Rise of the Undead 1943 (6 page)

Johnson nods. Pilch points a finger at Yusif, “So you picked
the first bunch of dumb-asses that would follow you in.”

“No, the second,” Muller looks to Yusif, “You ambushed us
and then drove us like cattle to this place. Didn’t you?”

Yusif shakes his head, “Not I. You were chosen.”

Monte scoffs, “By who?”

Yusif looks at him and points to the ceiling. All eyes look
up.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Monte exclaims.

“If we don’t close the portal, the undead will crawl from
the sand and fall upon the world.”

“Well then, I say we find a way out, come back with four
fuckin’ divisions, and blow this whole place back to hell,” Oddball suggests.

Yusif shakes his head, “There is no time.”

Pilch grabs him by the collar, “Bullshit! You’re lying!”

Yusif throws him off, “There is no way out. Not until the
portal is closed.”

“How long?” Monte asks.

“A few hours.”

Pilch looks to Monte, “You’re buying this load of shit?”

Monte looks to Muller and nods, “Yeah, I’m buying.”

Pilch watches as Muller nods in agreement, and he shakes his
head, “Come on this is bullshit.”

“If you got a better explanation for the walking dead, then
by all means… enlighten me Pilch,” Monte demands.

Pilch looks around the room to the dead Romans and then up
to his dirt covered, blood stained comrades and then to Monte.

Monte nods, “Good, move out!”

The men start for the tunnel that leads them deeper inside.

The group walks down a long, dimly lit, sagging tunnel.
Creaking stanchions barely hold the earth in place. Yusif looks back to see
Johnson and Oddball shove each other in a petty squabble.

Camir and Yusif talk in Arabic.

“These fools are who were picked for our protectors?” Camir
complains.

Yusif shrugs apologetically.

“I expected more from the Americans, they are so . . . ”

“Yes?” Yusif asks.

“Petty.”

Vanessa chimes in with perfect Arabic, “Judge not, lest ye
be judged.”

Oddball looks over, “What’re you guys talking about?”

“It does not translate,” Yusif tells him.

Vanessa giggles while Monte looks irked at being left out of
the conversation.

He turns to Yusif, “What did you know about this place
before?”

“Much, my family has been closing the gate for a millenium.”

Camir says something in Arabic.

Yusif points ahead, “A door.”

“Johnson, check it . . . ”

“Hey, wait up!” Smith calls from behind them.

Everyone turns to see him walking up, uniform torn, face
bloody and dirt stained.

Pilch smiles, “Smith! You’re alive?”

Smith smiles back to him, “You know it.”

Pilch gives him a bear hug lifting him off the ground. Smith
takes no notice, staring past everyone to Yusif and Camir.

“Is the exit open?” Oddball asks.

Pilch lets him go.

“Exit? Oh, no. It’s filled with water. Shit almost drowned.”

Muller eyes Smith suspiciously.

Smith notices Vanessa, “Hey! Who’s the dame?”

“Lewis make it out?” Johnson asks.

Smith ignores him, looking Vanessa up and down.

“Smith!” Monte barks.

Smith looks from Vanessa to Monte, “Yeah, what?”

“Did Lewis make it?”

Smith shakes his head, “Say, I lost my weapon. Any spares?”

Oddball steps up and hands him Matty’s Luger, “Sure.”

Smith smiles at Oddball, “See you on the other side,” Smith
raises the pistol and fires past Oddball and into Camir’s face. Oddball falls
back to the ground, and Yusif steps over him, and with a lightning fast slice
severs Smith’s hand.

Smith isn’t fazed by the loss of his hand; he looks down to
it on the ground, “Well fuck.”

“Filthy traitor,” Monte says and he and Johnson fire bursts
from there Thompson’s into his chest. Smith looks down at the holes in his
chest and then looks up to Monte and shrugs.

“Sorry,” Smith chides and grabs for Monte’s throat, but
Monte throws him to the ground. Johnson steps up and pins him down with a boot
to the chest.

“The same thing happened to my men,” Muller tells them.

“What?”

Muller points to Smith’s broken body. His torn pants reveals
his whole leg is bone, “They turned on us.”

Monte looks down at Smith.

Pilch is dumbstruck, “Buddy, no.”

