Zombies On The Rock (Book 3): The Republic of Newfoundland Page 5

  “Maybe we could stay if we had a place to defend.” Eric pictured the walls surrounding the Pelley compound. If they could get enough people to defend that place, they could live there as long as they wanted. “We could defend ourselves if we prepared for all the possibilities. The living and dead won’t be able to penetrate the walls at the Pelley compound.”

  “The vikings had built a wall and still couldn’t stop the living.” Hank interjected.

  “They kept the dead outside those walls almost since day one.” Eric fired back. “If they had guns they could have fought back against those bandits.”

  “There were too many of them. We wouldn’t have stood a chance.” Hank’s voice raised above Eric’s.

  “You don’t know that, Hank. Maybe if we had guns we could have stopped them.” Sasha’s voice was timid. She recoiled in anticipation of Hank’s backlash.

  Hank stopped his horse suddenly and buried his head into the creatures mane. “I couldn’t stop them.” He let out a defeated cry before sobbing into the mane. Sasha reached out for Hank, but she was still too hurt to make contact. Eric watched them both struggle with the burden of the tremendous loss that they had witnessed. Death’s cold clutches would find a way to choke the life out of every last living person one way or another. If the roamers didn’t find a way to sink their teeth into your flesh they would manage to take down a loved one. The toll of this world added up quickly and eventually it would become too much to bear for anyone. “I don’t understand why this happened.”

  “People have gone mad from the stress of trying to survive. It can happen to any one of us.” Sasha tried to console Hank. She gave Eric a quick glance, she was looking to him for support.

  “I’ve seen it happen. People will do whatever it takes to survive.” Eric remembered what Frank had done to keep his family safe. “They will take what they need from you to keep their loved ones safe. That’s all any of us can do anymore.” Eric was finally beginning to understand why Frank had worked with Pharmakon. Eric didn’t know if he could ever forgive him, but he could comprehend his actions now.

  They reached the fork in the road faster than Eric had expected. It was only a few more kilometres to reach the Pelley compound from her and the road was flat. The path was enclosed by snow covered trees and clouds had begun to creep in overhead. The sun’s bright rays were no longer piercing into Eric’s vision and he was finally able to look at the snow-clad ground without squinting.

  Eric’s heart jumped into his chest when he saw it. Footprints through the snow leading towards the cabin. “We have to get a move on.” Eric shouted as he urged his hoarse to a gallop. Eric couldn’t tell how many of those dead freaks had past here, there were so many footprints scattered throughout the snow.

  The floor was cold against Dana’s back. She reached her hand out and pulled herself up using the cabinet door. Her head was still muddled, but her vision was more stable. The pain in her stomach hadn’t gotten any better. She checked the bandage, it was soaked with sweat and blood. Dana looked through the first aid kit and gathered everything she needed to change her bandage. The old gauze fell off rather easily. The area around the stitches didn’t look as bad as she remembered; the skin was still red and swollen but there was very little puss oozing out of the wound. Dana grabbed another capsule and chocked it down, whatever it was it had helped with the infection.

  “Eric.” Dana shouted out. She had no idea where he could have went. She placed fresh gauze over the wound and wrapped the bandage around her torso. Using safety pins to secure the bandage in place, Dana felt the pressure against the sore wound. She opened the bathroom door and leaned against the wall. Her breath was laboured and she struggled to walk. Using the wall for support she made her way to the stairs at the end of the hallway. The old wooden stairs were surprisingly sturdy. The banister easily took her weight without creaking. She slowly eased herself down each step with extreme caution; she couldn’t afford to put herself through anymore pain. The landing opened into a wide-open living room. Dana could hear the tiny crackle of wood burning in a fireplace against the outside wall. A pile of wood lay in between the stove and a long chesterfield. The floor boards appeared to be brand new and recently stained. Dana figured that this cabin had been renovated just before the apocalypse.

