The Left Series (Book 4): Left In The Cold (34 page)

We agreed on the designated meeting point and continued through the dark corridor. Cordoba led the way. She’d attached the flashlight to her M-16 so she could guide the way with both hands on the assault rifle.
The flashlight would possibly attract the undead but stumbling around in the dark would be even more hazardous.

I hoped we wouldn’t have to encounter any zombies while we were moving through the corridors. Loud gunshots would echo through the passageways and attract the zombies like flies to horse shit.
We had a fighting chance of survival outside in the open but our chances of escape from the confines of the castle were going to be virtually impossible if we were caught in the narrow corridors.

We
turned a right angled corner, with Cordoba’s flashlight lighting the flaking white paint along the wood paneled walls. She quickly moved the light straight ahead when we heard a hoarse groaning noise. Two gray skinned, half rotting creatures lurched through the darkness towards us. The flashlight beam picked out and reflected into their milky white eyes. Their mouths hung open in snarling grimaces, exposing blackened teeth and puss ridden gums. They reached out into the light and I noticed their hands were gray and missing chunks of flesh around the knuckles and the palms. 

Cordoba fired two shots. Each round perfectly pierced each zombie’s forehead amid a spray of brown gunk. They both went down,
slithering down the walls on either side of the corridor.

We moved forward, stepping over the two bodies. Smith nearly fell when he trod on a flailing, dead arm and lost his balance. Wingate and Jimmy caught hold of him before he went over.

“Shit, who left that crap there?” he muttered.

I wondered if he was delirious or suffering from hallucinations.
Wearing the cold weather gear wouldn’t help his condition and I questioned how the hell we were going to get him out of the castle in one piece.

“Keep going,” Wingate whispered.

We followed the passageway to the entranceway of the Great Hall. Cordoba ducked back into the passageway and told us to stop.

“There are at least twenty of them in the Great Hall,” she hissed.

“We’ll have to go through them,” I said. “The route to the back entrance of the castle is through the Great Hall, to the right. That’s how we came in, remember Batfish?”

She nodded. “I’m sure we can get through there
, if we’re real quick.”

“I’ll lead the way,” I said. “I can remember the way.”

“All right,” Cordoba agreed. “Lead the way, G.I. Joe.”

“Cover me with those rifles, if I need it,” I said. “Get Smith through as quickly as possible.”

Wingate nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Okay, let’s do it,” I hissed.

“Go for it, kid,” Smith mumbled, although I doubted he was aware of why he was encouraging me.

I rounded the corner in a crouching motion and moved into the Great Hall.
Numerous candles still burned around the room and the wall mounted oil lanterns cast an orange glow across the floor space. A quick head count told me there were around two dozen undead milling around the room. Some zombies tried to mount the staircase to the dining hall, probably stimulated by the smell of Mo and Chloe’s fresh corpses. I edged slowly further into the room, heading towards the corridor leading to the rear entrance.

I was about to turn and wave the others forward when a burst of gunfire rattled from above and rounds peppered the floor around me. I half rolled, wincing as I jarred my shoulder and turned at the same time. Davie stood on the balcony above me with the remaining M-16 rifle in his hands and a mad grin on his still bloodied face. He’d pulled the wine glass stem out from his cheek and a huge band aid spread across his face, stuck over the wound.

“I’ll kill yah, yah bastard,” he yelled, trying to reload the M-16 with another magazine.

The zombies inside the Great Hall turned with interest at the sound of gunfire. Davie clicked the new magazine into place and took aim at me. I hauled myself up and rushed towards the corridor where the others waited before he could fire another shot.

“What the hell was all that firing?” Cordoba hissed.

“It’s fucking Davie,” I gasped. “He’s up on the balcony with that other M-16.
He’s pinning us down so we can’t get out of here.”

Cordoba glanced back at Jimmy. “Is there another way up to that balcony?”

“No’ from here,” he replied. “You’d have to go up a level and to do that you’d have to go through the dining hall and follow the corridor near the staircase to the next tower.”

“Ah, fuck that,
we’d never make it in the dark” I spat. “Listen, he’s not a very good shot. I reckon if I can get to some cover in there, I can fire on his position and keep him occupied while you guys sneak through to the passageway to the outside entrance.”

“But there’s all those zombies in there, Brett,” Batfish squawked.

“They’re on their way over in this direction, anyhow,” I hurriedly explained. “We’re going to have to make a move, one way or another.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Cordoba agreed.

“Give me that rifle,” I said to Batfish. “You lead the way and I’ll meet you at the clubhouse if I get bogged down.”

“Just make sure you get there, Brett,” Batfish sighed, handing over the M-16.

I slung the rifle over my right shoulder and gripped the handgun, double checking the safety was off.

C
ordoba handed me a couple of spare, full magazines. “If you don’t make it to the clubhouse, we’re not coming back for you.”

“
Thanks, honey,” I sighed.

She touched my face with her hand. “Well, go on then, do your thing,” she said.

I forced a smile and nodded.

“Don’t fuck up,” Cordoba instructed, opening her eyes wide. She was never one for
smoochy talk.

Gritting my teeth in determination and fighting against the pain in my shoulder, I sprung out from the corridor.
Several zombies already crowded around the entrance to the corridor. I punched one in the face and pistol whipped another away. Dodging the remaining zombies, I headed quickly beneath the corridor walkway and into the Great Hall itself.

Davie opened fire almost immediately. A few zombies dropped to the floor around me but no rounds pierced my body.
I rushed towards the big stone fireplace, pushing zombies out of my way. The fireplace jutted outwards into the room and would provide adequate cover from the balcony if I could reach the far side.

