Cemetery Club (35 page)

“Look out!” he wheezed, using the little breath he’d regained. Forcing himself to his feet, he staggered forward, gaining strength and balance with each step. He paused just long enough to grab his flashlight and then smashed it into the face of a zombie that was about to bite Todd’s neck. The blow forced it back a step, allowing Todd to slip away. The monster staggered towards Cory, who removed a long knife from his backpack and stabbed the corpse in the neck. The triangular blade slid through skin and muscle like it was cutting bread. Using a sawing motion, Cory worked the blade to the side, parting flesh and tendons until the head fell back, half-separated from the neck.

The zombie fell to the floor and Cory turned his attention to the macabre scene surrounding him. Bodies turned and twisted, caught in random flashes of light. Voices shouted, letting him know John and Todd were still fighting, but he had no way of discerning between his friends and their dead attackers.

Suddenly a blinding beam filled the room, causing Cory to cover his eyes. The light moved closer and then past him, revealing a single man carrying two industrial-sized lamps, like the ones often mounted on police cars.

“Chief Travers?” Cory asked, recognizing the man’s silhouette.

“Thought you might need some help. Been keeping my eye on you, followed you down here.” Travers handed Cory a pistol. “Can you use that?”

“With pleasure.” He turned towards the fight. “John! Todd! Hit the deck!”

Two figures abruptly fell to the floor and Cory aimed at one of the standing shapes. He pulled the trigger and the figure’s head jerked to one side, its shape no longer oval but something more like a broken egg.

Next to him, Travers fired and another zombie went down. Then they were both shooting as fast as they could aim, the reports of the two pistols creating a deafening thunder that echoed back and forth off cement and steel until Cory thought his head might explode. Smoke and dust formed three-dimensional shapes in the beams of light, twisting and intertwining.

It took Cory several moments to realize he’d emptied the gun but was still pulling the trigger. He turned to Chief Travers, saw the man’s mouth move but couldn’t hear him. He shrugged, tapped his ear. Travers nodded and pointed at the ground, and Cory understood they needed to see if Todd and John were okay.

They went to their knees and crawled forward. The fallen bodies of the zombies were extra pale in the spotlights and Cory kept thinking he saw movements. Without warning, a hand lunged at him, grabbed his arm. Cory screamed and slapped it away. A second hand joined it and he took the empty gun and slammed it down, smashing the grip onto the attacking digits. A muffled cry of pain reached him just as he was about to swing the gun again.

“John?” Cory shoved the gun in his pocket and gripped the his friend below the wrists. Pulling with all his might while pushing backwards with his feet, he slid John’s body out from under the two dead zombies that had covered it.

“Are you okay?”

John nodded. “Yeah. Felt like I was gonna suffocate for a minute. Where’s Todd?”

“Over here.” Travers waved to them. “I’ll have him free in a second.”

Once Todd was standing and had reassured them he wasn’t injured, Cory turned to Travers.

“We have to keep going. They’ve got Marisol down here, we heard her a little while ago.”

Travers nodded. “Here.” He handed Cory another clip for the pistol. “Lead the way. I’ll take the rear.”

They didn’t have to go far. Two minutes of walking brought them to an area where the machinery was spaced out more than in the previous sections. In the center of the space two zombies held a struggling Marisol on the ground. Deputy Mayor Jack Smith knelt on her chest, his head at a weird angle. A black, stringy shape hovered in front of her face, smoky tendrils poking at her nose and mouth.

“No!” Cory raised the gun, took aim at Smith’s head. Marisol turned and looked at him, tried to scream. Cory saw some of the tendrils slide between her lips.

He pulled the trigger.

Jack’s body flew backwards, a large chunk of its skull missing. At the same time, Todd rushed forward and sprayed Holy water on the Shade that was violating Marisol. As soon as the liquid hit it, it exploded into white flames. The other two zombies - one of them Mayor Dawes - stood up and Cory put a bullet into each of their heads.

“Marisol!” He grabbed her by the shoulders. Her face was ashen gray, her eyes closed. He put two fingers against her neck, afraid of what he might find. Or not find.

