Dead and Forsaken (29 page)

“
There are too many of them.
We have to move right now!” I screamed. “Stay near me
and run when I run!”

“
My ears hurt!” said
Latia.

I
told Maria if we got separated to take the kids and lead them to
safety.

They
followed Carlos while I unleashed a volley of gunfire at the morbid
army around us. “BANG! BANG! BANG!”

Small
rain clouds of blood mixed with bone, cartilage and skin erupted
from the backs of their skulls. The six of us quickly moved across
the parking lot.

“
BANG!
BANG!”

Since
I was running the rounds cut through the packs upper torsos and
struck a car. Carlos cleared the path upfront and I tried to pick
off the stragglers lumbering behind us.

“
BANG!
BANG! BANG!”

Our
success was short-lived as the pack continued to follow us. The
forsaken lurched past burnt out cars and charred bodies to pursue us
across the lot. Blair, Maria, and the kids continued to run. We had
already traveled too far to get back to the hospital.

“
Without a car we were going
to die out here!” screamed Blair.

“
My legs are tired!”
cried Alex.

“
I know baby but we have to
keep moving!” said Maria.

“
I'm going to run up ahead.”
said Carlos. “I can move faster on my own”

I
agreed that it was a good plan and told the girls to keep moving.
Maria took over and led them to safety while I faced off against our
pursuers. As soon as the first one’s head came into sight I
fired.

“
BANG!
BANG!”

The
beast fell forward and smashed its jaw into the ground. A stream of
dark blood splashed onto the face of the closest creature behind it.
I readjusted my sights and fired again.

“
BANG!
BANG!”

******

Carlos moved in and out
of the cars before coming to a stop. He had found what he was
looking for! Two hundred and thirty five horses of diesel power sat
in front of him. It was a Ford F-250 super duty with the crew cab.
This truck was tall, wide and handled like a dream. He tried the
doors but they were locked. He ended up breaking out the passenger
side with his gun.

“
BLAM!
BLAM! CRASH!”

He
climbed in the Ford's cab then disappeared out of sight. Inside the
truck Carlos loosened the ring in the ignition with a screwdriver He
got from Randy. In no time he had the switch out the dash. He
separated the wires and found the two he was looking for. By the
time he touched them together and turned the screw driver in the
ignition. Only three minutes had past. When he stepped out the truck
to see how close we were a pair of small hands grabbed his ankle. He
was temporarily startled but kicked away and jumped back. Out of the
corner of his eye he saw another child size forsaken approaching. It
swung wildly trying to grasp his shirt.

“
GRRRRRR!”

The
forsaken child lurched forward and tackled him. After the initial
shock they tussled for a second then Carlos picked it up and threw
it against another car.

“
CRASH!”

Its
body smashed the window but it hopped back up. He reached for his
gun but it was still on the front seat of the ford. The little girl
forsaken under the truck tried to bite him. “GROOOWWWL!”

He
had to kick her in the side of the head.

“
THUMP!”

That’s
when the other dead child attacked again.

“
GRRRRRR!”

Carlos
grabbed the pint size creature by his throat and held him at bay. He
knew his mother was still out there somewhere and Blair also needed
him. He strained his body and stretched his figures until he reached
the gun. Carlos put the barrel to the monsters head pulled the
trigger and disintegrated it.

“
BANG!”

Then
he jumped back in the vehicles leather seats. Driving in reverse he
backed over the female forsaken's head crushing it. The head split
in half before it was flattened under the trucks weight.

“
SPLOOSH!”

He
threw the Ford in drive and plowed into a group of forsaken monsters
coming from the other direction.

“
THUMP!
THUMP! THUMP!”

Three
of them were sent flying. Four others were crushed under the wheels.

“
CRUMP!
CRUMP!”

Their
bodies ended up mangled and broken. As he circled the lot Carlos
flung the driver’s side door open and clipped an adult monster
nearby.

“
BAM!”

The
creature was sent flailing to the asphalt. The lot was crawling with
more of them.

“
GROOOWWWL!”

******

I moved the rest of the
group in and out of the parked cars trying to slow the pack
following us down. Hope pushed us forward and fueled our exhaustion.
The horde was closing in even though they were shambling on decaying
limbs. You think we would just be able to outrun them but they never
got tired and never stopped coming. Everyone moved a little faster
but with two kids and a pregnant woman it was hard to keep our
distance.

“
We're not going to make it!”
said Blair. “There are too many to outrun!”

I
had no choice but to stop. Alex and Latia were gasping and wheezing
trying to catch their breath.

“
Get behind me and stay
down!” I yelled.

Maria
huddled them next to a minivan while I continued to fire at the
creatures with both guns.

“
BANG!
BANG!”

