June 14th, 2008
1:26am
Machine Shop
Angel Hair ran his hands over where his hair used to be and stared down the key cabinet. "I guess our two keys should be in here somewhere," he said, confidently.
"Just one key, actually," Ryan corrected. "The keyring you threw out earlier opened the inner door lock. Now we're looking for a padlock key."
"Hrm," Angel Hair pondered aloud. "It wouldn't be any of these funky shaped keys here," he said, pointing to a transparent drawer of specialized plumbing keys. "We can rule out all of these, since they haven't been cut yet," he noted, waving his hands over hooks holding several dozen blank keys.
The moans of the undead resounded in the Machine Shop, mixed with more gunfire and yells. "We don't have time for guesses," T.Rex said in a frustrated tone. He crouched down and wrenched open a drawer at the bottom of the cabinet. It was filled with a wide variety of tools, and T.Rex rummaged around a bit.
Ryan removed an enormous pair of bolt cutters from the drawer and handed them to Angel Hair. "Tell them to cut the chain and get in here now." Angel Hair nodded and scampered back to the door. Finding nothing else of much value, T.Rex slammed the drawer shut and followed him back to the door.
Angel Hair had already passed the bolt cutters through the oval portal at waist height. Together, T.Rex and Angel Hair waited nervously inside the Machine Shop, not wanting to crowd the small ramp with another body. It was up to the Fools on the other side to use the cutter to break the chain and remove the lock so that the door could be drawn up. This was all while holding off the horde of approaching zeds, whose moans and groans were much louder.
Standing with Angel Hair in the Machine Shop, T.Rex noticed they had both left their packs outside on the ramp, leaving them temporarily out of supplies. Angel Hair had his flashlight, the only thing he grabbed before selflessly diving into the Machine Shop to find a key. T.Rex, armed with only a crowbar in the middle of a strange building, clutched his weapon and tried not to think of what would happen if the Fools outside failed.
As they waited, T.Rex regretted destroying the chain. Ideally, once the door was open and the Fools were through, they'd send one of the two of them back out to re-lock everything and keep the zeds out. Chances were good that the zombie horde was too close, though.
Metal scraped against metal as the chain was removed on the other side of the door, "Open! Open! Open!" the rampside Fools yelled in unison with the traditional Foolish repetition. Angel Hair and T.Rex sprung into action and together, they heaved the door up.
Outside was pure chaos.
Three large fires raged nearby, a product of the molotov barrages, and several zeds staggered around still on fire, igniting others. A pile of limp zeds formed a loose 180 degree arc around the ramp, and a pile of spent shells collected at Kamikaze's feet. Brain matter painted the concrete in every direction, and the stench of the carnage was formidable. Zombies lie dead from arrows poking out their heads at various angles, and even as Angel Hair and T.Rex stared outside, Beard continued firing his pistol in methodical fashion, eliminating the biggest threat in order. The closest zeds were within arm's reach of the ramp, with a sea of them just a few feet further.
Peace stepped in first carrying the bolt cutters, the chain and lock, and the rest of his tools. Cowboy came in next, hauling his pack as well as the ones left by T.Rex and Angel Hair. With a twang of bowstring, Rubble fired a final arrow and picked up his own equipment, running back into the Machine Shop to join the others.
"Go!" Beard shouted, his rate of firing increasing. The pistol roared as Beard dropped a Hispanic looking zed and then two brunette female zeds in rapid succession. Kamikaze fired one last round from the rifle at a particularly obese zed near the foot of the ramp before picking up her pack and ducking inside.
Beard twisted at the hip and fired a pair of bullets where Kamikaze was just moments before, keeping two zeds from climbing onto the ramp by killing one outright and knocking the other into the crowd below. Backpedaling, he twisted and fired again, killing a piercing-laden zombie reaching for where his foot was previously.
Abruptly, he turned and dashed into the Machine Shop. A half second behind him Angel Hair and Rubble slammed the door down, sealing away the zed army.
"Fools, fan out for recon and defensive measures. I want weapons checked and reloaded, and get me anything that can either barricade this door or fuck up some zeds!" T.Rex cried out. Beard paused next to him and rested a moment, leaning forward and bracing his hands on his knees.
"You could've kept going out there," T.Rex joked.
Beard stood and adjusted his weapon. A cartridge slipped from the handle and clattered on ground, empty.
A pair of decaying arms reached through the hole in the door and grabbed at the air, prompting both T.Rex and Beard to take a few steps further away, just in case. Soon, a few other arms joined in and formed a tangled mess of limbs grasping for prey from the door. Not long thereafter, the door started to rattle as the zeds crowded the top of the ramp, pushing and pounding on the thin aluminum door.
"If they had any intelligence at all, they'd just raise the unlocked door and come and get us," T.Rex observed.
The brackets keeping the metal door whined as they strained to keep the door in place. "About how long do you figure we have until they break through the hard way?" Beard asked T.Rex.
"Looking at the size and placement of the brackets, I'd say we have no more than 15 minutes," he said, looking around the frame of the door.
Beard grinned. "That's more than enough."
Taking survey of the interior was easier as T.Rex's eyes grew accustomed to what little moonlight shined through windows near the ceiling. The Machine Shop smelled like a giant garage, with faint traces of motor oil and WD-40. Above them was irregular scaffolding, with power strips and dormant shop lights hanging near workstations. The Fools, armed with flashlights, pored over the interior for anything they could use.
Near the wall closest to the door was a series of wooden shelves arranged like aisles at a grocery store, containing boxes of parts, half-assembled motors, rags, scrap metal, toolboxes, tires, PVC pipes, and hundreds of other pieces of miscellaneous maintenance equipment. The wall opposite of the door was a giant peg-board, which held industrial hammers, screwdrivers, augers, drills, hand saws, and dozens of other tools of varying sizes and styles. It also contained the key cabinet discovered earlier, and several large objects obscured by tarps. The wall with the door had a cabinet of clear plastic bins with light bulbs, nuts and bolts, screws, washers, pins and needles, nails, fuses, hinges, and a thousand other small items.
The center of the building was mostly open as a workspace, but it was lined with several large workbenches. The benches supported a variety of equipment like a lathe, a drill press, several die tooling machines, a few circular saws, and other industrial machinery. There was even a computer attached to one of the machines, presumably for computer-aided design work.
Not much light made it to the rear of the building. Shining a flashlight around, T.Rex saw a pair of ATVs tucked away next to some red barrels and wooden crates. More mounds of equipment nearby sat quietly covered by tarp, and stacked nearby was a bunch of spare plywood. In the furthest corner he noticed a bulletin board next to a strange door marked "Caution".
T.Rex began to delegate. "Angel Hair, I'd like you to go check out the door in the back, and see if there's anything useful." He nodded and scampered off.
"Cowboy and Peace, you two move some of these workbenches to try and block up the door." They saluted and started clearing the benches.
"Kamikaze and Rubble, I want you guys to move our packs to the back for when we have to fall back, and look around for anything that might possibly be a good weapon." They also went right to work.
T.Rex stood near the door with Beard. "How bad is the ammo situation?" he asked, lowering his voice.
"Pretty bad, " Beard admitted. "Rubble used up all but a few of his arrows. I emptied two and a half magazines, so I've got one left with seven shots. Kamikaze was pretty selective about her ammo, though, so I think she's still got a decent amount saved for you. Check with her for the final count, but I'd guess she has 50 rounds left."
Cowboy ran up with a sour look on his face. "Bad news, man. The tables are all bolted to the floor. We can't move any of them."
Beard was incredulous. "Really? Why would somebody do that?"
T.Rex's heart sank. He realized that with the electricity still out, the saws and power tools in the shop were giant useless weights. The tables were the only real furniture to barricade the door with, and they couldn't be moved. Worse, there probably wasn't anything in the shop that would make a better weapon than the machetes and crowbars they'd acquired already. His snap decision to head for the Machine Shop was rapidly turning out to be a very bad idea. Unless they could come up with something decisive, he feared it would be their tomb.
Just then, one of the four brackets bracing the door broke. It snapped into several pieces, skittering across the concrete floor. With one less support, the door now shook harder under the combined assault of the zeds outside.
"Beard," T.Rex whispered to his friend, "we're running out of time. I don't know how much longer the door will hold, so I want you to get the group fired up with a Battle Cry, okay?"