“Why?” Monte asks Smith.

“Had to, death, I need death.”

“But you’re already dead,” Oddball whines.

Smith looks at his severed hand, "Do I look dead?”

“Uh . . . ”

“I mean, Jesus Christ, Oddball, look at me.”

“I . . . ”

Yusif kneels next to Camir and begins a prayer in Arabic.
Smith looks over.

“Why?” Monte barks.

“Belial said he would let me pass if I helped kill the
A-rab.”

“I thought you were a better man than . . . ”

“Fuck you!” he interrupts and struggles to get free, “Come
on guys, just kill him for me, please.”

Pilch is in shock, “Smith, no.”

“You hate ‘em, I know you do, Pilch. Just shoot him.”

Yusif looks up to Pilch.

“Kill him, Pilch! Kill him!”

Pilch turns his back on Smith.

“No!”

Monte kicks Smith in the head, “Hey!”

Smith looks from Pilch to Monte.

“I heard enough outta’ you,” Monte says.

“I can feel it, on the edge of perception,” Smith whines.

“Heaven?” Johnson asks, hopeful.

“I don’t know, but I need to get there and I can’t. Please.”

“I can help you,” Monte says.

Smith looks to him, “Yeah, kill ‘em, Sarge, kill ‘em.”

Monte takes aim at Smith.

He gives Monte a demonic smile, “You’ll never make it out of
here alive.”

“You don’t have to worry about that now,” Monte says as he fires.

The men watch the ball of light float into the ceiling and
then look at the corpse of their friend, stunned.

Monte looks to Johnson, “Johnson.”

Johnson stares at Smith.

“Johnson!”

He looks to Monte.

“Check the door.”

Johnson nods and moves down the hallway. Yusif prays over
Camir’s lifeless corpse. Vanessa follows after Johnson.

Johnson opens the door. He looks inside, followed by
Vanessa. The room has four cots and a table. Ancient weapons hang on the wall, and
a journal and hairbrush lay on a table. Vanessa looks at the swords on the wall
and an intricate painting of a city on the sea.

“Carthaginian,” she states.

Pilch lights a cigarette, “Who?”

“Rome’s ancient enemy. A great city . . . never mind.”

Yusif raises his scimitar.

“What are you doing?” Monte asks.

“Saving him,” Yusif gives his old friend a last look, then
beheads him. Monte looks on, understanding.

Johnson opens the next door. Vanessa looks in.

A statue stands in the center of the room with a water pool
at its base. Pilch notices the statue is holding a beautifully gilded gold
jewelry box. Vanessa assesses the artifacts.

“Babylonians. This is an incredibly rare find!”

Pilch steps in and picks up a gold jewelry box. Vanessa
starts to go in, Monte grabs her.

“Let’s go.”

“But these are once-in-a-lifetime discoveries!”

Monte pushes her down the tunnel. Vanessa looks back,
disappointed. Monte looks to Pilch, “Leave it and move.”

Pilch sighs, “Bet Matty’s little girl would like this.”

Monte takes in a breath to shout and then notices Pilchs’
face; he’s still shaken from the incident with Smith, “Leave it, buddy.”

Pilch sets it back down and walks out. Ahead, Vanessa sees
another door. She opens it.

A series of bunks line the walls. Resting on each bunk are
remains of chain mail armor and piles of bone dust.

“What are they?” Oddball asks.

“Assyrian, I think, could be older”

She starts to step in, but Monte jerks her out and slams the
door shut.

“I must document these rooms.”

“This ain’t a field trip lady," Monte snaps and pushes
her away from the door.

“Doctor,” she informs him.

He shoves her down the hallway roughly, “Doctor,” he chides.

“Come on, Sarge. Let her, uh . . . document. It sounds
important,” Oddball whines.

“Carthaginians, Assyrians, Babylonians, this is why I’m
here.”

“Lady, take a look around you. These boys are my
responsibility and I ain’t losin’ none ‘cause you want to ‘document’ a bunch of
crap!”

Monte swings the last door open. His eyes go wide as he sees
4 armored skeletons laying in the cots. Vanessa looks in, “Greek, look at the
shields, from Alexander’s personal guard,” she starts to step in, and Monte
stops her.

“No!”

