ELEVEN
The dark clouds churned and bellowed in the sky above and the clouds at the top of Mount Koning seemed darker and somehow more intense than the rest of the sky; if trouble was brooding, we were heading in the right direction. There was a flash of light and then lightning pierced through the clouds, struck a field to the south and was followed by the roaring thunder which brought the rain again.
“So, let me get this right,” Mike said perplexed, “You’re heading to the top of this mountain to kill the king of the zombies?”
“Yes.” I sighed, “What’s so hard to understand?”
“Well,” Mike said unconvinced, “Basically… everything. I can wrap my head around a viral outbreak or government experiment gone wrong like in the movies, but the gatekeeper of hell? It’s a bit far-fetched.”
“If it seems too farfetched to be true,” I said with shrugging shoulders, “Then it has to be true.”
“Probably.” He said, “I mean all that’s happened so far is pretty farfetched.”
There was another strike of lightning somewhere down in the valley followed by an explosion which echoed all around us, motioning for us to stop.
“Did you hear that?” Mike asked.
“Yes.” I said and continued walking, “The lightning probably struck something flammable, like a gas station or something.”
“Not that.” He uttered.
I stopped and slowly turned to face him as a low, rumbling sound echoed through the sky.
“That.” he said.
We both stared up at the clouds in bewilderment; could it be that more liquid fire was about to pour down and ravish the already desolate town? We both kept staring, but saw nothing emerge from the dark clouds, but I knew trouble was ruminating in the heavens above.
“We should keep moving.” I said still staring at the sky, “I have a schedule to keep.”
Mike nodded and we continued along the last few miles of the footpath. The air became a bit foggy as we continued along the path and with every step we took the grey fog seemed to intensify.
“Is it just me or do the clouds seem to be lower than they were a moment ago?” Mike asked rattled.
I stopped and looked up at the sky; the clouds were indeed lower than they were a few minutes ago.
“Are the clouds sinking?” Mike asked confused.
“I’m not sure.” I said uncertain.
It was a very peculiar sight. It’s not every day one sees clouds hanging as low as they did. I shifted my backpack, patted Fluffy on his head and the two of us continued while Mike stood mesmerized by the clouds.
“Wait for me.” I finally heard him call out.
I heard the crunching of gravel beneath boots as he ran up to us.
“So you think you can stop this?” Mike asked concerned, “Whatever’s happening?”
“Yes.” I said.
“How?” He asked unconvinced.
I was in no mood to discuss my powers and abilities with him. I just wanted to get to the top of the mountain, kill Clairvius and get on with whatever ruins were left of my life.
“I play a lot of video games.” I said, trying to hide my smirk.
“What?” He gasped a bit rattled, “That’s your plan? Are you gonna challenge him to a game of Wii?”
Why is everyone a comedian these days?
“Funny.” I said annoyed.
I noticed that the clouds seemed to be even lower than before, so I watched the horizon for a moment. To my surprise the clouds were descending towards the valley until finally the valley was covered in a thick layer of black fog.
“Have you ever seen fog do that?” Mike asked.
“No.” I said.
I knew it wasn’t any ordinary fog – Clairvius had to be behind it. We both stood and watched as the black fog settled over the town and cloaked all the buildings. The fog lingered for a moment and then dissipated into the ground. As the fog seeped away, it left behind no buildings. All the buildings were gone and replaced by (and this is just a rough estimate) thousands of zombies. They stood shoulder to shoulder throughout the entire valley; they didn’t move or make a sound. They all simply stood stationary as if waiting orders.
“There’s something you don’t see every day.” Mitch said indifferent, but scared.
There was a distant rumble and a second later the earth beneath us trembled. I looked down at my feet and then at the valley below. Towards middle of the throng, the zombies all stepped aside as the ground gave way. A giant scaled claw reached up out of the hole and slammed into the ground – squashing a few of the slower zombies. Some kind of lizard which was the size of a jumbo jet climbed out of the hole and drooled acid from its snout, which dripped down on a zombie and the rotten skin melted away from its bones. When the monster was finally out of the hole it let out an ear-splitting roar that echoed through the valley and I could only imagine what deep, dark corner of hell it crawled out of.
“We’re screwed.” Mitch said defeated.
I didn’t want to believe it, but it looked like Clairvius managed to raise hell. I mean, how else do you explain a creature like that?
The multitude of zombies down in the valley lingered for a moment longer and then disbursed; zombies scattered in every direction as the monster slowly strolled through what once was Main Road. Time was no longer running out; it already ran out. I had to get to Clairvius and put a stop to whatever he was planning next.
Without saying a word, I continued along the footpath and could hear Mitch scurrying after me. Fluffy trotted next me with his tongue hanging from the side of his mouth. How I loved my zombie-killing canine companion.
I could hear the crunching of gravel to my left – which wasn’t where Mitch was. I stopped and motioned for him to halt. Fluffy and I both listened to the faint rumble of gravel; someone was approaching. It sounded like it came from behind a boulder to my left, so Fluffy and I scrutinized it and slowly approached it. Mitch wanted to ask something, but I shushed him, so he stayed back and watched with caution.