If
necessary I was going to sacrifice my own life to keep Maria and the
others alive. Soon one of the guns was jammed.
I placed one of the guns
in my waistband in order to work on the other. As the creatures
moved closer I nervously tried to clear the chamber. Their eyes
never blinked and were wide open. Their decayed arms were
outstretched. With seconds to spare I dislodged the round and
squeezed the trigger. The bullet slammed into the forsaken eye
socket exploding his head from the impact. The force accelerated him
backwards tossing his body onto the ground. His hand grabbed my
shirt on the way down and tore the pocket. I continued to shoot at
the other monsters but the bullets flew wild. Some of them missed
the head and hit them in the shoulders and chest. I slowed them
down but most of the forsaken continued to stumble forward. Blair
thought Carlos left us stranded and started to panic.

“
I can't believe he left me!”
she cried.

Maria
slapped her in the face to shut her up.

“
I'm sorry I had to do that
but you need to calm down!” demanded Maria.

I
slipped the backpack off my shoulder and handed it to Maria.

“
Hand me a box of bullets!”
I yelled.

She
unzipped the bag and fumbled around for a second before handing me
an opened box of 9mm. I popped out my magazines and hurriedly
reloaded both guns. More hungry creatures lumbered toward us. I
slammed both magazines back into my guns and opened up on them.
“BANG! BANG!”

The
freshly loaded weapons pumped out round after round.

“
BANG!
BANG!”

This
time my aim was true.

“
BANG!
BANG!”

I
could see the truck moving in an open area of the lot so I waved the
guns above my head. Luckily Carlos spotted us camped out near the
van.

“
BANG!
BANG!”

Blair
heard the noise of the roaring engine and immediately notified me.

“
I see him!” screamed
Blair as he approached us.

“
Thank God!” responded
Maria as she re-zipped the back pack and gathered up the children.

By
the time Carlos stopped again the truck's flatbed was facing us. A
small part of me thought he was leaving us behind. Suddenly the ford
jerked backwards at a high speed.

“
SKIRRRRT!”

The
tires laid rubber and left smoking skid marks on the ground. I saw
the truck coming and moved everyone out the way. The truck veered
around us and sped up.

“
VAROOM!”

The
diesel engine roared as the truck reached sixty mph. The forsaken
saw us standing there and didn't even pay attention to the oncoming
truck.

“
GRRRRRR!”

As Carlos got closer to them he
accelerated even more. We all heard the thumps and thuds as they
impacted the rear bumper. The momentum sent them flying like bowling
pins.

“
BAM! BAM! BAM! CRUNCH!”

Immediately after the crash a
couple of forsaken were tangled underneath the tires. Several more
were pinned between the crumpled tailgate and some other damaged
cars. The truck left the dead creatures twisted like rotten pretzels
on the pavement. Carlos eased the truck forward and came back to the
clearing to pick us up just in time.

“
GRAAAH!”

An
assorted mix of decaying forsaken corpses was approaching.

“
GROOOWWWL!”

“
How many of these things are
there?” asked Carlos as he starred out the window.

Without
saying a word the rest of us piled into the truck’s cab. Blair
buckled the kids into the bench seat behind us and sat down. Maria
sat up front in between me and Carlos. Carlos turned on the blood
splattered head lights and we made a run for it.

“
SKIRRRRT!”

We
pulled out the lot running over several more forsaken blocking the
exit.

“
THUMP!
THUMP!”

The
truck sideswiped several parked cars on the street.

“
BAM!
BAM!”

Through
luck and determination we had once again cheated death.

“
Drive faster their still
behind us!” yelled Maria. “They’re not giving up!”

Carlos
gripped the wheel and easily maneuvered the truck like it was a
small car.

“
Thank God we are driving!”
said Blair. “If we were still walking we would be sitting
ducks!”

Outside the city was
transformed. Scenes from our darkest nightmares had come true. We
pasted a badly damaged police car at the end of the block. All of
the doors had been pried open. The windows were smashed in and the
seats were bloody. The hospital got smaller in the rear view mirror
as we drove past the wreckage. There were so many people in the
hospital but we were the only ones that made it out alive. We had
less than an hour to find temporary hideout and fortify it before it
got dark. In the morning we would procure better weapons and
supplies. The last thing we wanted to do after escaping was to get
caught outside in the dark with no shelter.

Neighborhoods
from the east to the west valley were devastated. None of us knew
the circumstances that led to this tragedy but the end results were
clear. We gazed out the trucks windows at the horror movie backdrop
outside. It was hard to except with contrasting memories of the good
times still fresh in our minds. Evidence of a terrible battle and
the remains of the dead were everywhere. Bricks, debris and trash
littered the road. Blood was sprayed against a brick wall that was
also riddled with bullet holes. Thousands of newly forsaken lurked
and prowled the streets in hordes. They stretched out their decaying
hands and opened their filthy mouths as we passed by.

“
GRRRRRR!”

The
truck swerved from side to side as we tried to elude them. The
entrance to the interstate on ramp was blocked with crashed and
flipped over cars. Ordinary people were caught in traffic and
trapped in their vehicles. Others just abandoned them and tried to
walk. Half of them were eaten alive while others were bitten and
infected.

