Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 01 Page 8

  "I'm hit," he cried and Alex could see the trickle of blood spilling from beneath the fingers which held his left arm. Liam's rifle clattered to the ground and he stood defenseless. Alex's fight-or-flight instincts took control and he spun around to aid his wounded friend. Three swings of his empty rifle cleared the immediate area from around his friend and Alex gasped for air to speak. The mass of zombies had been thinned in to the south of them and Alex latched onto the only opportunity for escape.

  "Get your butt in gear, let's go." Alex grabbed Liam by the arm eliciting a painful yelp from his friend. Swinging his rifle one handed, Alex began to clear a path through the zombies trying to get the two of them through the mass into a clearing. And the clearing was getting smaller very fast.

  The last of the creatures blocking their way to relative safety dropped and Alex pulled Liam through the opening. The truck with the young men had turned around and was heading back towards Alex and Liam, rifles blazing and engine roaring. The truck turned towards Alex, heading straight for the two men, throwing corpses in every direction. At the last moment Alex pulled himself and Liam out of the way of the truck, narrowly escaping the murderous path of the vehicle.

  The truck sped by continuing down the street for thirty yards before slamming on the brakes and cutting the wheel to turn back around. Alex looked up from where he lay on the ground and locked eyes with the driver. The man was grinning and had murder in his eyes. He revved the engine twice and released the brakes. A cloud of smoke erupted from the tires as the truck lurched forward again.

  Scrambling to his feet Alex struggled to get Liam moving. Both men began a mad dash away from the mob at their back and perpendicular to the path of the truck barreling down on them. Alex and Liam were able to scramble around the side of a house before the truck could reach them, forcing the driver to turn away and enter again into the horde of zombies behind them.

  "What the fuck are they doing?!" Liam yelled. A rifle cracked and a bullet sounded off the wall above their heads. "Christ, man! They're trying to kill us!"

  "Let's go," Alex said with more calm than either of them thought possible. Carefully this time, he pulled on Liam's arm, escorting him around the front of the house and across the porch. Both men hugged the wall trying to keep as low a profile as they could from both the zombies and men in the truck. A volley of rifle and gun fire rang out and both men flinched, ducking for the ground. There were now bullets that struck near them and Alex realized that the men in the truck were firing on the mass of zombies they had driven into. Over the noise Alex could faintly hear someone yell for the driver to "turn around and get those bastards!" Alex assumed the bastards were Liam and himself.

  "Shit, man! What do we do?" Liam was panicking now, unable to think clearly or logically.

  "We now use them as a decoy." Alex smiled a wicked smile. It unnerved Liam. "Come on, around the corner of the house."

  Keeping low to the ground and moving fast, both men ducked around the corner of the far side of the porch. Moving as quickly as they could while still keeping an eye out for zombies, the two men raced for the fence of the backyard and ran inside. A shotgun blast sounded behind them and buckshot scattered off the fence they had just crossed, well behind their escape to cause much concern. "Head for the adjacent corner. We'll duck through the backyards and make our way to your house. If those guys stay in the truck, then they won't be able to follow us easy. Just keep your head down and let's try to stay out of sight."

  Crouching low, the men ran through the backyard and quickly scaled the fence into the adjacent neighbor's yard. They could hear more gunshots and a lot of cursing coming from the truck on the road behind them, but no shots came close to the two men as they scaled fence after fence. Every other fence Alex could hear one of the men shout "there they are," and the tires of the truck would squeal as they attempted to out flank Alex and Liam. Being on foot and not restricted to the streets, the two men were able to continuously change their direction and avoid the shooters. After almost forty-five minutes of this chasing around, Liam and Alex were finally able to enter the backyard across the street from Liam and Trinity's house. The men peered through cracks in the fence at their destination.

  Liam turned his head from side to side, listening for the whereabouts of the truck and their pursuers. "You think we should make a run for it?" Liam finally asked looking back at Alex. They could hear the truck close by, probably on the other side of the block judging from the direction the sound of the engine was coming from.

  Alex thought a moment before answering. "What other choice do we have?" His shoulders shrugged in resignation and acceptance. They were fifty yards from safety and neither man knew if they were going to make it. "Where is the gate to this fence?" Alex and Liam looked around the yard, finally spotting the gate granting access to the yard on the other side of the house. Staring at one another the men weighed their options.

  "That's going to be a long run from around the other side of the house, but it would probably be quicker than climbing the fence," Alex said. "Not to mention we would be completely exposed as we scaled the fence. There is not a decent tree to provide cover anywhere in this yard." Alex was looking around desperately, trying to come up with a better plan. Nothing came to mind.

  "Alright then," Liam said. "I guess we make a run for it. We'll be exposed on the north side of the house when we come through the gate, but once we get around that first corner we should have some protection. We just run like hell and pray."

  Alex slapped Liam on his good shoulder. "You ready for this, old man?" he chuckled.

  "Ready and able to outrun your fat ass," Liam jabbed. "Let's get this over with. I need a shower."