Battle Cry was an improv exercise they'd invented about a year and a half ago as a way to boost energy backstage before a show. It was crucial to be enthusiastic at a show, and this was designed to get everybody loud and bold.
"Fools!" Beard cried out as another bracket snapped behind him, "Oval up on me!" Kamikaze, Peace, Cowboy, Rubble, and T.Rex dropped what they were doing and gathered around him. Beard stood in front and took a deep breath, and in his best Gerrard Butler voice gave them his favorite words of courage from 300:
"This is where we hold them!" he yelled to the group at full volume, stomping his foot for emphasis. "This is where we fight!"
"This is where THEY DIE!" He jumped into the circle and clapped his hands. The Fools around him answered the clap, and then together they all broke out into a primal scream, yelling to the circle with clenched fists until their faces were red.
The third bracket gave way and ricocheted off of a cabinet. With less supports, the door buckled much more wildly under the fists of the undead outside. A few arms snaked into the building from the side of the door with no brackets, and the moans grew louder as the remaining bracket squealed under tension.
The Fools turned to face the onslaught, now kept at bay by the tiny piece of metal. They all gripped their weapons and drew up whatever courage and energy they had left.
"Can I get Rubble to give me a hand with something?" Angel Hair yelled from the back of the shop.
Are you kidding me? T.Rex thought. Maybe some kind of generator for power? He knew Rubble had experience working with engines. "Yes," T.Rex yelled back, "but this had better be something awesome!" He nodded to the back and Rubble broke the line to hustle back to the strange door. The Fools shifted to compensate for the gap and waited.
An idea suddenly shot through Ryan's mind like a bolt of lightning. "Fools! Everybody go take cover behind something and wait for my signal to charge, okay?" he said, suddenly.
The Fools looked at each other, confused. Ryan started to jog back to the rear of the Machine Shop. "I mean it!" he yelled. "Take cover!"
T.Rex went back and found his pack with the other equpiment. He drew the rifle from the case and made sure the safety was off, and that it was loaded with one of the few precious remaining bullets. He slung it over one arm and ran over to near the ATVs.
He ripped away the tarp covering several large red barrels he'd spied earlier. He unhooked the bungee cord holding them all down and gingerly laid one barrel on its side. Noting the sloshing contents, he rolled it a few feet away with his hands and aimed it at the door, bracing it with his foot.
As if on cue, the last bracket snapped. The Machine Shop door crashed to the floor with a thunderous boom, and a half dozen zeds flopped in under the pressure of the crowd pressing from behind. They snarled, grasping for the prey they'd chased into the building.
T.Rex shoved the barrel with his foot and sent it rolling across the Machine Shop floor. It careened over the concrete floor and collided with a pair of zeds, knocking them back into the first wave of zombies coming through the door.
In one smooth motion, T.Rex unslung the rifle and brought it against his shoulder. He glanced through the sights past several zed legs until he zeroed in on his target.
Squeezing the trigger, he sent a single bullet flying across the Machine Shop at the round red barrel...
Current Word Count: 35,422
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Chapter 25 - Keys to Victory
June 14th, 2008
1:18am
Machine Shop Entrance Ramp
Peace fumbled with the keys, trying desperately to find a match for the dual locks keeping them from the Purdue Machine Shop. T.Rex, Rubble, Kamikaze, Cowboy, and Beard stood guard at the top of the ramp, ready to try and defend the entrance from the approaching horde. An occasional clatter sounded from the door, reminding the Fools of Angel Hair's efforts inside the darkened building to find something to get them inside.
"Go ahead and ready the ranged weapons," Beard called out, a half a second before Peace mentioned them.
This sent T.Rex's mind racing. With the exception of Rubble's bow, the firearms at their disposal would make a significantly larger amount of noise than the screaming or combat of late had. This would of course attract even more zombies to their position.
Moreover, ammo was incredibly scarce. The bow had the least amount of ammunition, then the pistol, then the rifle. Each weapon had a maximum and effective range, depending on which Fool was firing. The pistol had the shortest overall range, then the bow, and then the rifle. In a sense, the firing rate, range, total ammo count, and noise gave each bullet or arrow a "value" that needed to be considered for them to effectively manage their weapons.
Ryan rapidly considered the likely outcomes, very unhappy with the turn their rescue had taken.
Option one: we unload everything we have on these guys in front of us and somehow get into the Machine Shop. Having cut into their numbers, we take out the rest of the zeds with our melee weapons. Then we escape and press on. Later, sometime when we really need a gun, we don't have enough ammo, and we all die.
Option two: we squeeze off a few rounds here but conserve ammo, and barely dent the numbers. We somehow get into the Machine Shop, exhaust ourselves fighting the horde close up and get trapped in the building, and we all die.
Option three: we never make it into the Machine Shop. We pull Angel Hair out and try to fight our way through the crowd. We take out a respectable number of zeds...before we all die.
Ryan's mind screamed at him to save each precious bullet. He couldn't shake the feeling that they would very much need the ammo later at some crucial moment. His heart, however, said rather convincingly that maybe dying later was much better than probably dying now. Even probably dying later was better than probably dying now.
The zeds drew nearer. "Fire when ready! Make every shot count!" T.Rex commanded, drawing his neighbor's hunting rifle from the case. "Go for the closest, obviously, but if you can, hit the bigger ones. If the ammo runs out we want to fight the smaller ones!"
Beard took careful aim, legs spread shoulder width apart. The closest zed to his side of the ramp was about 45 feet away and closing, staggering from around the West side of the building. It was a beefy figure with a ripped polo shirt and chunks of short hair missing. Rubble, facing the opposite side, nocked an arrow and drew back the bowstring with massive arms, searching for his own target.
With a two handed grip and arms pointed straight out, Beard fired the first shot and drilled the frat looking character in the skull. It immediately dropped to the ground, tripping another zombie in the process. Beard grimaced and took aim once more, firing with calculated malice. He dropped a female zed, destroying the enormous sunglasses stuck on its face in the process. He aimed. Fired again. A large black zed absorbed the bullet and slowed, but continued. Beard fired once more with a snarl, and the hulking beast slumped forward.
Meanwhile, Rubble's first arrow leaped into night with a twang of bowstring. The zeds were so close, the arrow flew nearly horizontal. The fletching made it easy to track, and it embedded into the chest of a skinny zed with a solid thump. Cursing, Rubble adjusted his aim and readied a fresh arrow, sending it flying. When it connected with the eye socket, half of the arrow disappeared into the zed's skull.
A jingle of keys behind them joined Peace's triumphant cry. "The keys worked!" he yelled, before lowering his voice slightly. "Sort of."
"What do you mean, 'sort of?'" Cowboy said, readying another molotov.
Peace talked almost too fast to understand. "The keys Angel Hair found worked on one of the locks. It opened the internal lock, the one that braces the door against the frame. There's still another heavy grade padlock keeping the door anchored to the ground, there at the bottom," he said, pointing.
"Can we break it?" Kamikaze asked, studying the obstruction. The aluminum door was anchored to a brace in the ground with a thick chain.
Ryan passed his loaded rifle to a surprised Kamikaze. He trusted her marksmanship, having witnessed firsthand her accuracy visiting her farm the previous summer. "Hold them off! I'm going in with Angel Hair to find something to fix this."
Leaving the rest of the Fools to deal with the horde, T.Rex climbed headfirst into the oval hole in the Machine Shop door. He trusted the group implicitly; he was also glad his size was a help for once, and not a hindrance. As Ryan wriggled through the door he flailed his arms, reaching out for something to grab onto.
There was nothing, and Ryan flopped onto the floor. His eyes struggled to adjust to the dim light of the workshop, and when Angel Hair's flashlight beam crossed over his face it only made things worse. The moans of the undead trickled into the Machine Shop.
"Hey T.Rex," Angel Hair greeted, in his normal laid-back tone. It was as if nothing was amiss.
A series of rapid pistol shots sounded just a few feet away and echoed inside the shop. "Whaddya got for me?" T.Rex asked, hopeful but expecting bad news.
The crack of a rifle sounded, and some muffled Fools cheered. "I need your help moving something heavy," Angel Hair said. "I think there's something behind it that can help us unlock the door." He waved his light towards the rear of the room. "Watch for the tables there," he pointed with the beam, "and there."
