Rise of the Undead 1943 (8 page)

Pilch and Yusif walk carefully down the tunnel. Pilch looks
over his shoulder as gunfire erupts behind them.

“Get ready,” Yusif advises.

Something moves ahead, “What’s that?”

“I was told the gate would be guarded.”

“By who?”

“My father.”

Pilch sighs, “No, guarded by who?”

Yusif smiles, “The ones who opened the gate. Sumerians.”

Ahead, four skeletons step from alcoves in the wall. Yusif
draws his scimitar as a Sumerian advances, his sword held low, the point waving
back and forth.

“Welcome to 1943 asshole,” Pilch fires, and the Sumerian's skull
explodes. The rest charge for them. Pilch fires again, and another goes down.

“Do not go gently,” Yusif mutters.

The last two skeletons attack with their swords. Pilch uses
his rifle to block a swipe. The Sumerian easily knocks his rifle from his hands
and draws back for the deathblow. Yusif blocks a swipe and quickly swipes the
head off the skeleton Pilch is facing. He has saved Pilch but opened himself up
for attack. The last skeleton catches him in the side. Yusif goes down with a
cry, and the skeleton raises his sword. Pilch fires his pistol, taking the
skeleton’s head off.

Belial smiles at Monte as he spits the smoking bullet from
his mouth, “Fools.”

From behind Belial step Harris, Margrave, and ten other
German and American soldiers.

Oddball lowers his weapon and smiles, “Hey L-T,” and waves.

Monte looks over to Oddball, irked.

Oddball looks to Monte, “What?”

Monte shakes his head in irritation. Belial walks toward the
passage, heading for Yusif and Pilch. Monte steps in front of him, blocking his
path, “You and me got business.”

Belial raises his hand palm out and sends a blast of energy
that knocks Monte to the floor.

“Neat trick,” Monte compliments him as he starts after Pilch
again. Monte kicks him in the knee as he passes, with no effect.

“Insolent knave,” Belial says stopping to run him through
with his sword.

The sword slips into Monte’s chest and breaks through his
back with a wet crunch; he shudders as Belial twists the blade inside of his
body. Monte reaches out, and with both hands grabs hold of the blade, keeping Belial
in place.

“No!” Oddball screams.

Belial smiles evilly down at Monte and kicks him off the
blade with a spray of blood. Monte falls back dead.

Belial looks back to Harris and the undead, “Kill them all,”
he orders and then moves down the hallway unopposed.

Pilch and Yusif walk to the end of the tunnel. Yusif walks
with a limp while carrying his scimitar and a Sumerian sword.

Pilch looks to his wound, “You could have let me take the
blow.”

“Then, you would be dead.”

“But you’d be OK and have a better chance . . . ”

Yusif interrupts him, “My fate was sealed the day I was
born.”

A simple wooden door stands open 30 meters ahead.

“We are here.”

Pilch looks to the wooden door, “That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“Just that shitty wooden door?”

“Mahogany, I believe.”

“The gates to Hell!” and Pilch makes big gestures with his
arms, “A fucking mahogany door.”

“I am sorry it is not what you expected.”

A small dog-sized creature emerges from the gateway.

“Hey boy,” Pilch calls and pats his side. The creature opens
its mouth and gives a ear-piercing demonic scream.

“What the hell is that?” Pilch cries out in alarm.

Yusif shrugs, “Imp.”

“What the fuck is an imp?” and Pilch looks to see it has a
scaly red hide.

“A lesser demon.”

“Lesser?”

“Still very nasty.”

The imp opens its mouth in a growl, and Pilchs’ eyes go wide
at seeing multiple rows of razor sharp teeth, “Jesus Christ!”

It charges, its knife-like claws digging into the stone and
sending out showers of sparks.

“Excuse me,” Yusif says and steps forward.

The imp lunges for his throat and he neatly cuts it in two.

Pilch looks down at the quivering flesh, “Is there a greater
demon?”

“Yes, many sizes.”

Pilch is speechless.

Yusif looks to him, “We must hurry.”

They are both knocked to the ground by an energy blast and
look back to see Belial marching toward them.

“I got him, go,” Pilch says climbing to his feet.

“No, it would mean certain death.”

“The gate, it’s more important than you or me.”

Yusif looks into his eyes, “Not to me.”

Yusif stands, swords in hand, facing Belial.

Harris stares at Oddball, “I never did like you.”

Oddball smirks, “Well that’s just ‘cause you didn’t get to
know me; I’m a good soldier.”

