer hold it in. I let out the loudest scream I possibly could to let out my frustration. My scream echoed through the night and one by one the heads of the zombies exploded and their headless corpses fell to the ground.
What just happened?
“Finally.” James said proudly, “You’ve reached your full potential as a slayer.”
TO BE CONCLUDED SEPTEMBER 2014
Zac Zombie 4: Hell on earth
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