Together they hustled to the back of the room. A large box labeled "Warehouse A" blocked a tall blue cabinet. Angel Hair rested the beaming flashlight on a nearby workbench to illuminate the area. "This is surprisingly heavy," Angel Hair warned as he put his shoulder against the box.
Another crack of the rifle sounded and Ryan rushed to join his fellow Fool. Together they heaved, slowly inching the box aside. It scraped across the floor loudly, obscuring for a few moments the sounds of battle just outside.
Box aside, Angel Hair and T.Rex sized up the cabinet. It looked like a gigantic 50's refrigerator, with smooth edges and faded paint. Angel Hair tried the handle and it gave slightly before squeaking.
The doors flew open, exposing the contents to the beam of flashlight. Inside the cabinet hung over two thousand keys of varying shapes, colors, and sizes.
Current Word Count: 33,069
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Chapter 24 - Trapped
June 14th, 2008
1:04am
Horticulture Drive
T.Rex had an uneasy feeling. It was a combination of thoughts collecting in the back of his mind: the narrow escapes at the shed and in the greenhouse, almost losing Beard, twice he'd screwed up and gotten himself into close calls, and on top of that the doubt and fear of Jenny's fate now weighed even more prevalent on his mind. It was hot and sticky out, and he nervously shifted his grip on the crowbar to a new, cool section of metal.
As the group ran into the night, they crossed a strangely empty parking lot. Parking on campus was normally such a valued commodity, especially lots that held A, B, or C spots - like the one beneath their feet. Still, the prevalence of automobiles was still evident around the Fools, and Ryan paused behind a mammoth black SUV near the edge of the lot and gathered the group behind him.
T.Rex was getting used to this pattern. Run, fuck up some zeds, hold, scan, repeat. He gazed across South University Drive for trouble. Moans and growls sounded nearby, but that no longer held much information except to remind them that they were in the thick of zed country. Still, something felt even less right than normal, and the darkness around them obfuscated things. I don't remember that set of buildings having very many bushes in front of them, he thought, staring across the lot at the Food Services buildings. Shitty park job on that bus, too-
A horrifying scream broke out above the Fools, slightly muffled. The Fools, completely caught off guard, screamed back more or less in unison, unsure of what was happening.
"Guys. Guys! GUYS!" Kamikaze yelled over the rest of the Fools, the first to recognize the situation for what it was. "It's a zombie trapped in the car. Let's get moving."
The rest of the group looked around sheepishly. Worse, it dawned on them that the group scream only drew more attention to their position.
Wait. Bus? T.Rex was confused. And now the bushes are different. "Alright, guys, let's move out again," he said without conviction.
Seven Fools jogged across the parking lot, and across South University Drive. As the ABE came into view, so did the massive horde of zeds. A crowd of snarling creatures slowly marched towards the group, mismatched in step but united in feral determination. Together, the creatures formed an enormous mass that spilled over both sides of the Main Service Building nearby.
As soon as this threat was in focus, Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. Rubble and Angel Hair ran into him and nearly knocked him over before T.Rex signaled for the group to hold. Together, they stared at the army of darkness before them.
Ryan quickly considered their options, knowing that each fraction of a second of indecision was costing them ground to the advancing zeds. Behind them--East--was a trail of destruction and a stream of agitated zombies following them. To the South was a lake, separating them from the Wade Power Plant. To the West--directly ahead--was part of a horde of agitated zombies, split by the Service Building. To the North was an even bigger horde of zombies.
"We're pooched," T.Rex muttered under his breath. Beard took the initiative and gathered the Fools into a defensive posture in the grass around them. They anxiously awaited orders from the former Captain.
T.Rex's mind raced. Water is a universally bad idea- we'll tire ourselves out and lose our equipment trying to stay afloat, plus we have no way of knowing how zombies will react. Most likely the zeds would sink to the bottom of the lake but continue after us without slowing, without rest. This pits their greatest strength against our very human tendency to get tired. Heading North makes no sense because we'd have to fight through the largest zed force before making it to the main portion of campus. That's the last thing we need, because main campus is a defensive nightmare, not to mention swarming with zeds. Probably.
An ultimatum was quickly forming in his head. Basically it boils down to two choices. Straight ahead and fight through the zeds...or back where we came from. And fight through zeds.
He wasn't keen on the thought of turning tail and giving up, having pissed off countless zeds just to run back to the apartment and hide. Really, though, the decision was made the moment they'd climbed down from the roof.
T.Rex gritted his teeth and adjusted the grip on his crowbar. Jenny is that direction, and so that's the way we're going. But first, we thin out the crowd a bit.
Ryan knew attacking the group of zeds head on was foolish. With the crowd of zeds coming from the bus, the ones following them, and the other random ones nearby, he estimated they were outnumbered approximately 40 to 1. Their only chance of survival was to funnel them and figure out a way to escape the trap they found themselves in, and to avoid being surrounded.
"Fools," he said to the group with forceful conviction, "we head for the Machine Shop and make our stand. MOVE!"
The order was carried out without denying, like an improv show in full swing. Shifting to an attack/move formation, Beard led the group to the smaller building nearby.
The Purdue Machine Shop was a squat rectangular building located near the South end of campus, nestled amongst the Service Buildings. A distinctive yellow I-beam stuck out of the side of the building, supporting a crane unit that hovered over a cavernous loading dock. Next to the dock was a large garage-style door with two clear oval portholes, guarding an entrance connected to the parking lot by way of a large concrete ramp. Beyond this the only features of the building were a handful of small windows, situated for ventilation high above ground level, and a partially rusted sheet metal roof.
Differences between the two groups was evident right away. The Fools sprinted across the lot and up the ramp leading to the Machine Shop entrance. The zeds nearby continued to stagger forward at the same pace, seemingly unaffected by the burst of energy displayed by their prey.
The Fools gathered in front of the garage door to the Machine Shop. "Peace!" Ryan called out, keeping an eye on the advancing zeds. "Lock check. The rest of you, weapons check."
Peace's reply was swift and discouraging. "Looks bad, sir - dual industrial locks. I might could pick 'em, if I had other tools and an hour."
"Wait," Ryan said "I thought you brought all your stuff. What other tools would you need?"
"Uh, a gun? Dynamite? Some sort of plastic explosives?"
Ryan whirled around and faced Angel Hair, the thinnest Fool. "I'm gonna make you a hole," he said urgently, gesturing towards the clear plastic with his crowbar. "I need you to wriggle in there and get that door open, no matter what. We'll hold 'em off. Got it?"
Angel Hair nodded. Ryan yelled and swung the curved end of the crowbar at the plexiglass repeatedly, chipping away at the edge with furious strokes. When a large enough crack opened, he wedged the crowbar in and braced against the door with his leg. He took a deep breath and wrenched the tool backwards, the muscles in his arm straining as the plastic piece resisted.
"You stupid...sonofbitch piece of plastic!" he grunted. The other Fools lent their hands and together they covered the entire length of the crowbar. With a deafening pop, the plastic separated from the door and shot out, sliding down the ramp and settling at the bottom.
As Angel Hair dove in, Rubble shouted to him "Watch out for zeds in there!" as a warning.
The rest of the Fools turned to face the slowly advancing wave of zombies. "What now?" said Kamikaze.
T.Rex pointed at Cowboy and Beard. "Molotov."
Grinning, the two gingerly removed the large bottle of alcohol from Beard's pack and poured a generous amount into a separate container they'd saved. Rubble produced a strip of cloth saved from a garment they no longer needed and stuffed it into the top of the bottle.
"May I?" Cowboy asked eagerly. Beard merely gestured towards their foes, head bowed slightly. Gripping the bottle, Cowboy cocked his arm back and held it in place. Beard produced a lighter and made sure everybody was back before giving it a light, then tapped Cowboy on the shoulder as he stepped away.
Cowboy took aim and heaved the bottle through the air. Like a magnificent firework, the lit bottle arced through the air before smacking onto the pavement just a few inches in front of the lead zeds. An enormous fireball erupted and spread to several zombies, making an audible sizzle as the necrotic flesh began to burn.
"Huzzah!" six Fools cried in unison, fists raised into the air. "Nice shot!" Kamikaze congratulated, echoing the sentiments of the Fools around them.