“I doubt that.”

Oddball throws a grenade he has deftly pulled from the back
of his belt. It lands at the feet of the cocky lieutenant. Muller and Vanessa
open fire as the grenade explodes. Harris sails into the air with his legs
ripping off and going in different directions.

Belial and Yusif fight, swords’ striking together with
showers of sparks sailing off.

Belial steps back, “Why do you fight me, son of mine.”

Pilch fires round after round to no effect.

Belial smiles, “Join me like your father's fathers should
have; walk with me hand in hand as we conquer this world.”

Yusif attacks.

Oddball, Muller and Vanessa fight back-to-back. Harris
crawls up to Oddball and trips him to the floor.

Oddball falls with a cry, and Harris crawls on top of him,
“I’m going to rip your fucking throat out boy!” and he opens his mouth to bite.

Vanessa jams the barrel her pistol into his mouth, “Manners
manners.” And she pulls the trigger.

Muller shoots, and the last soldier goes down. He looks
around at the bloody carnage, “That wasn’t so bad.”

Oddball stands and looks around at the bodies, “Where’s
Monte?”

Vanessa looks around, “You don’t think . . . ”

Mueller nods, “He’s turned.”

They hear the pounding of boots and the battle cry of men.

“That don’t sound good,” Oddball says.

Muller looks down the tunnels. The roar of the charging
undead becoming louder. He sighs, “A glorious death.”

“I was hoping for a glorious life,” Vanessa tells him.

“Yeah, that sounds better,” Oddball agrees.

Hundreds of undead are charging for them.

“Oh well,” Vanessa sighs.

Pilch moves in to try and hit Belial in the back. Belial
kicks Yusif to the ground and uses an energy bolt to send Pilch sailing down
the passage, landing hard. Belial turns to Yusif who struggles to get to his
feet, battered and injured. Belial draws his sword back for the deathblow.

“I told ya’. You and me got business,” Monte stands ready, Sumerian
sword in hand.

Belial turns and smiles, “You are my servant now,” and Belial
extends his palm trying to bend Monte to his will. Monte stares him down
holding strong but then slowly begins to falter under his will.

“Now, kill for me,” and Belial closes his hand into a fist.
Monte fights for control; he looks back to Pilch who lays on the ground
defenseless.

“Kill him,” Belial orders.

Monte fights to bring his head around and look at Belial, “No!”

Yusif stands behind Belial, and with a cry, runs his sword
into his back. Belial doesn’t flinch; he looks down at the blade extending from
his chest and smiles. Yusif twists the blade with no effect, and Belial swings
his arm back hitting Yusif in the face and sending him to the ground, “You
don’t have the power to defeat me, your family never has.”

“But I do,” and Monte thrust his sword into Belial’s chest
coming face to face with him, “Undead to undead, you gotta go,” and Monte rips
the blade out, dropping Belial to his knees.

“Mercy,” he cries.

Monte swings his blade, sending Belial’s head skipping down
the passage and through the gate. Belial’s body explodes in a burst of energy,
and Monte is thrown to the ground.

Muller, Oddball, and Vanessa all fire into the ranks of the
approaching undead. They’re almost on them.

“Save a round,” Muller advises them.

Vanessa looks to him.

“For yourself,” and Muller turns his pistol on his own head.
Vanessa and Oddball look at each other and do the same.

Oddball looks into her eyes, “I hope they made it.”

The undead are on them. Oddball locks the hammer back on his
pistol, “I think it would have been good.”

“I know it would have been,” and Vanessa kisses him.

A burst of energy knocks them down.

Pilch helps Yusif to his feet, and they look to Monte lying
on the ground, “Is he?” Pilch asks.

 Monte climbs up to one knee, nods to Pilch, and looks to
Yusif, “Never was big on long good byes.”

Yusif nods his head in understanding. Monte closes his eyes
and before Pilch can speak, Yusif swings his sword decapitating him. Pilch
looks up at Yusif and nods and then looks to the gate. The two help each other
hobble to it.

“Mother of god!” Pilch exclaims looking in.

An army of undead stand in an endless chamber, stretching as
far as the eye can see.

“That is why we are here. They are ready to be unleashed on
humankind.”

“What’s holding them in?”

“Time. When the sun next sets, they will be free to cross
over into our world.”

“And how are we supposed to know when the sun sets?”

Yusif pulls out a pocket watch, “It was much harder before
the watch.”

Pilch glares at him, and Yusif smiles with a wink.

