Mad World (Book 3): Desperation (7 page)

“Wait!” I yelled, throwing up my arms to ward off another attack. “OKAY!!”

I grabbed Risa and we both took cover behind the zombie king. It screamed in a rage but then seemed to visibly bring itself under control. 

“Grrrrawrrrr!!!”

“WE’LL DO WHAT YOU WANT!”

The horde surged forward at us, arms reaching, voices screaming for our blood. Fear surged in my heart, and I tamped down the panic feeling rising in me.

The crowd of zombies surged forward again, and we involuntarily dipped down in a crouch behind the zombie king, who had turned to face us.

“Please. We will stay. We’ll do whatever you want,” I said loudly. Risa crouched beside me, her shotgun held firmly in hand and pointed at the enormous zombie crowd, her face a mask of stoic defiance.

“STOPPPRRRAWWRGGG!!!” 
The zombie king swung around to its minions and roared louder than ever. It grabbed at the nearest one and lifted the thing over its head and threw it into the crowd of its fellows. The king roared again, this time leaning forward and letting go a sound was so fierce and deafening that we put our hands over our ears. It roared for a long time, raging at the huge mass of creatures before it. The zombie king rushed forward and grabbed several zombies one by one, lifting them up and hurling them down to the floor of the cave. None of them moved after that.

It leapt onto a large and particularly aggressive zombie, and, pulling hard, ripped its head off and threw it into the seething mass. It kept roaring and screaming at them for a long time, until they backed down, almost cowering in submission. The zombie king seemed different from its followers. It demanded their obedience, loudly and firmly. The zombie horde seemed to understand and gradually complied, their chaotic nature overcome by the sheer force of their leader’s raging will.

“My god,” Risa said quietly.

I nodded.

Finally, the zombie king seemed to bring itself under control, and turned to face us again.
“You… will stay. You… will make the …killing zoms… no more. You… will stop… the killing.”
It turned to give instructions to another zombie that stood off to the side.

With its attention off us for the moment, I turned to whisper in Risa’s ear. “It’s not even making sense. How would I be able to make the fighting stop if I can’t communicate with the others?” She nodded.

“You will… go with this zom. Be safer… in another place…”
It gestured to the side where the zombie it had communicated with approached us, three other zombies in tow behind it. It grunted at us and moved its arm in an apparent signal that we should follow.

Eight

We didn’t hesitate, but made our way after the zombie escort. Walking past the horde, which seemed to watch us closely, we hurried along. The cave wall was to our right, walls that shimmered with luminescence as water trickled down across them. Several zombies followed us, urged on by the zombie king. Apparently we had an undead escort, I thought wryly. This was a first.

They led us to a side tunnel and through it to a winding shelf next to a drop-off. I couldn’t see the bottom of the small chasm next to us as we walked, it was so dark.

“If we fall, we’ll be lost,” Risa said, staying close behind me. Luckily, the walkway was at least four feet wide. After about ten minutes of following the zombie escort down this path, they led us off to the left, down another tunnel for several hundred yards. They stopped at a dark cave entrance, a bit less than three feet wide. I looked up but couldn’t see the top, the two sides just went up and up, slowly coming together.

They pushed us roughly into the cave and then, together, they rolled a huge boulder across the entrance. It covered the entrance to about seven feet high, leaving a small open space at the top. It looked as if it might be too small to get through, but I thought it might just be possible if I squeezed. Risa would be able to make it, no problem; she was slim and could climb just about anything as if she had been raised by a family of monkeys. The trick would be to find enough purchase for her hands and feet on the smooth walls to climb up that far. I found myself hoping the zombies would leave us alone so we could give it a try.

Unfortunately, that hadn’t happened. At least, not yet. I could hear at least four or five zombies shuffling around beyond the boulder. They might have been told to stand guard there, or maybe they were just curious. There was no way to know.