By now, more zeds from the North had wrapped around the building and added to the giant crowd of creatures bearing down on the Fools. The fire attack was a sorely needed morale boost, but they all knew the zombies would not be stopped so easily.
Beard poked his head into the hole made in the door. "How's that door coming, Angel Hair?"
A large keyring with a dozen or so keys flew out of the hole and landed at the group's feet. "Try those! I'll keep looking, though!" came Angel Hair's voice, made quieter by the apparent size of the room he was in. Occasionally a beam of light flickered in the darkness as Angel Hair searched the Machine Shop for an answer.
"Peace, do it," T.Rex ordered, but by then Peace was already trying the second key in the locks.
"Do you want us to wade out and start pickin' off stragglers?" Cowboy said, gripping his baseball bat tightly.
"No! Do not engage." T.Rex commanded. "With the number out there, we're liable to get surrounded and tired out way too quickly."
Beard took a few practice swipes at the darkness with his hatchet. "We'll stay on the elevated ramp and hold them as long as we can. We have to buy Angel Hair time with everything we have, because if he can't get this door open, only T.Rex is small enough to fit through that hole."
Current Word Count: 31,819
1:04am
Horticulture Drive
T.Rex had an uneasy feeling. It was a combination of thoughts collecting in the back of his mind: the narrow escapes at the shed and in the greenhouse, almost losing Beard, twice he'd screwed up and gotten himself into close calls, and on top of that the doubt and fear of Jenny's fate now weighed even more prevalent on his mind. It was hot and sticky out, and he nervously shifted his grip on the crowbar to a new, cool section of metal.
As the group ran into the night, they crossed a strangely empty parking lot. Parking on campus was normally such a valued commodity, especially lots that held A, B, or C spots - like the one beneath their feet. Still, the prevalence of automobiles was still evident around the Fools, and Ryan paused behind a mammoth black SUV near the edge of the lot and gathered the group behind him.
T.Rex was getting used to this pattern. Run, fuck up some zeds, hold, scan, repeat. He gazed across South University Drive for trouble. Moans and growls sounded nearby, but that no longer held much information except to remind them that they were in the thick of zed country. Still, something felt even less right than normal, and the darkness around them obfuscated things. I don't remember that set of buildings having very many bushes in front of them, he thought, staring across the lot at the Food Services buildings. Shitty park job on that bus, too-
A horrifying scream broke out above the Fools, slightly muffled. The Fools, completely caught off guard, screamed back more or less in unison, unsure of what was happening.
"Guys. Guys! GUYS!" Kamikaze yelled over the rest of the Fools, the first to recognize the situation for what it was. "It's a zombie trapped in the car. Let's get moving."
The rest of the group looked around sheepishly. Worse, it dawned on them that the group scream only drew more attention to their position.
Wait. Bus? T.Rex was confused. And now the bushes are different. "Alright, guys, let's move out again," he said without conviction.
Seven Fools jogged across the parking lot, and across South University Drive. As the ABE came into view, so did the massive horde of zeds. A crowd of snarling creatures slowly marched towards the group, mismatched in step but united in feral determination. Together, the creatures formed an enormous mass that spilled over both sides of the Main Service Building nearby.
As soon as this threat was in focus, Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. Rubble and Angel Hair ran into him and nearly knocked him over before T.Rex signaled for the group to hold. Together, they stared at the army of darkness before them.
Ryan quickly considered their options, knowing that each fraction of a second of indecision was costing them ground to the advancing zeds. Behind them--East--was a trail of destruction and a stream of agitated zombies following them. To the South was a lake, separating them from the Wade Power Plant. To the West--directly ahead--was part of a horde of agitated zombies, split by the Service Building. To the North was an even bigger horde of zombies.
"We're pooched," T.Rex muttered under his breath. Beard took the initiative and gathered the Fools into a defensive posture in the grass around them. They anxiously awaited orders from the former Captain.
T.Rex's mind raced. Water is a universally bad idea- we'll tire ourselves out and lose our equipment trying to stay afloat, plus we have no way of knowing how zombies will react. Most likely the zeds would sink to the bottom of the lake but continue after us without slowing, without rest. This pits their greatest strength against our very human tendency to get tired. Heading North makes no sense because we'd have to fight through the largest zed force before making it to the main portion of campus. That's the last thing we need, because main campus is a defensive nightmare, not to mention swarming with zeds. Probably.
An ultimatum was quickly forming in his head. Basically it boils down to two choices. Straight ahead and fight through the zeds...or back where we came from. And fight through zeds.
He wasn't keen on the thought of turning tail and giving up, having pissed off countless zeds just to run back to the apartment and hide. Really, though, the decision was made the moment they'd climbed down from the roof.
T.Rex gritted his teeth and adjusted the grip on his crowbar. Jenny is that direction, and so that's the way we're going. But first, we thin out the crowd a bit.
Ryan knew attacking the group of zeds head on was foolish. With the crowd of zeds coming from the bus, the ones following them, and the other random ones nearby, he estimated they were outnumbered approximately 40 to 1. Their only chance of survival was to funnel them and figure out a way to escape the trap they found themselves in, and to avoid being surrounded.
"Fools," he said to the group with forceful conviction, "we head for the Machine Shop and make our stand. MOVE!"
The order was carried out without denying, like an improv show in full swing. Shifting to an attack/move formation, Beard led the group to the smaller building nearby.
The Purdue Machine Shop was a squat rectangular building located near the South end of campus, nestled amongst the Service Buildings. A distinctive yellow I-beam stuck out of the side of the building, supporting a crane unit that hovered over a cavernous loading dock. Next to the dock was a large garage-style door with two clear oval portholes, guarding an entrance connected to the parking lot by way of a large concrete ramp. Beyond this the only features of the building were a handful of small windows, situated for ventilation high above ground level, and a partially rusted sheet metal roof.
Differences between the two groups was evident right away. The Fools sprinted across the lot and up the ramp leading to the Machine Shop entrance. The zeds nearby continued to stagger forward at the same pace, seemingly unaffected by the burst of energy displayed by their prey.
The Fools gathered in front of the garage door to the Machine Shop. "Peace!" Ryan called out, keeping an eye on the advancing zeds. "Lock check. The rest of you, weapons check."
Peace's reply was swift and discouraging. "Looks bad, sir - dual industrial locks. I might could pick 'em, if I had other tools and an hour."
"Wait," Ryan said "I thought you brought all your stuff. What other tools would you need?"
"Uh, a gun? Dynamite? Some sort of plastic explosives?"
Ryan whirled around and faced Angel Hair, the thinnest Fool. "I'm gonna make you a hole," he said urgently, gesturing towards the clear plastic with his crowbar. "I need you to wriggle in there and get that door open, no matter what. We'll hold 'em off. Got it?"
Angel Hair nodded. Ryan yelled and swung the curved end of the crowbar at the plexiglass repeatedly, chipping away at the edge with furious strokes. When a large enough crack opened, he wedged the crowbar in and braced against the door with his leg. He took a deep breath and wrenched the tool backwards, the muscles in his arm straining as the plastic piece resisted.
"You stupid...sonofbitch piece of plastic!" he grunted. The other Fools lent their hands and together they covered the entire length of the crowbar. With a deafening pop, the plastic separated from the door and shot out, sliding down the ramp and settling at the bottom.
As Angel Hair dove in, Rubble shouted to him "Watch out for zeds in there!" as a warning.
The rest of the Fools turned to face the slowly advancing wave of zombies. "What now?" said Kamikaze.
T.Rex pointed at Cowboy and Beard. "Molotov."
Grinning, the two gingerly removed the large bottle of alcohol from Beard's pack and poured a generous amount into a separate container they'd saved. Rubble produced a strip of cloth saved from a garment they no longer needed and stuffed it into the top of the bottle.
"May I?" Cowboy asked eagerly. Beard merely gestured towards their foes, head bowed slightly. Gripping the bottle, Cowboy cocked his arm back and held it in place. Beard produced a lighter and made sure everybody was back before giving it a light, then tapped Cowboy on the shoulder as he stepped away.
Cowboy took aim and heaved the bottle through the air. Like a magnificent firework, the lit bottle arced through the air before smacking onto the pavement just a few inches in front of the lead zeds. An enormous fireball erupted and spread to several zombies, making an audible sizzle as the necrotic flesh began to burn.