  The two men crept across the yard and stopped at the gate leading into the front yard. They paused for a moment trying to determine the position of the truck. The two could hear the truck in the near distance, but were unable to determine its exact location. "Well," Liam said. "No time like the present."

  In one fluid motion, Liam stood and opened the gate to the yard. The latch released with a loud metallic clang that resounded farther than either man would have liked. Throwing open the gate with his good arm, Liam began sprinting along the side of the house, head down, looking for any obstacle that might trip him up. Alex was only two steps behind.

  Alex and Liam were only six feet from the corner of the house when they heard the first shot ring out. The bullet flew wide and struck a car that was parked in the driveway, sparks shooting out from the impact. A second and third shot issued in quick succession as the two men raced around the corner of the house, each bullet missing its intended target by mere inches. They hugged against the wall as closely as they could trying to provide the smallest target to the attackers behind them. Shots rang out, faster each time as the shooters began to zero their aim on their prey. Liam rounded the corner on the other side of the house and fell to the ground, tripped up by what Alex believed to be a bullet. The moan that went up froze his blood.

  A zombie with the lower half of its body in shreds, lay just around the corner of the house. Its outstretched arms had tripped Liam in mid stride causing him to lose his balance and fall hard to the ground, landing awkwardly on his injured shoulder. He let out a cry of surprise and pain as fresh blood from the newly injured shoulder poured on the ground. The zombie struggled to pull its ravaged body towards Liam. Alex leapt over the moving corpse as it reached out for Liam's foot and pulled his friend away.

  Another shot rang out, this time from behind them. The bullet passed by Alex's ear, the pressure from its passage making his ear ache before it slammed into the zombie. The creatures head disintegrated into a pool of blackened wetness. "Shit," Alex thought. "They're behind us." Alex continued to pull Liam in the direction of the house, desperation the only motivation driving him at this point. More shots, but from in front of him again. Alex looked up to see the truck bearing down on he and his injured friend. A whispered prayer went up.

  Th
e windshield in front of the driver cracked and his head snapped back. Blood sprayed the inside of the windshield and the truck lurched to the right, slamming into the curb and throwing the truck off balance. The forward momentum carried the truck past its tipping point and the truck rolled throwing the men standing in the bed of the truck through the air. Surprised yelps escaped the lips of the men before they were replaced by shouts of pain when then hit the ground. Gunfire cracked behind Alex and one of the young men clutched his throat, blood spraying from the destroyed artery in his neck. His cries were replaced by gurgling wet screams as he collapsed, writhing on the ground.

  "Get in the house" someone yelled from behind Alex. "Get in the house now!" More gunfire from the house behind him and Alex turned. On the roof was a lone man, assault rifle raised and fire spilling from the barrel of the gun each time the trigger was squeezed.

  "Thank you," Alex gasped and bent to pick Liam from the ground. With a strength he never thought he could have, Alex threw Liam's good arm over his shoulders and carried the wounded man across the street towards the house. Gunfire erupted behind him, the shots sounding off the roof and brick sides of the house. The door opened in front of them and Sam rushed out to meet him.

  "Come on," Sam yelled and grabbed Liam to help him inside. Liam cried out at the pain from Sam's help and nearly passed out. Between the two of them, Alex and Sam were able to get Liam inside. The door slammed closed behind them and after a few intense moments the sounds of gunfire died down from outside.

  "I told you it wasn't a great idea," Liam snarked just before he fell unconscious.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Refuge

  Alex was vaguely aware of whispered voices in the room. He could not quite hear what was being said, but he knew that someone was having a very heated argument about something. The fog in his mind began to lift, and Alex was able to make out what was going on.

  "We need to get out of here, and we need to get out now."

  "Are you serious? Have you seen those things out there? They're everywhere. We need to stay where we are."

  "If we stay where we are, we are going to die either way. I'd rather take my chances fighting than stay here and starve to death."

  "We have plenty of food for a long, long time. We aren't going to starve..."

  "You don't know how long we are going to be here. It could be days, months, or even years! And how much food do we really have, even if we went to bare rations now..."

  "I'm not going out there..."

  "Then stay here!"

  Alex lurched from his position on the bed, disrupting the argument taking place in the door of his room. Everyone stopped abruptly and turned toward Alex, a bit shocked to see him awake. Morgan came rushing to his side.

  "Are you okay, Alex? Where do you hurt? What do you need?"

  Alex held a hand to stop her before she could ask anymore questions. "I'm fine, Morgan...I think." Looking towards the others in the doorway he asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

  "Almost three hours," Sam answered. "Liam is in the other room still out. Trinity and Stacey are keeping an eye on him."

  Alex shook his head to clear the cobwebs. "How is he? Was the gunshot wound bad?" There was concern in Alex's voice, but only a small part of that concern was for the gunshot wound. "Does he have any fever? Is he unconscious? What exactly..."

  Sam interrupted Alex's string of questions. "You're almost as bad as Morgan with your questions. To answer your questions, Liam is going to be fine. There is only a slight fever and the wound was minor. It went straight through without hitting anything major--no bones or cartilage, just some fat and muscle and it nicked a vein or two. Good thing your mother-in-law's an RN. She patched him up in no time." Sam turned and came in the doorway unblocking the way through. "You want to go see him?"