  Dana made her way across the room without having to hold the wall for stability. She cursed herself for leaving the antibiotics upstairs. Eric could run upstairs and grab them for her once he got back. She grabbed the smallest log she could find and placed it on top of the red hot coals. The wood crackled instantly and quickly ignited, the flames engulfing the log. Dana placed another log in the fire and fell back into the couch. The wool had retained the heat from the fire and Dana enjoyed the coziness as she sank into the fabric. Heat radiated from the fire and Dana started to doze off, drifting into a comfortable sleep.

  A loud knock at the door startled Dana. Screams for help could be heard on the other side of the door. One of the voices sounded familiar; she had heard those screams before. Dana pushed herself up and raced towards the door.

  Eric bounced around in the saddle as the horse galloped down the road. He didn’t dare look back in fear of falling, but he could hear the clip clopping of the other horse as it struggled to keep up. Fallen corpses lay in the snow alongside the road. Dark puddles of blood and severed body parts stained the pristine snowfall. The snow had been trampled flat. There must have been hundreds of those creatures chasing their prey down this road. The wall surrounding the Pelley compound came into view as Eric made the turn. Thirty or more zombies had gathered just outside the closed gate.

  The stallion reared itself at the smell of the rotten flesh, Eric fell out of the saddle and barely managed to catch himself as he fell. Eric reached out and grabbed the stirrups to brace himself before he crashed into the ground. A sharp pain shot up Eric’s back as he landed hard against the frozen dirt road. The hooves of the beast nearly crashed down on top of him before it changed directions abruptly as it sped off into the forest.

  “Are you okay?” Hank and leapt down from his horse and ran over to help Eric back to his feet.

  Eric couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The zombies were acting unlike he had ever seen. They had swarmed the gate, but they weren’t trying to break it down with mindless effort and relentless pressure. They were trying to climb over it by forming a pyramid using their rotting corpses. A single zombie paced back and forth, growling at the pack like a wolf. If that dead corpse had been by itself it could have been easily mistaken as a living person who had recently turned. The creature’s eyes had the same cold, dead stare of any zombie, but its flesh hadn’t started to decay yet. The figure below stood head and shoulders above any decrepit being that Eric had ever seen. In his past life the man must have been a body builder. His hulking muscles had shown very little of the side effects that death normally caused.

  “Do…. Do you see that?” Eric was puzzled. That alpha zombie seemed to have the herd organized.

  Hank helped Sasha down from the saddle. They both walked over and knelt down next to Eric. “We’ve seen it before. We didn’t believe it either.” Hank gripped his pickaroon in his left hand and pointed down at the creature. “We have to kill that one right away. If not they will become too much to handle.”

  “They overwhelmed a group of us fleeing from St. Anthony.” Sasha interjected. “They cut us off and it was like they had set up an ambush. They waited for us just off the side of the only clear path. Only a handful of us made it through.”

  Eric couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “How?”

  “I still don’t understand it. Maybe its evolution.” Hank stood up. “We best get down there before they get over that wall.” Hank turned to Sasha and handed her a 9mm pistol. “You watch our backs. We can’t say for sure we are alone.”

  This new threat of the evolved zombie worried Eric. They had been able to outsmart the mindless corpses with ease, but now they would have to be alert at a
ll times. Eric grasped the fire axe in his hand and charged for the alpha zombie. The zombie had been an experiment in the laboratory of Pharmakon. It was still wearing the green hospital gown with their logo embroidered into the fabric over the chest. The creature’s bare legs and feet seemed to resist frostbite and rigor mortis. Once Eric was close enough for the creature to pick up his scent, its heard jerked towards him and its dead gaze locked onto his. Its head tilted to the side and it appeared to be studying Eric’s movements. A low growl from the creatures throat turned into a deep groan. The evil creature started to bark like a dog and the zombies behind him stopped trying to climb the wall and began to shamble towards Eric.

  “They’re too many of them.” Eric stopped dead in his tracks. “We need to kill that creature now.”

  The zombies staggered forward, their decrepit limbs cracking with every step. The alpha zombie continued to bark out his deep, gargled growls in an effort to organize his troops. A small pack of zombies in the back started to distance themselves from the pack, lurching ahead of the main pack but veering off to the right. They were trying to flank Eric and Hank. “Eric, you need to shoot that thing now.” Hank grabbed Eric’s shoulder and tried to spin him around, but Eric sprinted forward with the fire axe in his hand. “God damn it Eric.”