"Huzzah!" six Fools cried in unison, fists raised into the air. "Nice shot!" Kamikaze congratulated, echoing the sentiments of the Fools around them.
By now, more zeds from the North had wrapped around the building and added to the giant crowd of creatures bearing down on the Fools. The fire attack was a sorely needed morale boost, but they all knew the zombies would not be stopped so easily.
Beard poked his head into the hole made in the door. "How's that door coming, Angel Hair?"
A large keyring with a dozen or so keys flew out of the hole and landed at the group's feet. "Try those! I'll keep looking, though!" came Angel Hair's voice, made quieter by the apparent size of the room he was in. Occasionally a beam of light flickered in the darkness as Angel Hair searched the Machine Shop for an answer.
"Peace, do it," T.Rex ordered, but by then Peace was already trying the second key in the locks.
"Do you want us to wade out and start pickin' off stragglers?" Cowboy said, gripping his baseball bat tightly.
"No! Do not engage." T.Rex commanded. "With the number out there, we're liable to get surrounded and tired out way too quickly."
Beard took a few practice swipes at the darkness with his hatchet. "We'll stay on the elevated ramp and hold them as long as we can. We have to buy Angel Hair time with everything we have, because if he can't get this door open, only T.Rex is small enough to fit through that hole."
Current Word Count: 31,819
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Chapter 23 - Little Shop of Horrors
June 14th, 2008
12:33am
Marsteller Street
Beard was missing.
Everybody looked around in nervous disbelief. Beard was considered to be one of the strongest and most capable combatants amongst them, not to mention his formidable survivalist skills. Nobody dared to imagine losing his talents. Fighting back panic, Ryan treated the situation calmly, like a misplaced set of keys. "Where was the last place anybody saw him?" he asked, nervously.
There were several shrugs and nervous glances. "He was right behind me as we ran through the apartment complex," Angel Hair offered.
As if on cue, a muffled grunt marked the return of Beard to the group. He stumbled backwards from around the corner of the apartment, his hatchet lined with gore. "We, uh, need to get going right now," he said nervously.
"Fools!" Ryan commanded "Form up on me, and let's get moving."
With a quick glance around the corner, T.Rex led the Fools between another pair of apartments and across the street. A pair of zeds noticed from the corner of Marsteller and Harrison. With a snarl, they staggered after the group.
Ryan jogged over to the greenhouse facilities behind the Horticulture Building. Ducking between two of the first units, he crouched and signaled for the group to hold. He noted in his head each Fool as they rounded the corner, now paranoid of losing one of his friends.
Five, aaaaand six, he counted as Beard joined them. "Alright, our next objective is Discovery Park. Everybody good?" He noticed his own breath was short as the Fools nodded affirmative.
T.Rex signaled once more, and they stood in unison. Zig-zagging through the greenhouses, they noticed a significant amount of broken glass. This was but a small sample of the destruction around campus. Without power, each greenhouse was a darkened maze of vines and foliage. The dim moonlight cast odd shadows and made the benign flowers look menacing.
The group reached a dead end in the heart of the greenhouse block. Must've gotten turned around in the darkness, Ryan scolded himself. Pausing for a moment, he surveyed the area through the clear buildings around him. He could see a few zeds about 30 feet away struggling to reach them, shuffling in place against a pane of glass. I hope they get confused seeing us, but not really able to reach us, he thought, grinning.
The furthest zombie on the right pounded on the glass in primal frustration. The other two joined in, and a crack appeared at the corner. It quickly spread into a crystal spiderweb before the entire pane shattered, sprinkling the zombies with razor sharp fragments. Free of restriction, they continued to march towards the Fools coated in glass.
Ryan's smile quickly faded. Fuck. Well, two can play at that game.
There was a moment of hesitation. Ryan always strove to set a good example, and wanton property destruction wasn't really a great way to do that. Still, they were boxed in with no place to go. He flicked his wrist and shattered the closest pane of glass with his crowbar. "Oh look," he said in mock surprise. "An exit."
Taking care to avoid the glass shards, they squeezed into the greenhouse single file. "I can barely see through this jungle!" said Kamikaze.
Beard was stoic. "Stay sharp, people."
"Ack!" Cowboy cried out. "My pack is caught!" As he struggled, the sounds of rustling leaves mixed with the wind rushing through the broken glass. The two nearest Fools tried to help untangle him.
Angel Hair's nimble fingers went to work. "Quit struggling for a second, Cowboy. Your strap is caught on a thorny vine. Can somebody grab a flashlight?"
"Got it," Kamikaze replied.
There was silence as the group waited to clear the snag. An eerie blanket of tranquility drifted into the greenhouse. After a moment, it was broken by an odd, faint noise.
Scritch.
Scritch scritch.
"Uh, hurry up with that strap," Peace said. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
Scritch. Scritch.
A small zombie emerged from beneath a table of potted plants, a victim of previous attacks. Both of its legs were broken, so it crawled with determination It gargled menacingly, attempting to moan with damaged vocal cords. It was only after it had latched onto Cowboy's shin that the group determined the cause of the strange noises.
"Get it off me, man!" Cowboy yelled, arms flailing. The dark, close confines of the greenhouse made it difficult to see or even move. "It's got my leg!"
Kamikaze's response was both swift and decisive. "Hold still!" she said through clenched teeth, trying to find the zed at their feet. A bright beam of light appeared from the flashlight in her left hand. A solid thunk removed the zed's hand at the wrist, courtesy of the machete in her right. Pushing Cowboy away from the danger, she raised a her boot into the air and gave the zombie's skull one solid stomp. Cowboy shook his leg violently until the dead hand flew off.
Nobody moved, including the zed. "Is...is it dead?" Cowboy asked, nervously.
Kamikaze gave the zed a quick once over with her flashlight. "Looks like it. Get that strap fixed and let's get moving!"
"Make sure you kill the flashlight soon - it's probably attracting more attention," Angel Hair wisely pointed out. Kamikaze checked Cowboy's leg for damage. There was none, so she turned off the light.
With another flick of the wrist, Ryan "found" another exit on the other side of the greenhouse and led the group out into the night. In front of them, less than 400 feet away, was the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Building. On Service Drive, located between that building and the Fools, was an overturned bus.
---
The group had no way of knowing that several days prior, that charter bus filled to capacity with Purdue students had attempted to return to campus. While on a field trip to a pricey research facility, a series of strange and confusing messages had assaulted the researcher's mobile devices. Cutting short the trip meant risking a sizeable grant, so by the time scientists finally decided to return tensions ran high as they drove through the night.
Nearly home, the bus driver narrowly avoided flattening a rogue figure in the middle of Service Drive that night. He had slammed on the brakes and swerved, but in doing so lost control of the bus and crashed it into a railing. The bus groaned as it leaned onto the railing, before finally turning on its side as the passengers screamed. Miraculously, nobody was seriously injured in the accident at first.
The ragged figure responsible for the bus driver's maneuver was an infected professor. He found his way aboard the capsized vehicle and found a host of panicked and trapped bodies. It was a feeding frenzy. The resulting carnage had drawn creatures from all over campus.
---
Presently, over two hundred zombies heard the sounds of breaking glass, and went to investigate.
Current Word Count: 30,073
12:33am
Marsteller Street
Beard was missing.
Everybody looked around in nervous disbelief. Beard was considered to be one of the strongest and most capable combatants amongst them, not to mention his formidable survivalist skills. Nobody dared to imagine losing his talents. Fighting back panic, Ryan treated the situation calmly, like a misplaced set of keys. "Where was the last place anybody saw him?" he asked, nervously.
There were several shrugs and nervous glances. "He was right behind me as we ran through the apartment complex," Angel Hair offered.
As if on cue, a muffled grunt marked the return of Beard to the group. He stumbled backwards from around the corner of the apartment, his hatchet lined with gore. "We, uh, need to get going right now," he said nervously.
"Fools!" Ryan commanded "Form up on me, and let's get moving."
With a quick glance around the corner, T.Rex led the Fools between another pair of apartments and across the street. A pair of zeds noticed from the corner of Marsteller and Harrison. With a snarl, they staggered after the group.
Ryan jogged over to the greenhouse facilities behind the Horticulture Building. Ducking between two of the first units, he crouched and signaled for the group to hold. He noted in his head each Fool as they rounded the corner, now paranoid of losing one of his friends.