“
I guess the quick and
orderly evacuation didn't go so well!” I joked.

The
tangled mass of disabled and wrecked vehicles shut the highway down.
Carlos had to back up and drive the truck around the man made road
block of metal to get back on the main street.
The overpowering
odor of death was in the desert air.

“
In order to survive we have
to be smart!” I told Carlos. “Try to avoid heavily
populated areas and neighborhoods.”

Corpses
were everywhere. Some of them had no head or limbs. The rotting body
of one half eaten corpses was still seat belted into its disabled
vehicle. The ribcage was ripped open and the organs were gone. All
the doors on the car were open. Dark stains covered the car's
interior along with bones and pieces of chewed flesh. Dry blood had
pooled in the passenger seat but the body had been dragged away. The
blood splattered baby seat in the back told the rest of the story.
The child that sat in it was nowhere to be found. The faceless and
anonymous victims expired without dignity or respect. There would be
no funeral or last word reading. Their final resting place was where
ever they died. Flies swarmed over their maimed bodies.

We
didn't see any signs of the living on the dusty windblown streets.
The remaining living squeezed themselves into closets, bedrooms and
garages desperately seeking shelter from the rising dead. Some of
them heavily armed themselves. The survivors were trapped like rats
in a cage waiting for rescue but help was not coming, hope was long
gone and only agony lay ahead. The horror from the last couple of
days had caused a mass exodus of the city’s population. Many
of them were already sick. There was no telling how far the fleeing
survivors spread the disease. Smoke bellowed into the sky as
thousands of fires burned out of control. Carlos drove down the
dotted line in the middle of the street so we could see clearly.
Hundreds of houses were left ram shacked and in shambles.

Traces of everyday human life and
necessities were dropped during the last melee. All the smart people
left in a hurry. They didn’t have time to pack up. A child’s
bike and a scooter lay in the driveway of a large house on the
corner. The house’s windows were shattered and the door was
smashed in. Down the block the washing machines in Chang’s
all night laundry were still filled with clothes. Spilled soap
powder and dried blood clumped together on the floor. Across the
street sat a looted twenty four hour grocery store. All the doors
were wide open and partially filled baskets of food just sat there.
Blood spray and cast off could be found in every aisle. Public parks
sat empty and school yard swings were motionless. When everything
went down thousands of people rushed into the streets seeking help
and trying to search for friends and loved ones.

“
It's worse than I thought!”
said Maria while shaking her head. “Where are all the people?”

“
Who do you think has been
eating us?” answered Carlos. “All of those things use to
be human!”

“
What if we are the only ones
left alive in the city?” asked Blair.

“
Maybe there are people still
at that military checkpoint!” said Carlos.

The
next street the truck turned down was filled with several
dilapidated restaurants and downtown shopping centers. We shoot
looters was spray painted on a large wall. Carlos accelerated
through the intersection. The eerie silence was broken every couple
of minutes by an occasional moan or roar. Halfway down the block a
million dollars in blood splattered money blew across the street
like leaves in the wind.

“
Can we keep some of it?”
asked Latia.

“
No baby!” answered
Maria. “I don't think that’s a good ideal.”

The
plate glass window of a well-known bank was cracked and full of
bullet holes. The mangled remains of two thieves littered the banks
entrance. The desperate group of criminals never got to enjoy their
stolen treasure. All the cops were gone but the burglar alarm
alerted the hungry forsaken. As we past their blood smeared get away
van we could see the getaway drivers dismembered body. It was
scattered in a pile of hundred dollar bills in the back.

“
I guess their greed was
stronger than their fear!” said Blair.

“
Some things are more
important than money!” I responded. “They should have
been looking for food and fuel.”

“
There are a lot of things
more important than money!” said Maria’s while squeezing
my hand.

Carlos
eased the truck to a stop at the corner next to a row of chard
cactus and scorched palm trees. He turned on the radio but every
station was filled with dead air or static.

“
There has to be a place
where we can carve out a life without being eaten alive.”
stated Carlos.

It was 7:42pm and the sun was
setting over the Camel back Mountains. As dusk fell the city of
Phoenix got darker and darker around us. It was once a bustling
metropolitan area whose suburbs reflected its power and wealth. Now
it was a ghost town.

“
What do we do now Kevin?”
asked Maria.

Before
I said anything I looked around the truck at everyone’s face.
What they all needed now was hope. They respected what I had to say
because I got them out the hospital and kept them alive. I didn’t
have all the answers but I knew what to say.

“
The same thing I have been
doing all my life!” I told her. “Try to survive!”

They
were all both worried and relieved by my words. Our survival
depended on how we responded to this new threat and the chaos and
devastation it created. The only thing we knew for sure was that
the dead had risen back to life and the valley of the sun belonged
to them now. For weeks after that the sickness kept spreading. The
battle became a war and the war became a holocaust. They defeated
armies and toppled governments until the dead outnumbered the
living.