“They’re long dead . . . ”

One of the skeletons turns toward her. Vanessa eyes go wide.
The four start to rise, but before they can stand the old bones burst into
powder and their armor falls to the floor. The balls of energy escape into the
ceiling with shrieks of agony. Monte slams the door closed.

“Geez, Sarge, you ain’t gotta be so rude,” Oddball tell him.

Vanessa and Monte share a look.

“It’s OK,” she tells Oddball.

Yusif pushes past them, “We must continue.”

Yusif leads them on. The tunnel is gradually becoming more
loose rock than stone.

“Slow down,” Monte calls ahead to him.

Upset at the loss of his friend Yusif ignores him and pushes
on.

Dark holes lead into the depths on both sides, some big
enough for a man. Unknown creatures scurry into the shadows. The men move
cautiously.

“You’re sure this is the right way?” Monte asks Vanessa.

“If the map is correct.”

Oddball looks into one of the caves leading off the main
tunnel back into darkness and then turns to Johnson, “So we’re almost out of
here, right? All them Zumbi, Zombie thingies are behind us, right? No reason
they should know where we are, right?”

Johnson looks up to see caves leading off above them, “Just
keep tellin’ yourself that, buddy.”

A muffled scream comes from behind them, and they all look
back.

“Where is Hans?” Krugger asks.

Uneasy, the men look into the dark holes; water drips and
the sounds of movement come from all around them. A German soldier walks back,
looking for Hans.

From one of the dark holes behind them a spear is thrust out
and into the German’s gut; the man screams as the spear is jerked out along
with a portion of his entrails. As he drops to his knees, another spear hits
him in the chest.

“Look out!” Krugger yells as he jerks a spear and pulls a leather-clad
woman warrior from the passage next to him that was attempting to run him
through, “What do we have here?” he says with a smile. She hisses at him, an
inhuman sound, and Krugger looks at her face to see it’s weathered and evil. She
reaches for a dagger in her belt. “No you don’t,” Krugger tells her and in a
quick move he snaps her neck and throws her back into the hole.

A rope noose descends from the ceiling and catches a German
around his neck and jerks him up toward a hole in the ceiling. Krugger grabs
hold of his feet to try and pull him down.

Vanessa screams. Oddball looks to see her being pulled up
into another hole by her neck.

“Vanessa!” he grabs her feet.

Krugger struggles to hold on, “Your knife, use your knife!” Krugger
is lifted off the ground. The warrior whose neck he broke steps back out, her
head twisted awkwardly and hanging limp. She comes at him, and he kicks her in
the chest, “Cut the line!” he calls up.

Monte and Karl fire wildly into the holes as more
leather-clad warriors attack.

Pilch struggles with a warrior as she tries to run him
through with a spear, “Three months without a dame, and it’s gotta be this.”

Muller steps up and shoots her in the face.

“Thanks . . . ” Pilch turns to see that it’s Muller and
bites his lip with frustration.

“Pilch!” Monte screams.

Pilch looks to Monte, who tosses him his rifle. Pilch looks
at Muller and then turns to shoot an attacking warrior.

Oddball struggles to hold onto Vanessa, “Hang on.”

Krugger tries to save his comrade's life and beat back the
crippled warrior. From the shadows, a warrior emerges, with spear in hand. “No,
bitch,” he kicks her in the face and then loses his grip, falling to the
ground. The German on the rope is jerked up screaming. Something in the ceiling
above makes a deep rumbling growl followed by the sickening sound of crushing
bone. The German’s screams abruptly stop, and Krugger rolls away as a fountain
of blood rains down from above.

Oddball looks on with fear as what’s left of the German
splatters down onto the ground. He looks up horrified, and grabs hold of the
line above Vanessa’s head and climbs up into the ceiling. A spear narrowly
misses him, and he sees several leather-clad warriors pulling on the line
leading down to Vanessa, “Hi ya’, ladies,” he says with a smile and pulls out
his pistol. He aims carefully and shoots one and then another in the head; the
rest scatter down tunnels and into the darkness with Oddball sending rounds
after them. Oddball looks down to Vanessa, “Are you alright?” from a large hole
he hears a growl and looks up, “Uh-oh,” A leather clad man of 400 pounds steps
from the darkness with two large axes, “Damn, and I thought the women were
ugly.”