A few
5.56 mm rounds ricocheted off the stonework above my head, causing stone chips to blast into my face, as I ducked down and rounded the perimeter of the fireplace. I slammed myself against the side wall of the fireplace, my backpack absorbing the impact. Some of the zombies in the room lurched towards me, reaching out with their arms while moaning expectantly. I aimed my M-9 at the one nearest to me and blasted off a shot, hitting the creature directly between the eyes. The emaciated male zombie’s head rocked back and he toppled over onto the floor.

Davie yelled more obscenities and fired off another couple of rounds, which pinged off the fireplace stones. I glanced around the side of the inglenook and saw Cordoba and Batfish battering their way through the few zombies gathered around the corridor entrance beneath the balcony.
Wingate and Jimmy led Smith around the passageway corner and stood in the doorway. I’d have to immediately provide them with cover, as they couldn’t stay where they were for much longer.

I crouched down beside the corner of the fireplace wall and reached around the side, aiming my handgun roughly at
Davie’s position. He roared in defiance when I fired three or four shots, which all missed him.

He returned fire and the rounds zipped into the fireplace hearth, sending a
spray of red embers across the room. Luckily for me, the glowing embers seemed to confuse the zombies around me. They stopped and watched the red cinders scatter across the floor.

I stuffed the M-9 into my holster inside my jacket and pulled the M-16 rifle from my shoulder. I needed a weapon with a more rapid rate of fire.
Selecting the three round burst mode, I then leaned around the corner and let fly with a couple of blasts, trying to aim on Davie’s position as best I could.

“Go for it, run,” I yelled to Cordoba and Batfish across the room. I fired another two bursts at the balcony, counting the number of rounds I’d used.
Each of the assault rifle magazines held thirty rounds each so I’d have to be careful not to run out of ammunition.

Cordoba and Batfish rushed from beneath the balcony. Wingate and Jimmy followed closely behind, dragging Smith with them. Cordoba twisted and fired a few rounds at the balcony as they ran to the corridor to their right. I opened up again, hoping the covering fire would be sufficient enough to prevent Davie from
obtaining a decent aim at any of us. Smith was a big, slow target and he’d be the easiest one to pick off from his position.

Davie ducked down behind the protection of the plaster and brick walled balcony every time I fired at his position. Most of my shots were too low, hitting the wall below Davie. 

The zombies surrounding the rest of my party, grabb
ed at them as they rushed by. They managed to bat them away as they made a path through to the passageway. Smith jogged along, hauled forward with a daft smile on his face. I hoped that crazy bastard would make it out alive.

I fired another three round burst at the balcony and turned to see the others disappear into the darkness of the corridor on the opposite side of the Great Hall. They’d made it to the passageway but still had to reach the exterior door.
At least they were on the right path out of the place.

I faced a more difficult challenge, however.
The undead were closing in on me and I had an armed assailant waiting for me to break cover.

Chapter Forty-Nine

I turned the small lever on the M-16 to ‘
single shot
’ so I could take out a few more of the approaching zombies. I pressed myself backwards against the wall beside the fireplace and shot three zombies with one round expended on each ghoul.

“
They’re gonna get you, they’re gonna get you
,” Davie gleefully sang from the balcony. The amusement and scorn was evident in his voice.

I felt like telling the guy to fuck off but unfortunately, he was right. If I didn’t get out of that shadowy corner, I’d be overrun.
I had to make a break for it. Davie didn’t seem like he was going anywhere soon, so I’d have to run for the opposite passageway under fire. I’d been lucky so far but I didn’t know how long I could rely on Davie’s bad aim or how much ammunition he had left. Maybe I could talk him out of our stand-off and tell him to save himself. No time, the crowd of zombies was far too close for comfort. I’d be lucky to break away unscathed if I waited much longer.

A sudden shouting alerted my attention to my left. The zombies surrounding me also turned to view the source of the sudden new noise. Alex hurtled down the staircase from the dining room, carrying a whisky bottle in each hand with a flaming wick shoved in their necks. He had a shotgun inside a carrying case strapped to his back and his long hair flailed behind him as he ran down the steps, knocking grasping zombies out of his path.

“They’re all over the fucking castle,” he yelled, over and over.

“Alex? What the fuck are
ya doin’?” Davie shouted from the balcony.

Alex ignored Davie, He seemed incensed and panic stricken. His eyes bulged and his face was fixed in a contorted, teeth clenching grimace.
The bunch of zombies seemed more interested in the new, noisy prey than me and turned in immediate pursuit. Davie fired a few shots at the zombies approaching Alex and two or three went down under the gunfire.

“I’ve no shotgun cartridges left,” Alex screamed, before he head butted the closest zombie to him. “I need some more ammo.”

“I have nae,” Davie barked and fired off a couple more rounds.   

Alex roared and hurled one of the flaming Scotch bottles into the center of the zombie crowd. The bottle smashed and flames exploded into the Great Hall. The whole room lit up with a flare of orange and stunk of burning alcohol. A few zombies screeched as they went up in flames and one burning creature fell backwards into the fireplace beside me. The ghoul’s alcohol soaked body ignited the fire’s flames and the blaze licked at the rugs on the wooden floorboards. Alex continued to bellow in defiance and launched his remaining bottle
between the undead in front of him. The flames roared upwards in a sudden whoosh and the whole room was quickly ablaze. The old wooden floorboards and wood paneling around the walls seemed to absorb and suck in the growing fire.

I swapped the M-16 for the M-9 handgun, slinging the rifle to my back. I fired two rounds at a couple of burning zombies staggering towards me. Alex pulled the shotgun from the case on his back and began swatting the flaming undead with the butt, like a club.
The fire spread throughout the Great Hall, the heat became unbearable and the flames licked the furniture and the staircase carpet. I was going to have to spring from my hiding place if I wanted to survive. I guessed the flames and confusion would help mask my exit route from Davie’s view up on the balcony.