A pulse! Rapid but strong.

“She’s alive,” he called to the others but his words were drowned out by the sound of Travers’s gun firing.

“Dammit, it’s a trap!” Travers moved closer to them, handed them the portable spotlights. “Keep moving. I’ll hold them off.”

“Cory, can you carry her and shoot a gun at the same time?” John asked.

“I can walk.” Marisol’s words were barely more than a whisper but Cory heard them.

“Jesus! Thank God you’re all right.” He leaned down to kiss her but she pushed him away.

“No time for that now. We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Todd asked. Cory mirrored his words. Some of her color had come back but she still looked more ready for a hospital bed than a long walk.

“Help me up.” She held out her arms and Todd and Cory each grabbed one, hauled her to her feet. Her skin felt clammy and cold, and Cory was about to renew his objections when Travers shouted to them.

“Let’s get a move on. There’s more of those things coming.”

“You heard the man.” Marisol attempted a smile.

“Fine. But hang on to me. I don’t want you passing out again down here.”

She nodded and placed a frigid hand on Cory’s arm, the one not aiming a gun. Together they followed John and Todd further into the building.

At one point the corridor narrowed as large banks of machines closed in from both sides, forcing them to slow their pace and allowing Travers to catch up.

“Don’t stop now. They’re still coming. Almost like they’re—”

“Herding us into a trap?” Todd asked, as he emerged from the narrow space.

Up ahead, the basement came to an end in a cement wall.

A cement wall with a roughly man-sized opening.

“That must be the tunnel to the burial pits.” John’s words came out in gasps and Cory felt a momentary pang of guilt. In all the excitement, he’d forgotten John’s injuries.

No matter. Plenty of time to rest and heal later. If we survive.

“How far?” Cory asked.

“I don’t know.” Todd sounded apologetic. “A hundred yards, maybe? It depends where under the old buildings the pit is.”

“Okay. This is it then. Todd, any last advice?”

“Think positive. According to my father’s notes, you can actually prevent a Shade from entering you. He called it using God’s love as a shield.”

“I tried that,” Marisol said. “I think it’s the only reason I was able to hold them off until you found me.”

“I’d rather have a real shield,” John said. “The only thing I’m positive of is that we’re idiots for being here.”

Cory was about to chide John for his pessimism when it hit him that for all of John’s complaining, he’d never once backed down from any dangers.

He’s got his own shields but down deep he believes we’re doing the right thing.
He considered calling John on it, then decided to let the man maintain his pretenses.

Whatever gets you through the night...

For Cory, that meant keeping a picture of Marisol in his mind as he took the lead and stepped into the tunnel. He had to keep believing they were going to make it back alive. He’d never realized how lonely his life had been until he found out what he’d been missing.

Sure, there’d been women before her, but nothing serious; almost as if Fate had intended for he and Marisol to reunite someday. He refused to believe Fate would be so cruel as to take her away a second time.

They’d only gone a few hundred feet when the tunnel widened into a large, open space. At the same time, a horrible odor struck them, a stink so bad Cory had to hold his arm over his nose.

“This is it,” Todd said, just as Cory caught sight of the pit in front of them.

They passed their lights over it, exposing a shallow hole that looked to be roughly fifteen feet in diameter and six feet deep. The vile stench emanated from the body parts and skeletal remains piled at the bottom. Too fresh and odorous to be any of the pit’s original victims, Cory figured they must be townspeople who’d been dragged down here and eaten by the zombie things.

“Over there,” John whispered, gesturing with his flashlight. Cory followed the beam, saw another tunnel on the other side of the pit.

“That must lead up to the old hospital,” Todd said.

As he said the words, Cory caught a glimpse of movement in the other tunnel. Movement that quickly resolved into distinct shapes.

“Zombies,” John said.

“And more behind us,” added Travers, joining them. “We need to move away from this tunnel.”

“And go where?” John asked.

“Partway around the pit,” Cory said. “Travers and I can each take a side and keep them away with the guns while you and Todd bless the pit. Maybe that will send them on to wherever they go.”

