Our Undead (40 page)

Billy:
Sorry! I was just trying to see if… Shit, you might have
broken it, Margaret.

A mix of the excruciating
pain and frustration that seems endless, causes a groan to escape
the injured girl's lips, and then many others fill the surrounding
air; thousands of them.

Billy:
They're close. We have to start for the woods,
right now!

He helps her to her feet,
and then helps her put her knapsack on. They begin to lurch down
the hill together, Margaret's arm slung over Billy's back, when she
remembers something.

Margaret:
Abe!

She swings both her and
Billy around and looks back up to the highway, and there is Abe,
still standing where they had been, looking down at
them.

Margaret:
ABE! JUMP!

At first, it looks as
though he isn't listening, but then he begins climbing up on to the
railing. He even gets into a crouched position, copying Margaret
and Billy's actions before taking his leap. When he jumps, his
attempt looks more like a toddler trying to jump for the first
time, very awkward, and he barely gets any distance. He ends up
falling fairly close to the pair waiting below; almost face first,
hitting the grass with part of his face, chest and left shoulder.
He skims quite a distance, tumbles forward, and then rolls almost
the rest of the way down the hill, much farther along than Margaret
and Billy have gone. The brutality of it worries
Margaret.

Billy:
Come!

They continue down the hill
toward Abe, and Margaret let's go of Billy so he can help Abe to
his feet. Their friend seems to be okay when he gets up, so they
begin heading straight for the trees

Billy:
Come on!

With Margaret now injured,
their pace has been cut in half. She's taller than Billy and
probably around the same weight. Add in her knapsack and the one he
carries on his own back, and that makes quite a lot for even a
special fifteen year old like him to be lugging across a mile long
field of thick, shin high grass. Margaret tries the best she can to
use her bad foot and make it easier on him, but almost any pressure
at all causes an unbearable pain to shoot up from her ankle,
through her spine and into the back of her skull. Surprisingly, Abe
doesn't even have to try that hard to keep up with them, zombie
trotting along not too far behind.

Both Billy and Margaret are
completely exhausted by the time they make it about half way across
the field. Even with Billy's support, with each step the pain in
her ankle grows larger, and soon it becomes too much. She stumbles
to the ground, crying in actual tears of agony.

Billy:
Margaret, you
can't
give up now! We're
so
close!

Margaret:
(whimpering)
I don't want to,
but… I can't run anymore…

Billy:
You
have
to
try!!

Margaret attempts to get to
her feet with Billy's help, but it is a grueling struggle. In
helping her, Billy takes a moment to look back at the elevated road
they have been fleeing and sees a sight that almost makes the
fanatic regret the joy he felt when he first discovered a zombie
infestation had actually happened. Thousands of zombies have met on
the highway where they had been resting and are now throwing
themselves off the road and into the field. Scores of undead bodies
raining over the side, all of them falling on top of each other,
and all of them getting back up to their feet to continue their
pursuit of the trio. And then again, the Queen's scream to
accompany it. Billy can't see her, but he knows that she is up
there somewhere, guiding the parade toward them. This is no longer
his fantasy come to life, but more of a bad dream. They would never
make it… unless.

Billy:
Hang on.

He rests Margaret gently
back on the ground and takes his knapsack off, then grabs Abe and
quickly manipulates his arms through the slings of the bag so that
now, Abe is wearing it. He then rushes back down to Margaret's side
and stoops in front of her.

Margaret:
Look, just go without-

Billy:
Shut up!
Get on my
back!

She wraps her arms around
Billy's neck and shoulders, and instantly, they are back on route
to the entrance of the woods.

The boy is running on
fumes, but his heart will allow him to run forever if he has to.
They are less than a quarter of a mile away from the cover of the
trees, and even though their pursuers are already on the field,
they will have to cover a pretty decent distance if they want to
catch up. When they get to it's cover, the forest will give Billy
enough time to re-evaluate the situation and increase their chances
of survival drastically. Although spent, hope is beginning to rise
once more.

But then, just as quickly, it is stripped indifferently away.
All hope and optimism, any possibility for living through this, and
all of his dreams of seeing California are stolen by the image of
undead bodies; first a few, then tens, then hundreds of them,
materializing from the forest ahead.

LIFE FROM ABOVE

On the third day on their
surveillance mission, still high amidst the clouds of Oregon,
Matthew Kerrick and Denver Sharp sit in the cabin of the jet black
UH-60, bored out of their minds.

Sharp:
I
knew this would be a waste of time. That Feleider is full of
it.

Kerrick:
I'm beginning to think you're right, my friend. We've been
duped. The last three days were a complete waste of time. I didn't
even get to shoot anything… much.

Sharp:
So
you believe me now? I'm telling' ya. He's hiding something. I don't
know exactly what it is, but it's obviously something to do with
this infection. When I get back I'm grilling his
ass.

Kerrick:
I
got your back, man. He deserves it for getting me all excited and
failing to deliver.

Sharp:
Tch.. Man, forget this.
(to the
pilots)
Hey! Take us back to the
compound!

Kerrick:
Aw,
maaaaaaan
.