  Alex pulled the covers from around him and swung his legs to the floor. "I need to see him. And we've got to talk about how to handle this in the future. We may not be out of the woods concerning this just yet."

  Everyone in the room looked at each other confused, not sure what he was talking about. "Liam's going to be fine," Morgan said trying to calm Alex's suspicions. "Mom cleaned up the wound and we even found some left over antibiotics in the medicine cabinet." Alex tried to stand and had to grab on to Morgan's shoulder to steady himself. His head was swimming and the room was spinning around him. Bile rose up in Alex's throat.

  "I'm going to be sick," Alex said and was given a bucket in just enough time to keep him from retching on the floor. Wiping his mouth on the back of his hand Alex said, "Get me up and in to see Liam. The gunshot is the last of our worries." Alex motioned for someone to give him a hand and both Sam and Josh crossed the room to get him. With one on each his sides, Alex was helped to his feet and escorted out the door of his room.

  Trinity and Stacey were holding vigil at the side of Liam's bed. Trinity's eyes were red and her cheeks were stained from the tears which had so soon stopped falling. At the sound of someone entering the room, both women turned to see who was coming. The room was dark and were lit by only two candles burning on the nightstands flanking the bed. The flickering light cast jumping shadows across the face of everyone in the room and only amplified the worry on Alex's face. Trinity forced a small smile and asked, "Alex, I'm glad to see you're up. Are you okay?"

  Alex eyes raised from his injured friend to meet Trinity's. He did not answer her immediately and aside from his eye contact, one would not even believe that Alex had heard the question at all. After a moment of awkward silence, Alex shrugged off the help of the two men and spoke.

  "Everyone needs to leave the room except for Trinity. Make sure you close the door behind you." Alex's eyes glanced at Stacey, then to the other men and women standing around the room before falling again on Trinity. "Now, please."

  "Alex, what are you..." Trinity began to protest, but was quickly interrupted by Alex.

  "Trinity, I need you to make sure everyone is out of the room and the door is closed. I'll explain everything in a moment, but not before everyone is out of the room. Please." All of Alex's concern and urgency shone through his eyes and the weight that seemed to press down on his shoulders. "Please, Trinity. I need your help."

  Trinity's breathing quickened and a look of panic crossed her face. Her gaze flicked quickly and sporadically between the confused and almost angry faces of those gathered in the room. She opened her mouth to protest what Alex had requested, but stopped before uttering anything. She eyes locked with Alex's and in an instant she understood what he was asking. Trinity's body shuddered and her knees gave out beneath her. Trinity slumped to the floor and Stacey quickened to her side to help, but Trinity held up a hand to stop her where she was. Looking around the room once more she spoke. "I need everyone to leave the room, please." Trinity locked eyes with Alex again and everyone in the room began to protest at once. A wave of Trinity's hand stopped them all mid-sentence.

  "Please. Everyone out." And looking to Stacey, "And make sure the door is closed behind you."

  Against their better judgements, everyone exited the room. Stacey was the last to leave and she pulled the door silently closed behind her.

  -----

  "Trinity?" Alex's voice was soft and calming. "Trinity, you know why, don't you?"

  Trinity's breathing had slowed some, but was still fast and she stared down at her husband laying in bed unconscious. "If one of those things out there got to him, then there is no way to save him...no hope at all." Her voice quivered and her breath caught in her throat. She turned her head to gaze at Alex. "And if he was hurt by one of them, then what do we do? What do we do?" she pleaded.

  Alex took Trinity's hand and squeezed it gently. "Then we help him in the only way we can." A tear escaped Trinity's eye and she sniffed trying to hold back the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm her.

  "Okay," Trinity said as she looked down on her love once more. "What do we need to do?"

&
nbsp; Alex squeezed Trinity's hand one more time then reached for the blankets covering his friend. Carefully he removed the blankets and the two began searching Liam's body for any wounds that they knew he could never recover from.

  -----

  "What the hell is this all about?" Stacey cursed as she closed the door behind her. "What are those two doing in there?"

  Everyone in the room shrugged, all of them as confused as Stacey. Each of them sat in silence as one minute stretched into five, then ten. Thirty minutes became an hour and everyone waited in silence, listening for any sounds coming from the room. When the time reached nearly an hour and a half everyone was startled by a sudden cry from the room and sobbing. They all met each others gaze and Stacey turned to force her way back into the room when the door opened and Alex stepped out. No one spoke, but simply stared at Alex as he made his way to the couch and sat down in the almost complete darkness of the room.

  After a moment of stillness Alex put his head in his hands and his shoulders began shaking. He started to sob.

  Everyone rushed to Alex and began asking at the same time what had happened in the room. Alex was shaking his head and trying to get everyone to stop asking questions while he composed himself enough to speak.

  "He'll be fine," Alex squeaked. "He'll be fine..." and Alex's voice cracked waves of relief washed over him and he cried uncontrollably. Morgan put her arms around Alex and hugged him tightly trying to provide him with the warmth and support he desperately needed.