Five, aaaaand six, he counted as Beard joined them. "Alright, our next objective is Discovery Park. Everybody good?" He noticed his own breath was short as the Fools nodded affirmative.
T.Rex signaled once more, and they stood in unison. Zig-zagging through the greenhouses, they noticed a significant amount of broken glass. This was but a small sample of the destruction around campus. Without power, each greenhouse was a darkened maze of vines and foliage. The dim moonlight cast odd shadows and made the benign flowers look menacing.
The group reached a dead end in the heart of the greenhouse block. Must've gotten turned around in the darkness, Ryan scolded himself. Pausing for a moment, he surveyed the area through the clear buildings around him. He could see a few zeds about 30 feet away struggling to reach them, shuffling in place against a pane of glass. I hope they get confused seeing us, but not really able to reach us, he thought, grinning.
The furthest zombie on the right pounded on the glass in primal frustration. The other two joined in, and a crack appeared at the corner. It quickly spread into a crystal spiderweb before the entire pane shattered, sprinkling the zombies with razor sharp fragments. Free of restriction, they continued to march towards the Fools coated in glass.
Ryan's smile quickly faded. Fuck. Well, two can play at that game.
There was a moment of hesitation. Ryan always strove to set a good example, and wanton property destruction wasn't really a great way to do that. Still, they were boxed in with no place to go. He flicked his wrist and shattered the closest pane of glass with his crowbar. "Oh look," he said in mock surprise. "An exit."
Taking care to avoid the glass shards, they squeezed into the greenhouse single file. "I can barely see through this jungle!" said Kamikaze.
Beard was stoic. "Stay sharp, people."
"Ack!" Cowboy cried out. "My pack is caught!" As he struggled, the sounds of rustling leaves mixed with the wind rushing through the broken glass. The two nearest Fools tried to help untangle him.
Angel Hair's nimble fingers went to work. "Quit struggling for a second, Cowboy. Your strap is caught on a thorny vine. Can somebody grab a flashlight?"
"Got it," Kamikaze replied.
There was silence as the group waited to clear the snag. An eerie blanket of tranquility drifted into the greenhouse. After a moment, it was broken by an odd, faint noise.
Scritch.
Scritch scritch.
"Uh, hurry up with that strap," Peace said. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
Scritch. Scritch.
A small zombie emerged from beneath a table of potted plants, a victim of previous attacks. Both of its legs were broken, so it crawled with determination It gargled menacingly, attempting to moan with damaged vocal cords. It was only after it had latched onto Cowboy's shin that the group determined the cause of the strange noises.
"Get it off me, man!" Cowboy yelled, arms flailing. The dark, close confines of the greenhouse made it difficult to see or even move. "It's got my leg!"
Kamikaze's response was both swift and decisive. "Hold still!" she said through clenched teeth, trying to find the zed at their feet. A bright beam of light appeared from the flashlight in her left hand. A solid thunk removed the zed's hand at the wrist, courtesy of the machete in her right. Pushing Cowboy away from the danger, she raised a her boot into the air and gave the zombie's skull one solid stomp. Cowboy shook his leg violently until the dead hand flew off.
Nobody moved, including the zed. "Is...is it dead?" Cowboy asked, nervously.
Kamikaze gave the zed a quick once over with her flashlight. "Looks like it. Get that strap fixed and let's get moving!"
"Make sure you kill the flashlight soon - it's probably attracting more attention," Angel Hair wisely pointed out. Kamikaze checked Cowboy's leg for damage. There was none, so she turned off the light.
With another flick of the wrist, Ryan "found" another exit on the other side of the greenhouse and led the group out into the night. In front of them, less than 400 feet away, was the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Building. On Service Drive, located between that building and the Fools, was an overturned bus.
---
The group had no way of knowing that several days prior, that charter bus filled to capacity with Purdue students had attempted to return to campus. While on a field trip to a pricey research facility, a series of strange and confusing messages had assaulted the researcher's mobile devices. Cutting short the trip meant risking a sizeable grant, so by the time scientists finally decided to return tensions ran high as they drove through the night.
Nearly home, the bus driver narrowly avoided flattening a rogue figure in the middle of Service Drive that night. He had slammed on the brakes and swerved, but in doing so lost control of the bus and crashed it into a railing. The bus groaned as it leaned onto the railing, before finally turning on its side as the passengers screamed. Miraculously, nobody was seriously injured in the accident at first.
The ragged figure responsible for the bus driver's maneuver was an infected professor. He found his way aboard the capsized vehicle and found a host of panicked and trapped bodies. It was a feeding frenzy. The resulting carnage had drawn creatures from all over campus.
---
Presently, over two hundred zombies heard the sounds of breaking glass, and went to investigate.
Current Word Count: 30,073
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Chapter 22 - Straggler
June 14th, 2008
12:16am
Rear Apartment Alley
The night air was warm and wildlife could faintly be heard in the distance. The dominant noise, however, was the irregular moans and shuffles of zombies, close by. Accompanying such sounds was a horrible stink which hung on the humid breezes.
Standing in the dark alley, the Fools stared expectantly at their leader. He took one deep breath and began speaking in soft voice.
"Everybody pay attention. We're gonna take this one step at a time, and work as a team. Our first landmark is the greenhouses. That's two full blocks directly west of here, running parallel to Harrison Street. We'll stay off Harrison for now, cutting through backyards and parking lots. You guys know I've lived here for two years, and I know the entire area really well, so stick close to me.
"I need you all to be my eyes and ears. I'm gonna concentrate on navigating and trying to avoid what I can, but I can't watch all around. Don't yell. Just tell me what you see, and work together. If I hold up my fist, that's me telling you all to hold. For now, melee weapons unless the shit hits the fan. I'm gonna try to keep a brisk walking pace, so we don't tire out or make too much noise. Don't let yourself get behind - just tell me to slow up, okay?"
The group nodded. "Good," he said. "Now follow me."
T.Rex walked a half dozen steps along the backside of the apartment, staring intently at a row of shrubs that lined a wooden fence. The foliage looked uniform in the darkness. He paused a moment before shoving one aside, revealing a large gap in the lower portion of the fence. Ducking, he scooted through and glanced around the clearing on the other side, waiting for Peace to follow. Then Cowboy. Then Kamikaze, Angel Hair, Rubble, and finally Beard.
Ryan hoped by keeping the group focused on a single goal at a time, they would avoid worrying about the larger picture. They huddled against the aluminum siding of the apartment complex directly behind their former fortress and waited as T.Rex stared down South Grant Street.
Nobody moved as he stood, immobile. Skirting through the bushes was one thing, but they were about to poke a hornet's nest. He now could see down the entire block and saw a number of shadowy figures, some just yards away. Sprinting was sure to draw their attention, but they had to cross somehow, and dragging it out surely wouldn't help either. Looking across, there were two large buildings straddling a largely empty gravel lot. There was a rustle in the bushes nearby, and he started to get nervous.
He contemplated running directly through the lot, or perhaps trying to hug the walls of the complex. The left one has more shadows, which could hold more zeds, he debated. And the cars don't look moved at all, so they're not likely to hold any trapped people. The right building is bigger, though, so it probably has more people. There was more rustling, and Ryan began to perspire. Maybe it would be better if we moved north a bit, he argued to himself. There may be a better place to cross, even though we'd be moving closer to campus. No, better to stick to the plan and-
"T.Rex!" Kamikaze hissed. Ryan snapped out his mental debate and realized the group was waiting on him. "On three!" he impulsively whispered to the group.
"One. Two. Three!" He sprinted a few steps excitedly before calming down long enough to slow his pace. The group followed in a staggered line, clutching their weapons tightly and constantly turning their heads in all directions. T.Rex stepped off the sidewalk and onto the pavement, nearly stumbling over a sewer grate in a nervous concentration. Staring directly across, he aimed for a spot in the gravel lot close to the right building and refused to think about the number of creatures that were undoubtedly stalking them now. They were committed.
Ryan reached the other side, and stopped at the bumper of a blue pickup truck. He squatted near the right rear tire and peeked around, holding his fist above his head. The rest of the Fools were no more than a few steps behind and squatted in a line against the car to his left.