Turning away from the entrance for the moment, I began to look around the rest of our new jail cell. There wasn’t much to see. The chamber was small and narrow: just four or five feet wide and about twenty feet long. The ceiling tapered down from the front height of about seven yards down gradually, until, towards the end, it was less than two feet tall, and the back of the little cave room ended in darkness. Slick, moist walls glowed faintly with the same luminescence we’d seen in the larger cave and tunnels. The front was an open slit, less than a yard wide but reaching up the twenty feet or more, disappearing in darkness. There was no other entrance. The huge rock they’d moved to block the opening so we couldn’t get out was very effective. We were trapped.

“I don’t believe what’s happening,” Risa said as she explored the small cave. “It’s like some kind of surrealistic nightmare.”

“I know. I can’t quite believe it either. A zombie that can talk? And a leader? I had no idea they had changed so much,” I fumbled in my pocket for the small flashlight that was on my key ring. We were soon bathed in a bright if narrow white beam. “Let’s do some quick exploring, then shut off the flashlight to conserve the batteries.” 

Nodding, Risa continued with her inspection. I tried to look up but couldn’t see anything but rock. It looked like decomposed granite. Sometimes it crumbled a little, but it was mostly very solid.

“It just goes up and up.” dropping my eyes, I joined her in the exploration of the rear of the cave.

“Risa, let’s try climbing this” I said, eyeing the large gap about the big rock covering the entrance. Risa came over and looked experimentally at the opening.

“Give me a boost, Luke.” I did, and all of a sudden she was at the opening look out.

“Looks like we could fit through that pretty easily. What can you see from there?” I asked.

“Uhhh…”

Suddenly I heard several faint growls from the other side of the rock Risa was perched on. She hopped down and brushed her hands off on her jeans.

“If they left, then yes, we could easily get out. But right now…” she shook her head. “Not going to happen.”

I exhaled. “Maybe they’ll leave after a while. You never know. The zombie king seems to be somewhat intelligent, but the others … I’m not so sure. They act more like what we’re used to, although still very different. For instance, I’ve never seen a zombie hold back from hurting a human. Maybe they’re just afraid of what the king will do to them if they hurt us. Maybe they don’t realize they could easily overpower him if they worked together.” I turned to inspect the walls of out enclosure.

Risa resumed her inspection as well, then said over her shoulder, “Luke, I wouldn’t trust that zombie king guy. I want to believe it, but I just don’t know...”

I nodded. “I know what you mean. There’s no way to tell what its motives are. I mean, why on earth would zombies want to stop attacking humans? I thought we were their food source.”

“I don’t know. Maybe they found something else to eat?” She shrugged, unconvinced.

Our inspection of the jail cell was over quickly. The faint light from the little flashlight made everything go slow, but the cave was somewhat small. The stuffy air was dank and moist and smelled a bit of earth. We settled down next to each other at the front, where the faint light from the walls was brightest. I snapped the flashlight off and tilted my head back, exhausted. 

“Hey,” Risa nudged me. “Here. A sandwich.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking a huge sandwich from her. “I hadn’t thought to grab my bag when I left the SUV.”

“I’m just glad those things didn’t think to take it when they captured us.”

“Yeah, and they also left us with our weapons. This is so weird. Where they just unaware of them? Do they think the guns are part of our bodies?” I shrugged and took another bite of the sandwich. “This is making me thirsty. Now I really wish I had my bag.”

“Mine’s full of provisions,” she smiled as she handed me a bottle of water.

“Smart lady. Thanks,” I gratefully accepted it as well and drank deeply.

We both ate in silence for several minutes. The sandwich tasted like heaven, and the water was cool and soothing going down my throat.

“Risa, I’m sorry you were grabbed with me,” I said to her as we finished my food. “I wish you were safe with Dad and D right now.”

“Luke, no way would I let you get carried off without trying to get you back safe. Alyssa would kill me if I ever just stood by and let anything happen to you.” She shifted around, trying to get comfortable on the rocky ground. “I just wish my rescue attempt had been more successful.” She smiled wryly.

I took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Well, thank you for trying. And I’m pretty sure the others got away safely. In fact, I’m definitely sure.” I mentally crossed my fingers. It seemed likely, since the zombie horde had been sent for me, and not to hurt the others. Risa’s unscathed form beside me was proof enough of that.

“Yeah, I think so, too. Although they must be going nuts right now,” she said, chuckling.