  Eric raced forward with the axe raised high above his head. The alpha zombie squared his shoulders to him. The creature’s milky, glazed eyes followed Eric’s every move and it moved into a defensive posture, anticipating the killing blow. Eric used all of his might to swing the axe straight down into the freak’s skull, but the alpha raised its arms to shield the blow. The creature’s hand clasped the handle and stopped the blade just as it sank into its skull. The zombie let out an angry howl. Eric tried to pull the axe back but he struggled against the tremendous strength of the dead behemoth. The beast pushed Eric down to the ground and as he fell Eric barely managed to rip the axe from its death grip. With surprising coordination the alpha pounced down towards Eric. Rolling to his left Eric barely managed to escape the snapping jaws. Swinging the axe blindly towards the creature Eric felt the blade sink into soft flesh.

  Looking on in horror, Eric watched bright red blood trickle down the head of the axe, the blade lodged into the creatures ribs. A pounding sound approached Eric from behind, but he couldn’t take his eyes of the spectacle taking place in front of him. The creature stood tall and removed the axe from its side, tossing the weapon out of reach behind him. Eric started to crawl back on his elbows away from the alpha zombie, but he couldn’t move fast enough. The creature was far too coordinated and it caught Eric by surprise, the creature easily closing the gap within seconds. Suddenly, the creatures head jerked up, looking at the source of the commotion headed their way. It raised its arms in defence too late as the horse reared back, kicking its hooves into its chest, sending it toppling backwards. Sasha sat on top of the mighty stallion with the straps gripped firmly in her hands guiding the horse to trample over the fallen beast. Eric could hear the bones crunching and cracking underneath the hooves. The zombie let out a low rumble as it dragged its body out of harm’s way. Sasha spun the horse around, but the alpha managed to avoid getting trampled by the horse. Eric got to his feet and used the distraction to pick the axe up from the snow-covered ground.

  In all of the commotion the herd of zombies had closed the gap between them and were dangerously close, Eric could hear the snapping jaws and felt their dead eyes fixed upon him. Eric drove the axe down into the alpha zombie’s skull with all of his might and nearly lost control of the axe as it smashed into the creature’s skull. Eric was once again caught off guard by the alpha zombie. The freaks skull was still solid and intact. Eric let go of the axe and let it topple to the ground still buried into the zombie’s skull. Sasha reached her hand down and helped Eric jump up on the horse just in time. Cold dead hands had reached out for the horse grabbing at its tail. The horse took off and sent two zombies crashing into the ground as it yanked them forward.

  “Where did Hank go?” Eric wasn’t expecting Sasha to be his saviour, but he was still too worried about Dana to express his gratitude.

  Sasha guided the horse around the wall of the Pelley complex, out of sight of the pack of roaming zombies. “He’s finding us a way over that wall.” Sasha pointed to a tree that had grown next to towering wall. Hank had climbed up and sat atop the wall waving at Eric and Sasha, ushering them towards him. “The fence is secure for now and we can regroup inside.” Sasha guided the horse to the base of the tree. Eric reached out and used a low lying branch to pull himself up.

  “Where are you going to leave the horse?” Eric said, not wanting to leave the animal tied to a tree.

  “I’ll draw the zombies away from the fence and you can open the gate for me and close it once I’m inside.” Sasha pulled the reins and galloped off towards the shambling herd.

  Eric watched as Sasha rushed towards the pack of dead corpses. The scent of them was enough to distract the mindless freaks away from the fence. Their decrepit bones carried them awkwardly towards her. It would take several minutes for them to get far enough away from the gate to safely open it. Eric didn’t have time to wait around. “I’m going to go check on Dana. You get the gate.” Eric barked out an order.