T.Rex's pulse was racing, and they hadn't even engaged a single foe yet. They haven't even gone more than a few hundred feet. Gravel crunched as three zombies shuffled towards them from the other side of the truck, with no doubt in anyone's mind that more were closing in. There was no time to carefully debate which exact direction they would run to anymore, as precious seconds drifted away.
This is war, T.Rex told himself. We have to get going, because just sitting here is gonna get us all killed as every zed in the county converges on us. "Let's move!" he whispered back as he stood and rounded the fender of the truck.
He nearly ran straight into a zombie. An overweight figure, with wild eyes and blood dripping from its mouth. As Ryan's head turned from giving the command to follow, he saw the creature out of the corner of his eye. He cried out in surprise, and started swing his crowbar wildly. The outstretched arms of the zombie were batted away by the panicked movement.
Peace, who had seen the entire exchange happen from a few feet away, was on the move. He grabbed Ryan's upper forearm with his left hand and held it down, to stop the frantic swinging crowbar. With his right, Peace swung his hatchet in a horizontal sweep and buried it just behind the left ear of Ryan's attacker.
The zombie groaned, and slumped to the ground. Ryan looked at the fallen body, and then Peace. Then back to the zombie, then back to Peace. "Thanks," Ryan sputtered. "Thank you. I didn't...thanks. I just..."
Peace removed the hatchet and pointed west. "Welcome. Let's go."
T.Rex looked back and saw the others had taken down two other zombies, one male and one petite girl. Cowboy's bat was smeared in blood, and Angel Hair's sharpened pool cue had a black ooze on the end. Everybody was panting. He hadn't even noticed the others were fighting in the confusion of his own attack, and hoped nobody had seen his embarrassing exchange. "Keep moving!" he whispered, as two more figures stumbled around the corner of the nearest house.
They took off at a slight jog, moving across the open parking lot and weaving around a red sedan. Beard, covering their rear, confronted a zed that was closing in on the group. It lunged for him, and he kicked squarely in the sternum, knocking it backward. He increased his speed to catch up with the group.
Pausing near a small garden shed, The Fools collected at the far end of the parking lot. T.Rex looked around, trying quickly to find the best place to cross. His hands were shaking, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Just then, the doors of the shed burst open, startling the Fools as two zombies shuffled out. Inside, a freshly mutilated corpse laid on a sack of fertilizer, gripping a shovel. Its torso and skull were torn open, exposing organs. Blood was splattered all over the white walls. The zombies, still chewing, reached for the Fools nearby.
Rubble stood and yelled, swinging the thicker end of his pool cue with full force at the closest zed. There was a wet thwack as the pole connected with the skull, and the zed crumpled against the door. He paused, then quickly spun the cue vertically and brought the base down onto the second one, a glancing blow that nonetheless sent it to the ground.
The entire group stared in awe as Rubble nodded at his handiwork, then turned around. He shrugged, and Ryan called once more to move out.
As the parking lot ended, Sheetz Street came into view, as did more zombies. A small group of zeds noticed, moaning as they started towards the Fools. "Shit!" Ryan called out, and increased his pace. T.Rex led the group towards an apartment complex on the other side of the street that had open air staircases.
The zombies stumbled after them, blindly following the Fools through the gap in the apartment architecture. This achieved Ryan's intended effect of funneling the zeds together behind them, slowing the attack by taking advantage of their simple minds. With an extra burst of speed, the Fools ran away and paused behind yet another building.
"Everybody okay?" T.Rex whispered back, slightly out of breath. All five nodded back, and he snuck forward to peer around the corner of the building in front of them. "I can see the greenhouses, guys!" he whispered back, excitedly.
Wait, he thought. All five? Rubble and Angel Hair, one and two. Kamikaze and Cowboy, three and four. Peace and...
"Where the hell is Beard?" he whispered back to the group.
Current Word Count: 28,903
12:16am
Rear Apartment Alley
The night air was warm and wildlife could faintly be heard in the distance. The dominant noise, however, was the irregular moans and shuffles of zombies, close by. Accompanying such sounds was a horrible stink which hung on the humid breezes.
Standing in the dark alley, the Fools stared expectantly at their leader. He took one deep breath and began speaking in soft voice.
"Everybody pay attention. We're gonna take this one step at a time, and work as a team. Our first landmark is the greenhouses. That's two full blocks directly west of here, running parallel to Harrison Street. We'll stay off Harrison for now, cutting through backyards and parking lots. You guys know I've lived here for two years, and I know the entire area really well, so stick close to me.
"I need you all to be my eyes and ears. I'm gonna concentrate on navigating and trying to avoid what I can, but I can't watch all around. Don't yell. Just tell me what you see, and work together. If I hold up my fist, that's me telling you all to hold. For now, melee weapons unless the shit hits the fan. I'm gonna try to keep a brisk walking pace, so we don't tire out or make too much noise. Don't let yourself get behind - just tell me to slow up, okay?"
The group nodded. "Good," he said. "Now follow me."
T.Rex walked a half dozen steps along the backside of the apartment, staring intently at a row of shrubs that lined a wooden fence. The foliage looked uniform in the darkness. He paused a moment before shoving one aside, revealing a large gap in the lower portion of the fence. Ducking, he scooted through and glanced around the clearing on the other side, waiting for Peace to follow. Then Cowboy. Then Kamikaze, Angel Hair, Rubble, and finally Beard.
Ryan hoped by keeping the group focused on a single goal at a time, they would avoid worrying about the larger picture. They huddled against the aluminum siding of the apartment complex directly behind their former fortress and waited as T.Rex stared down South Grant Street.
Nobody moved as he stood, immobile. Skirting through the bushes was one thing, but they were about to poke a hornet's nest. He now could see down the entire block and saw a number of shadowy figures, some just yards away. Sprinting was sure to draw their attention, but they had to cross somehow, and dragging it out surely wouldn't help either. Looking across, there were two large buildings straddling a largely empty gravel lot. There was a rustle in the bushes nearby, and he started to get nervous.
He contemplated running directly through the lot, or perhaps trying to hug the walls of the complex. The left one has more shadows, which could hold more zeds, he debated. And the cars don't look moved at all, so they're not likely to hold any trapped people. The right building is bigger, though, so it probably has more people. There was more rustling, and Ryan began to perspire. Maybe it would be better if we moved north a bit, he argued to himself. There may be a better place to cross, even though we'd be moving closer to campus. No, better to stick to the plan and-
"T.Rex!" Kamikaze hissed. Ryan snapped out his mental debate and realized the group was waiting on him. "On three!" he impulsively whispered to the group.
"One. Two. Three!" He sprinted a few steps excitedly before calming down long enough to slow his pace. The group followed in a staggered line, clutching their weapons tightly and constantly turning their heads in all directions. T.Rex stepped off the sidewalk and onto the pavement, nearly stumbling over a sewer grate in a nervous concentration. Staring directly across, he aimed for a spot in the gravel lot close to the right building and refused to think about the number of creatures that were undoubtedly stalking them now. They were committed.
Ryan reached the other side, and stopped at the bumper of a blue pickup truck. He squatted near the right rear tire and peeked around, holding his fist above his head. The rest of the Fools were no more than a few steps behind and squatted in a line against the car to his left.
T.Rex's pulse was racing, and they hadn't even engaged a single foe yet. They haven't even gone more than a few hundred feet. Gravel crunched as three zombies shuffled towards them from the other side of the truck, with no doubt in anyone's mind that more were closing in. There was no time to carefully debate which exact direction they would run to anymore, as precious seconds drifted away.
This is war, T.Rex told himself. We have to get going, because just sitting here is gonna get us all killed as every zed in the county converges on us. "Let's move!" he whispered back as he stood and rounded the fender of the truck.
He nearly ran straight into a zombie. An overweight figure, with wild eyes and blood dripping from its mouth. As Ryan's head turned from giving the command to follow, he saw the creature out of the corner of his eye. He cried out in surprise, and started swing his crowbar wildly. The outstretched arms of the zombie were batted away by the panicked movement.
Peace, who had seen the entire exchange happen from a few feet away, was on the move. He grabbed Ryan's upper forearm with his left hand and held it down, to stop the frantic swinging crowbar. With his right, Peace swung his hatchet in a horizontal sweep and buried it just behind the left ear of Ryan's attacker.
The zombie groaned, and slumped to the ground. Ryan looked at the fallen body, and then Peace. Then back to the zombie, then back to Peace. "Thanks," Ryan sputtered. "Thank you. I didn't...thanks. I just..."