I laughed with her, smiling. 

We both tried to get comfortable on the dirt and rock floor, arranging our jackets under us. It was freezing down here.

“I wonder how far down we are,” Risa said softly, her eyes sleepy.

“I don’t think we are that far underground. The lake was nearby, and this wetness and glowing on the cave walls comes from the lake, I think. In fact, we might be right below it.”

Risa yawned.

“Why don’t you try to get some sleep? I’ll keep watch and let you know if anything happens,” I said, patting her arm.

“Okay, but wake me up in a few hours so we can do this in shifts,” She yawned again. “After all, we are Sanctuary veterans.”

“I will, don’t worry.” She shivered, and I put my arm around her. Her eyes drooped shut as she yawned a third time. Risa was snoring softly beside me within minutes. Cuddled next to her for warmth, I listened to the sounds of the cave system. I could hear the faint noises of zombies moving around for a while, but then it grew quiet. Did zombies need to sleep? I didn’t think so, but anything was possible.

Things were changing. I didn’t know if they were changing for better or worse.

These zombies were different from the others. Even with the recent encounters and fights the Sanctuary teams had been engaging in during rescues, none of our intelligence had indicated anything even remotely like what Risa and I had experienced down here in the last few hours.

Glancing around the softly glowing walls of our prison, then down at Risa’s sleeping form, I listened to the muffled sounds of the zombies outside and waited.

Nine

“Luke, wake up,” Risa whispered in my ear. I was instantly awake, years of Sanctuary training had me on my feet, my knife and gun at the ready, before I even knew what was happening.

“What’s going on?” Looking around, I saw just the quiet, mostly dark chamber from earlier, when I had woken Risa to switch the watch.

“Listen,” Risa put her finger to her lips and cocked her head. I took her lead and held my breathe to listen. I could hear my heartbeat, but nothing else. Looking at Risa’s face, I wordlessly asked her what I was listening for. She mouthed the word, “nothing.” Walking quietly toward the entrance to our cave-cell, she gestured to me to boost her up onto the large boulder blocking the entrance. Bending down and cupping my hands, I launched her up and she landed lightly on atop the big rock.

Risa quietly crept over the top, and all I could see was her legs and feet as she scoped everything out. Apparently satisfied with what she saw, she soon turned back to me and dropped, landing lightly on the balls of her feet.

“You’ve been asleep about four hours, and they left their post about an hour ago,” she said, still whispering. “I think we should make a break for it.” I nodded to her and gathered up my weapons and jacket. Turning to the boulder, I saw her already there and ready to boost me up.

Within minutes we were both up and over and on the other side, in a darkened corridor deep underground, dimly lit by the wet fluorescence on the walls, with no zombies in sight, king or otherwise.

Picking a direction away from the large chamber we’d first come from, we began walking rapidly, hugging the walls and shadows. The tunnel branched off several times and each time we choose the path that looked the least traveled. We did not want to meet up with any zombies. We could easily take them with guns or knives if there were just a few, but we didn’t want to alert the horde or the king that we’d escaped.

After about ten minutes,  I noticed that the tunnel we’d just turned into looked very familiar.

“Oh, no.”

“Let’s start marking our path,” Risa suggested. “Even if they notice our marks, we can be gone quicker this way than if we keep going in circles.” In the darkness all the tunnels looked alike, and we didn’t want to lose our sense of direction again. I nodded while she fished in her pack for a small can of paint, and we began again. This escape wasn’t very escape-ish, I thought.

“How far away from the entrance do you think we are?” I asked.

“No idea. Come on,” Risa took the lead, nearly running. I shivered and followed her closely.

Suddenly, I heard a huge BOOM! in the distance. The tunnel walls rattled, and a light stream of dirt rained down on us as we ran. The first explosion was quickly followed by a second: BBBBOOM!!!

As she ran, Risa began to giggle softly. I smiled as I followed her. We had both recognized the favorite tool of choice for an underground assault by our own Uncle D.

“DeAndre’s percussion grenades” had been introduced a few years before. The Sanctuary team had to be very careful when using them, because we never wanted to injure any of our own people, like Risa and me, who might be underground for one reason or another. Luckily, the entire Sanctuary rescue team had been injected with microchip trackers so that we could be traced from miles away.