Oddball looks at his pistol; it’s empty, “Gotta go,” and he
drops down the hole as the two blades narrowly miss him, landing hard on
Vanessa.

“Ow!” she cries out.

“That was close.”

She looks into his eyes, “Thank you,” and she kisses him on
the cheek.

Pilch dodges as another warrior comes out of a hole near
him. The spear nicks his side, and he winces in pain. Yusif strikes, deftly
severing the warrior’s head. It lands at his feet, and he kicks it away. Pilch
looks at Yusif with grudging appreciation.

“Forward!” Monte screams and pushes everyone forward as
Johnson, Krugger, and Yusif beat the attackers back behind him. He looks back
to see Oddball and Vanessa still on the ground looking at each other, “Come on!”

Oddball pulls her up, and they run down the corridor. Monte
sees the 400-pound monster moving alongside them in the side tunnels, “Faster!”

The 400-pound man emerges from a hole with both axes
swinging down in flight, and with a crunch and a scream, a German is cut to
pieces.

“Must move faster!” Monte screams and stops and lets the
other pass. The axe-wielding monster steps out in front of him, and he calmly shoots
him in the head; his body falls with a thud.

“Grenades!” Monte yells.

Pilch stops and pulls a grenade as Oddball and Vanessa pass.

Johnson and a German battle several warriors, holding them
back.

“Johnson, run,” Monte yells.

The German is run through with two spears, and unable to
move, he flails in desperation as he is stabbed again and again.

“Do it!” Johnson yells to Monte as he takes a spear in the
chest.

“We gotta save him,” Pilch yells and starts back.

Johnson struggles to hold the undead back, “For God’s sake,
do it!” he screams as he’s run through again.

Monte snatches the grenade from Pilch and then throws him to
the ground, stopping him from running back to Johnson. He looks down to Pilch
and shakes his head and then tosses the grenade, landing it at Johnson’s feet, “Cover!”
he screams diving to the ground.

The explosion brings down the tunnel in a thundering
avalanche of earth and stone, cutting them off from the attackers. Dust fills
the air and rubble has fallen all around them. Monte and Pilch are on the
ground breathing heavily.

Oddball walks up to help them, “You’re a god damn hero,
Sarge.”

Pilch looks over to him, “I think he should get one of those
medals.”

Oddball smiles, “And a flag.”

Pilch agrees, “Definitely a flag.”

“For your coffin, of course,” Oddball smirks.

Muller pulls Monte up, ”Thanks.”

Oddball pulls Pilch up, “My hero.”

“Fuck off,” Pilch dusts himself off and then looks back to
the rubble, “Johnson.”

Monte nods, “He did his duty.”

Vanessa looks back at the rubble, “Amazon, Russian steppes
4th century B.C.”

Monte glares at her, “Thanks, Professor.”

“Only rumor, never been any real evidence, until now . . . ”

“Hey, hey, look at that!” Oddball yells interrupting her.

The roof has collapsed from the explosion and daylight
streams into the tunnel. Pilch runs to the hole. Sand pours down a break in the
rock and Pilch cups it in his hands like water, “We’re out!”

The rest of them look up.

“So long Romans, so long priests, so long undead,” Oddball
cries out.

“And so long little Arab bastard,” Pilch adds.

Pilch tips his helmet toward Yusif.

“Come on, Pilch. Give me a hand up,” Oddball says.

Monte looks to Yusif, “Listen up.”

Oddball and Pilch look back.

“Yusif can’t do this alone. If any of you yellow-bellied
bastards want to go home and wait for these things to come knocking on your door
. . . well you go ahead and get,” he looks over the men. “Rest of us got work
to do.”

Muller nods, “We will stay.”

Muller, Karl, and Krugger walk behind Monte to join Vanessa,
leaving Oddball and Pilch standing alone under the light.

Pilch looks to the Germans and nods, “Well, why not. You
think I’m gonna let some Kraut steal all the glory,” he looks up to the light
and then joins the others.

Monte looks to Oddball, “Well, what’s it going to be?”

Oddball looks to Vanessa, who stands behind Monte with her
arms crossed. He sighs, “I’m going to regret this. Ain’t I?” and he joins the
rest.