“Or leave us in the middle of a monster sandwich.” John motioned with his hand. “After you.”

Cory tugged at Marisol’s sleeve. She seemed out of it again, her eyes glassy and sweat beading up on her forehead. In any other situation, he’d have focused all his attention on her. Right now though, they didn’t have time. As long as she could stand and walk, all he could do was make sure she didn’t get separated from them.

“C’mon, stay close,” he said. She looked at him and for a moment he was afraid she didn’t even recognize him. Then she nodded and took a step.

Not great but good enough.

Cory led them to an area roughly halfway around the pit. The path around the bodies and bones was twice as wide as an ordinary sidewalk, giving them plenty of room to walk without falling in. As a potential battleground against an army of the undead though, it left a lot to be desired. Roots and rocks stuck up from the soft earth and uneven wall negated some of the width. Add to that the darkness and the abominable stench that made breathing a hardship, and it left Cory feeling they’d have been better off in the basement.

They took up positions with Cory facing the zombies emerging from the second tunnel and Travers facing back the way they’d come. Between them, Todd already had his Holy water and Bible ready. John held a Super Soaker filled with Holy water, prepared to take on any Shades that might appear.

Marisol had sunk to her knees, her hands over her eyes.

“Get ready,” Travers said. Cory didn’t respond; he already had his pistol aimed at the nearest zombie of the several dozen he could see, a middle-aged man dressed in the remains of a business suit.

“In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I bless this ground.” Todd sprayed Holy water into the pit and then tossed down a handful of Communion wafers. “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy—”

The roar of Travers’ gun drowned out the rest of Todd’s words. At the same time, Marisol screamed.

The barrage of sounds was like a signal to the zombies. They charged forward, running towards Cory three abreast. Behind the leaders the others fought for position, several of them tripping or getting pushed into the pit, where they crashed into the skeletons of their own depraved meals. Many of the approaching bodies were silent but enough of them moaned or growled to fill the cavern with noise.

Cory pulled the trigger and the office worker went down. The others took no notice. He fired again and again, choosing his targets carefully. Bodies fell, creating obstacles for the others. For a brief moment, Cory thought things might finally be going their way.

Then the gun clicked empty.

“Travers! I need more bullets!”

“—bless this ground...In the name of the Father—” Todd continued his recital.

“Here!” The Police Chief tossed something backhand without looking. The object hit the dirt near Todd’s feet.

Shit!
Cory backed away and went down on his hands and knees, never taking his eyes off the approaching zombies. With one hand, he felt around on the dirt behind him.

Just then John screamed and Cory felt something wet spray across the back of his neck. He risked a quick glance to the side and then wished he hadn’t.

Rising from the pit were several Shades. John was furiously pumping the squirt rifle and firing at them. The Holy water kept falling just short and Todd interrupted his ongoing blessing to shout at John to wait until they got closer. Cory located the clips, three of them, and grabbed them all. Slamming one into the gun, he turned his attention back to the zombies, several of which were almost within arm’s length. He raised the pistol and prepared to shoot.

And the whole world exploded around him.

Blinding bright light burned away the darkness from one end of the cavern to the other. There was no sound but the ground vibrated underneath their feet.

The light disappeared, leaving Cory’s eyes filled with purple after-images. He backed up again, afraid one of the zombies would reach him before his vision cleared. He blinked away tears and when he opened his eyes again, he was able to see.

The zombies were still the same distance away as before the flash of light.

“Whatever you did, do it again!” shouted Travers. “It stopped them in their tracks.”

John let loose another stream of Holy water, catching three of the Shades and turning them into balls of white light that illuminated the entire chamber.

“Take that, you bastards!” he shouted.

Seeing the effect of the Holy water, Cory didn’t waste any time. He shoved the pistol into his belt and pulled his own squirt gun, a slightly smaller model, out of his back pack. Stepping right to the edge of the pit, where dozens of Shades hovered over the dead, rotting bodies, he blasted one of the Shades into white fire. Nearby, Todd took out his water gun and began squirting as well.

“Mine doesn’t reach.”