“They’ve probably been tracking us since we were taken,” I said. “Maybe they’re starting the assault because they’ve traced us and noticed we’re moving.”

Risa nodded. “I hope so. That was just weird. I can’t wait to tell the others about what we saw and heard. They’ll never believe us.”

I smiled as we hurried along. Risa was always assuming success, in any venture. It was a trait she’d picked up from my mother, Alyssa. An infectious attitude, the assumption seemed to give the team good luck, or so the family sentiment went.

We hurried along for another few minutes, then Risa pulled up abruptly. Stopping behind her, I peered ahead but saw nothing. It was nearly pitch black, except for a faint luminescence to the cave walls, just like back behind us. Risa gestured to me that she had heard a noise, putting a hand up by her ear. I held my breath for a minute, listening intently.

I heard something very faint, up ahead.

Risa inched along the path, completely silent. We came around a corner and could tell the noise, which sounded like a quiet crying or sobbing, was coming from off to our right. The tunnel branched off, and there was a small, low path curving off to the right and then around again. We exchanged a look, and then Risa gestured that we should backtrack.

“Come on,” she mouthed, and we quietly crept back about 50 yards.

“That crying, it almost sounds human,” I said.

Risa shook her head slowly. “I’m not so sure about that, Luke. It sounds different than it should.”

“Want to go find out what it is?”

“Well…,” her whisper trailed off and she fell silent.

We could both hear the crying again. It was getting louder. Whatever it was, it was coming toward us. We didn’t have any good options. Our path forward was likely cut off by whatever had come out of the little dark side tunnel. We couldn’t go back. The percussion grenades might be driving the horde toward us; there was no way to know. They were fainter and still behind us, but we could still make out the “BOOM!” of the explosions.

“Come over here,” I mouthed, gesturing to a dark recess in the tunnel wall a few yards behind us. The rock and dirt seemed to dip outward a few feet, making a natural hiding place in the dark, if we were quiet enough. We tucked ourselves into this recess and waited.

We didn’t have long to wait.

Out of the near darkness, as we both stared into the tunnel, came a figure. Hunched over, appearing to carry a small bundle, shuffling forward, and whimpering. It was almost a moaning cry, very low, nearly quiet but amplified as it echoed off the walls of the tunnel. As it drew nearer, we saw that the source of it was a woman. I held my breath as she came closer. A shadowy figure, moving very slowly. As she came within about ten feet of us, she looked up. I recoiled in horror, and I think I heard Risa gasp softly.

It had once been a woman, but was now a zombie, just newly turned. It looked like it had been a week or less. In her arms she held a bundle of rags, close to her chest. She seemed to know where we were. Her dark grey face and milky eyes looked straight into the dark corner where we were hiding, and she shuffled closer.

When she was directly in front of us, so close we could have reached out and touched her, she stopped. Her face was a zombie’s, but behind this death mask were human emotions. Sorrow, grief, and despair. She slowly stretched her arms out, and we saw what was in the rags she held. We both gasped in horror.

It was a baby. Dead. It looked to be near term. Its greyish skin hung limply from its face, its mouth was open, its fingernails were black, and its eyes were sunken.

The zombie girl whimpered softly and then held the baby close again, lowering its head to give the pitiful corpse a kiss. What was remarkable was that she did not make normal zombie groans and growls; her cries and moans sounded eerily human.

“Jesus…” Risa whispered.

I just stood there, looking at the two figures, mother and child. She’d probably been attacked and turned and then her body had expelled her dead, unborn child. The baby looked like it had been rotting maybe a week. I looked into the zombie girl’s eyes and felt silent tears run down my cheeks. I thought of my birth mother, Holly, and how I had been born just as she’d turned.

The zombie girl backed up and dropped to the ground, huddled over her baby’s corpse, and cried softly.

Risa grabbed my arm. “Come on, let’s go.” With one more glance back at the pitiful scene, I wiped my eyes and we ran onward. Faint explosions resounded behind us as we quickly left the horror behind.