Kerrick strokes his
automatic rifle like a baby, and Sharp can't help but snicker at
his friend as the pilot makes a wide turn, taking them back to
Sector 333-3.

The scenery above and below
them is breathtaking. The sun is yellow and luminous, and its rays
seem to become visible glowing in, through and even around the
clouds and open sky. It shines down on to the vast forest region
below, a sight to be seen, itself, with it's multitude of trees,
flocks of migrating birds in v-formation, flying above and in
between them. Even for these men, who have seen many things most
regular people couldn't dream of, this simple picture is
spectacular.

Kerrick:
I'll never get tired of seeing things from this high. There's
something about looking down on everything that makes a man feel…
good.

Sharp:
You
narcissistic son of a bitch.

Kerrick:
What?! You telling me you don't love the look of that? The
birds, the blue sky. I'm not a narcissus. I just love taking it all
in at once. You know I love nature. I love it almost as much as I
love women and shooting bad guys. I mean, goddamn, look at that, in
the trees. It's like a herd of deer or something. They're so wild
and free,.. They're just like us. Not as badass, but you get
me.

Sharp:
Heh, I don't feel so free. At least, not on this mission, not
with this Feleider as project commander.

Kerrick:
(sighs)
I told you already D,
forget about him. Pretend to listen, and then do what you want.
That's what you always do, anyway. For now, just sit back and enjoy
the pretty view, will ya?

Sharp:
Yea, I will… for now, but when I get back, I'm raising some
hell.

Kerrick:
Ha! That's my boy! Save our defiance for
later.

Talked down by his amicable
chum, Sharp leans back in his seat and starts enjoying the view his
buddy was raving about. It's actually quite nice, looking down on
everything. His eyes wander along the tops of the trees, and they
catch movement; the herd Kerrick had mentioned.

Sharp:
I've never seen a herd of deer that big.

Kerrick:
What was that? Mumbling is a bad habit.

Sharp:
Yea? Well, so is mistaking a herd of deer for a swarm of the
infected.

Kerrick looks down and
takes a better look at the terrain. Sharp is right. Those are
definitely not deer he can see making there way through the trees,
and the more he scans the them, the more bipedal beings he
spots.

Kerrick:
Holy hell... That is a lot of goofs.

Sharp:
Yea. Looks like the tail end, and they're all heading the
same way.

Kerrick:
To the highway.

Sharp:
Mmhm..
Pilot!

Pilot:
I'm
on 'em!

The helicopter makes a
swooping turn and follows the zombie trail, heading toward the
distant highway.

<><><>

In the lush green field fit
for a fairytale, a daymare persists. The woods no longer being an
option, Billy tries to back track as far into the field as
possible, but soon must turn and run parallel to the forest's
border and highway road. He runs down the middle of the field with
Margaret still clinging to his back. Abe is no too far behind, and
thousands of zombies are closing in on them from each side. Billy's
breathing is terribly labored.

Margaret:
Just drop me! You can buy some time for
yourself!

Billy:
Shut up!

Margaret:
I'm serious!

Margaret let's go of
Billy's shoulder and kicks off his back. He goes falling forward
and Margaret falls straight to the ground. Abe stops beside
her.

Billy:
What are you doing?!

Margaret:
Just go!!!

Billy:
No!
I'm not leaving you behind!

He runs over to her and
tries to get her up to her feet. In full-blown tears, she struggles
against him, slapping his hands and pushing him away.

Margaret:
But if you don't, you'll never make it to
California!

Billy:
I
don't care!
Please!
Let me help you!

Margaret:
No…
(sniffles)
No…

Billy:
Then I'm staying.

Billy makes his choice. He
walks over to Abe and detaches his bow from the knapsack he let him
hold. He doesn't bother to take the whole bag off of Abe's back,
just takes the arrows out from where they are, firing upon the
converging mobs. He sends one arrow to the zombies coming out of
the woods to the right, headshot. He sends another arrow to the
zombies coming from the highway to the left, headshot. He hits yet
another one directly in between the eyes, and then another, and
then five more, but it's hopeless. Greyed bodies are still falling
over the side of the highway, and more are coming out of the woods.
It doesn't matter what he does, how many he kills, soon they would
be surrounded. Either that, or the ones in front of him would catch
up. Regardless, his long awaited outbreak fantasy would be over
within the next few minutes, premature, but with good
cause.

Sitting on the grass in
tears, Margaret turns around to see Billy firing upon the
inexhaustible crowd. He pulls arrow after arrow out of the knapsack
on Abe's back, firing them into the crowd of thousands. The zombies
are still pretty far away so Margaret can't see if any of the shots
hit their target, but she knows in her heart that they are
accurate. She knows the boy is an excellent marksman, but even his
seasoned skills can't overcome the fact that he is almost out of
ammo. From what she can see, he has about ten arrows left. She
turns back around and drops her head in defeat. As if she knows the
war is won, The Queen of the Zombie's screech rings out from
somewhere in the turbulent sea of undead.

As the queen's shrill war
cry dies down, it is replaced with another sound; the sound of
liberation. Margaret hears it and looks up to the sky.

Margaret:
BILLY!!!