  Hank glared back at Eric, not impressed by Eric’s assertive nature. He shook his head. Hank stood his ground for a moment before turning to head towards the gate without speaking a word. Eric didn’t know why he had acted so aggressively. He reacted without thinking. He didn’t have time to apologize for that now. He turned around and headed straight for the cabin. He could see the sun glaring off the large window, blocking his view of the living room. He raced towards the door, sucking in the ice-cold air deep into his lungs trying to catch his breath. As he approached the cabin, three dark silhouettes could be seen in the window. Eric took out his revolver and pulled the hammer back. He had locked the door when he left, but he didn’t have time to pick the lock to get back in. Running full speed, Eric rammed his shoulder into the door. It burst open and Eric fell into the wall inside the porch.

  “Eric.” Dana called out from inside the living room.

  Eric saw two men standing between himself and Dana. He didn’t have time to think clearly. His instinct to defend his wife took over. He raised the gun and fired a shot into the back of the knee of an assailant. The man collapsed to the floor, screaming in agony and holding his knee. The other man spun around just in time to catch a bullet in the stomach. The bearded man clutched his stomach, a deep red blotch forming under his hand. Eric looked into the man’s deep blue eyes in horror as he recognized the victim.

  CHAPTER EIGHT:

  UNDERCOVER

  Warrant Smith walked down the road straight towards the court house steps, his weapon drawn and raised in front of his face. He held it by the barrel, ready to surrender. He knew he could have set up an ambush, but he would never escape with everyone alive. He wasn’t ready to risk their lives just yet. He just needed to buy Byrne some time to organize a rescue mission. He placed a lot of responsibility on the young private, but he had faith that he would carry out his orders without failure. He had shown great determination and tremendous instinct both during his training and since the outbreak, proving to be a reliable and capable soldier.

  The older man was leading the shackled prisoners up the concrete stairs. The bikers with the guns were following closely behind. The short haired woman was standing alone at the bottom of the steps. She turned around to head back to the ambulance when she finally noticed him approaching.

  “Intruder!” She pulled a 9 mm out of the front of her jeans and pointed towards Warrant Smith.

  Warrant Smith knew she had no formal training or any real experience holding that weapon; her posture and stance screamed amateur. He wanted to laugh, but he didn’t want to anger the woman, who seemed to be burning a very short fuse. “I surrender.” He stopped approaching and placed his weapon on the road before taking a few paces back. On
e of the guards had joined her, his movements mimicked those of a seasoned soldier. The bikers face was covered by a blue kerchief tied across his face just below his eyes. His leather vest had a dark, greasy stain that ran all the way down to his black jeans. The male biker took the lead. Once he reached the gun, he kicked it far across the street well out of reach. “I surrender.” The warrant repeated.

  The biker rammed the butt of his assault rifle into Smith’s gut, driving the wind out of his body. The biker tried to force him to the ground, but years of training took over and Warrant Smith reacted, his survival instinct taking over. He caught the outstretched arm of his attacker by the wrist and drove his shoulder into the man’s armpit. Using deadly force he moved his right arm and applied tremendous pressure to the man’s elbow. The assailant tried to protect his arm by kneeling down with the pressure, but warrant Smith used his shoulder to hold him up. A loud pop echoed through the cold night air as the elbow popped out of its socket. The man cried out in agony as Warrant Smith flipped him over his shoulder and pinned him to the ground.

  Warrant Smith felt the cold barrel of a gun press against the back of his neck. “Raise your hands above your head.” The woman’s voice rang in his ear, the gun was firmly pressed into his neck. He had misjudged the woman’s ability to handle the weapon. She showed no fear of using it against him. He raised his arms in compliance, already regretting his actions. He should have let them capture him without resistance. Now they would be more likely to take swift action against him. He just shortened Private Byrnes window of opportunity to organize a rescue mission.

  Tina heard a lot of shouting and loud bangs outside of the room she had been confined to. A few times the wall rattled, as she heard heavy crashing on the floor and pained cries. Tina felt her chest tighten with fear. She crept into the far corner and slumped down against the wall. Panic and anxiety made her heart race and her stomach churned with anticipation. She expected the door to burst open any second and Ted would be there to finish what he started.