“So let’s close this thing ,and get the hell out of here.”

Yusif shakes his head, “Not so easy,” he looks to Pilch, “The
door can only be closed from the inside. One of the living must be sacrificed.”

“You said all we had to do was close the gate. No one said
anything about . . . ” he points toward the army of undead, “ . . . going in
there.”

Yusif calmly takes his shirt off, revealing a row of long vertical
scars across his chest, “It cannot be helped.”

Pilch takes a step back, “You son-of-a-bitch. You’re not
throwing me in there.”

“You Americans. Always assuming the worst about my people.”

Yusif mumbles a short prayer.

“What are you doing?”

Yusif gestures to the scars on his chest, “I was born with
these scars. One for every generation in my family that has closed this portal
through the centuries. I have been waiting for this day since I was born.”

Pilch looks at the scars and realizes what Yusif plans to
do, “There’s gotta be another way.”

“I am a lucky man. My death will mean something,” and he
draws his scimitar holding it out to Pilch, “Could you give this to my family .
. . one day my grandson may need it.”

Pilch takes it, noticing the ancient king’s family crest is
gilded onto the blade.

“I could not have made it this far without you Americans,”
and he moves to the open door, “I am sorry so many had to die.”

Pilch can only nod and watch as Yusif grabs the door and
slams it shut behind him. There’s a flash of light, and the earth quakes with
the power. The light fades, and the door has been replaced by a wall of rock.
Pilch runs his hand over the rough stone. He looks down at Yusif’s scimitar in
his hand, then puts it in his pack and heads back toward the others.

Oddball looks around to see the undead all lying motionless
on the ground, “Jesus.”

Muller looks at the pistol and with a shaking hand puts it
in his holster, “Another second and…”

Pilch walks up.

“Where’s Yusif?” Vanessa asks.

“He closed the gate,” and looks to them, “One way trip.”

“We lost Monte,” Oddball tells him.

Pilch shakes his head, “No, he was never lost.”

Muller nods, “A good man.”

“The best,” Pilch agrees.

Vanessa looks around, “What now?”

Pilch shrugs, “I don’t know; you’re the expert.”

Beside them the wall lifts up, revealing another passageway.

“Look out!” Oddball yells.

A long corridor has opened up in front of them. Along the
walls for as far as they can see are soldiers from every historical era. At the
far end is a twinkling of light.

“That’s real sunlight!” Oddball says

The undead soldiers all take one step forward.

“Jesus,” Pilch exclaims.

“We’ll never get through that,” Muller notes.

“I think they’ll let us pass,” Vanessa tells them.

Pilch nods, “Alright, slowly.”

The four step into the corridor. As they pass, the first two
soldiers move.

“Look out,” Oddball yells. The soldiers salute and step back,
“What the . . . ”

“Come on, keep moving,” Pilch tells them.

As they pass each pair, they salute in their own custom.

Vanessa looks to the end of the tunnel, “Definitely real
sunlight.”

As they reach the end, Matty and Pender stand as the last
pair before the door.

“Matty, no,” Pilch cries out.

The pair salute and step back.

“We got to finish ‘em. We can’t leave ‘em like this,”
Oddball says.

Matty smiles and speaks, “No. I’m in a good place now.”

Pilch reaches out to touch him; he’s a ghost, “But . . . ”

“You did good, men,” Pender tells them as the door starts to
slowly come down.

“Pilch, could you give this to Katie?” Matty asks and holds
out the gold box from the Babylonian room.

“You got it pal,” and Pilch accepts the box.

“Pilch, now,” Pender orders him.

Oddball pushes Vanessa through. Pender and Matty step into
their alcoves.

“Come on,” and Muller drags Pilch through, just as the door
closes.

The four survivors look across the empty sand. In the
distance is an American supply line.

“Think anyone will believe us?” Pilch asks them.

Oddball shakes his head, “I’m not fuckin’ sure I believe it.”

Muller looks to the American supply lines, “I suppose you’ll
want to turn me in.”

Pilch follows his gaze, “Where else you plannin’ on going?”

Muller shrugs, “I don’t know, Egypt.”

“Back to the war?” Vanessa asks.

Muller shakes his head, "No, I’m done with fighting,
kaput.”

Muller pulls his Iron Cross off and throws it to the ground.
Pilch locks eyes with him.

“Let’s go,” Pilch says and turns his back on Muller and
starts for the road. Vanessa and Oddball nod to him and follow.

Pilch stops and tosses his canteen to Muller, “Good luck,
sir.”