I kept a watchful eye on the boulder and then the footsteps ceased. I stopped and so did Fluffy. We both kept staring at the boulder expecting something, but nothing happened. A moment later, Dharma emerged from behind the boulder. Her clothes were tattered and stained with blood; her eyes were red and her cheeks stained with dry tears. She bit down on her thumbnail while her lower lip quivered.
“Dharma?” I gasped surprised.
I crouched down and held out my arms. She hesitated for a moment and then ran towards me. I embraced her. She felt cold and shivered.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Daddy died.” She whimpered, “The dead got him.”
I held on to her as tightly as I could – I wanted her to feel safe. I knew what it felt like to lose a parent. It was something no child should ever experience, but we both have.
“You’re safe.” I assured her.
TWELVE
“Tell me what happened?” I asked Dharma.
She sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand and sat down on a nearby rock. She kept staring over her shoulder as if expecting the dead to grab her; which was understandable.
“Daddy went to look for food.” Dharma said, “I stayed behind and blocked the door like he told me to. He was away for hours and when he came back, hundreds of zombies followed him.”
She got lost in her thoughts as she relived those moments.
“He kept banging on the door.” She said in thought, “But I couldn’t clear the barricade fast enough. When they finally caught up to him I knew it was over… so I barricaded the door again.”
She started crying again and said, “I left him outside for the zombies to get.”
I embraced her and cradled her head in my hand.
“It wasn’t your fault.” I assured her, “There was nothing you could have done. You were very brave.”
“I remember you said you were going to the top of the mountain,” Dharma said, “So I followed you.”
“You did the right thing.” I said, “I’m glad you made it. At least someone made it.”
Dharma stared at Mitch, sniffed and asked, “Where’s Michelle? And Alex? And your mom?”
I wavered and then shook my head.
“They didn’t make it.” I said.
“I’m sorry.” Dharma said sympathetically.
“This is Mitch.” I introduced him.
Mitch smiled and gave her a quick salute.
“This is Dharma.” I told Mitch, “She was in my original group.”
“Nice to meet you, little lady.” Mitch said warmly.
“Are you a soldier?” Dharma asked.
“Yes.” Mitch said proudly.
“Where are the rest of the troops?” Dharma asked concerned.
The pride faded from Mitch’s demeanour and he said, “I’m all that’s left.”
“Oh.” Dharma said in defeat.
Mitch seemed a bit restless and finally asked, “Is it safe to linger? Shouldn’t we get a move on?”
“We’re fine.” I assured him, “I can protect us.”
“You don’t even have any weapons.” Mitch said.
“I don’t need weapons.” I said, “And I have Fluffy.”
“A Labrador?” Mitch asked cynically, “They’re the least ferocious dogs on the planet.”
I chuckled and said, “You haven’t seen him in action yet.”
The rain came down in a drizzle again. The weather was just as confused as we were. It would rain for a couple of minutes and then clear up – well not clear up as the sky was permanently covered in dark clouds, but you know what I mean.
Dharma glanced up at the sky as the first drops of rain fell onto her and she seemed startled.
“Do you think it will rain fire again?” She asked worried.
I had no idea… I mean I hoped not.
“No.” I said assured, “Don’t think so.”
Fluffy growled and ran off.
“Fluffy.” I called out, but he ignored me.
I grabbed Dharma by the hand and motioned for Mitch to follow us. It was typical Fluffy to run off towards danger, but there was something in his growl – something different.
We ran after Fluffy, though we could no longer see him. The footpath was a winding road that went up and down and as we came around a bend we saw Fluffy standing at the edge of a cliff. I cautiously approached him and looked down at what he was staring at; giant zombies of about ten feet tall were dragging screaming people along another footpath. I grabbed Fluffy and we both ducked for cover. The gorge was only about twenty feet down and we could’ve easily been spotted. Mitch crept closer and stared down at the chaos. There were twenty giant zombies in all. They were more bones than flesh and none of them had a lower jaw. It looked like someone ripped their jaws clean off to prevent them from eating the humans. The giant zombies had people tied up and dragged them along the footpath which led to a cave in the face of the mountain.
“What do you think they’re doing?” Mitch whispered.
“I have no idea.” I whispered back.
“Maybe they’re hostages?” Mitch whispered.
“What would zombies do with hostages?” I asked hushed.
“You’ve got a point.” Mitch said, “Perhaps they’re food?”
The people seemed terrified. Some of them tried fighting back, but the giant zombies were too strong. They were probably athletes or something before they turned.
“If they were food,” I whispered, “They’d be dead already. Something else is going on.”
A giant zombie looked in our direction and the three of us ducked for cover. I wavered and then peeked over the edge; the zombies continued on their path without noticing us.
“Did it see us?” Mitch whispered.
I shook my head and said, “I don’t think so.”