Peace removed the hatchet and pointed west. "Welcome. Let's go."
T.Rex looked back and saw the others had taken down two other zombies, one male and one petite girl. Cowboy's bat was smeared in blood, and Angel Hair's sharpened pool cue had a black ooze on the end. Everybody was panting. He hadn't even noticed the others were fighting in the confusion of his own attack, and hoped nobody had seen his embarrassing exchange. "Keep moving!" he whispered, as two more figures stumbled around the corner of the nearest house.
They took off at a slight jog, moving across the open parking lot and weaving around a red sedan. Beard, covering their rear, confronted a zed that was closing in on the group. It lunged for him, and he kicked squarely in the sternum, knocking it backward. He increased his speed to catch up with the group.
Pausing near a small garden shed, The Fools collected at the far end of the parking lot. T.Rex looked around, trying quickly to find the best place to cross. His hands were shaking, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Just then, the doors of the shed burst open, startling the Fools as two zombies shuffled out. Inside, a freshly mutilated corpse laid on a sack of fertilizer, gripping a shovel. Its torso and skull were torn open, exposing organs. Blood was splattered all over the white walls. The zombies, still chewing, reached for the Fools nearby.
Rubble stood and yelled, swinging the thicker end of his pool cue with full force at the closest zed. There was a wet thwack as the pole connected with the skull, and the zed crumpled against the door. He paused, then quickly spun the cue vertically and brought the base down onto the second one, a glancing blow that nonetheless sent it to the ground.
The entire group stared in awe as Rubble nodded at his handiwork, then turned around. He shrugged, and Ryan called once more to move out.
As the parking lot ended, Sheetz Street came into view, as did more zombies. A small group of zeds noticed, moaning as they started towards the Fools. "Shit!" Ryan called out, and increased his pace. T.Rex led the group towards an apartment complex on the other side of the street that had open air staircases.
The zombies stumbled after them, blindly following the Fools through the gap in the apartment architecture. This achieved Ryan's intended effect of funneling the zeds together behind them, slowing the attack by taking advantage of their simple minds. With an extra burst of speed, the Fools ran away and paused behind yet another building.
"Everybody okay?" T.Rex whispered back, slightly out of breath. All five nodded back, and he snuck forward to peer around the corner of the building in front of them. "I can see the greenhouses, guys!" he whispered back, excitedly.
Wait, he thought. All five? Rubble and Angel Hair, one and two. Kamikaze and Cowboy, three and four. Peace and...
"Where the hell is Beard?" he whispered back to the group.
Current Word Count: 28,903
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Chapter 21 - Easy Company
June 14th, 2008
12:04am
Apartment Parking Lot
Acting purely on instinct, Ryan whirled around with his fist curled.
Great, he thought as his weight shifted. One of Purdue's finest climbs from his tower of safety and doesn't even bother to have his weapon ready. I must've gotten distracted by the note and forgot to check the shadows for a lingering zed. Fantastic. His torso had spun and he was about to connect with what he felt was a pretty decent right hook, even if it was useless against a creature that didn't register pain. What an ignominious end. I didn't even make it past the front lawn, like I'm in a shitty Choose Your Own Adventure book. Sorry Jenny...so much for your knight in shining armor.
With little else to do but follow through, Ryan gritted his teeth and hoped for a solid hit. Instead, a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.
Punch deflected, T.Rex looked up and saw one of the Fools clinging to the rope ladder. His wrists now free, he reached for a weapon in his pack. He'd learned his lesson and would not be caught off guard again.
"Beard!" Ryan hissed in the darkness. "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?" he shot back.
"I have to go, okay? Take care of the others!" he whispered, turning away.
"Just come back for a minute, will ya? I want to talk about it!" Beard pleaded.
"It'll be easier if I just go now, okay? I don't want to drag this out. I have to go, now." T.Rex defiantly took a few steps away. Suddenly, a moan resonated from very close by and he leaped from the ground onto the lower portion of the ladder without pausing. "Orrrr we could talk for just a bit, how's that?" He scrambled up the ladder after his friend, still clutching his crowbar as his bravery and resolve started to fade.
Beard disappeared into the apartment as Ryan pulled the rope ladder up onto the balcony. T.Rex adjusted the straps on his backpack before gently easing the door open. "I'm only going to stay a few min-" he started, before dropping his words mid-sentence as he entered the apartment.
In the living room, Beard, Peace, Kamikaze, Cowboy, Angel Hair, and Rubble stood at attention, packs ready.
Ryan paused for several moments, speechless. He stared at the Fools, knowing that moments ago most of them were fast asleep. A few showed faint signs of fatigue, but none appeared hesitant or anything but resolute. He made eye contact with each one, and nobody moved or spoke.
Finally, T.Rex drew a heavy sigh and threw up his hands. "What I'm about to do," he began "is probably nothing short of crazy. I appreciate the show of support, but I don't expect any of you to follow me, and I think it's best if you all stayed here. I don't want any of you guys to get hurt, least of all because of some crazy rescue mission. I thought I had you guys fooled. Anyway, I'm going to go try and rescue Jenny."
There was a slight pause, before Kamikaze said softly, "We're with you, T.Rex."
Another pause. Ryan drew his heels together sharply and brought his hand to his brow, and smartly saluted the group. They returned the gesture.
"Alright," T.Rex said as the formation broke. "Let's make sure we leave redundant notes on the exits and table in case somebody finds this place while we're gone. Names, dates, and make sure it mentions a stop at Hillenbrand for Jenny before heading in a westerly direction. Also, let's make sure there's nothing we leave behind that's useful. However," he added "we have to carry all of this, so don't overload yourself."
The Fools scrambled around what had been their fortress and home for the past week, carrying out their instructions. Ryan rolled up his sleeping bag and stuffed his handwritten note into his pocket. No need for this sappy mess to be seen, he thought to himself. He also retrieved his rations and supplies from the cupboard when nobody was looking.
"Cellphone check," T.Rex called out. "On your person, separate from your packs, but powered OFF. I will not have our position given away by a vibrating phone." Each Fool confirmed. "Now, everybody head to the roof and get out your primary weapon. Beard, you do one last sweep and meet us up there."
They slowly filed into the back bedroom and helped each other climb onto the dresser, through the closet attic space, and into the musty attic. Even in the evening, it was incredibly warm, and the six of them carrying extra equipment and stooping to avoid the roof made things uncomfortable very quickly.
T.Rex suddenly felt very protective, and his mind was racing. "Avoid combat, always," he reminded them frantically, spewing out anything that came to mind. "Uh, cover up anything shiny or that might rattle. Stay quiet. Whisper, use hand signals like we do in practice. Don't go alone. Ditch your pack if you have to, nothing is worth getting tangled up with a zed. Uh, uh, aim for the skull. Keep an escape route."
With no more pearls of wisdom coming from his mind, he defaulted to reciting rules from the Zombie Survival Guide. "Rule 2, guys. They feel no fear, why should we? Rule 3 - Use your head: cut off theirs. Rule 4 - Blades don't need reloading. And definitely Rule 9 -"
Rubble, who had his own copy, finished. "No place is safe, only safer."
Angel Hair gently placed his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Calm down, T.Rex. We've got it." Just then, Beard poked his head into the attic and clambered up to join them. He carried the rope ladder and carefully began fastening it to the floor.
"Just one more thing," Ryan said somberly to the group of Fools assembled before him. "I'm not looking for a Last Action Hero or anything. I just want to get my Jenny and get far, far away from this place, okay? If you find supplies or something, fine, grab them, but let's not get carried away with fighting or exploring anything we don't have to, right?" They nodded agreement as Beard flung the rope ladder out of the hole in the roof.
"Let's kick some ass!" Cowboy said, breaking the tension.
"Beard and Peace, you two go first and secure the landing zone. Give a pull on the rope when the coast is clear." T.Rex ordered, and the two of them grinned as they descended the ladder. A short while later, there was a tug, and Ryan ordered Kamikaze and Cowboy down next. Then Rubble and Angel Hair disappeared into the night.
He wasn't worried about the rope ladder - zombies couldn't climb. What he did worry about was what came next. There were over a dozen ways across campus to Hillenbrand, and the route he had in his head was a delicate trade off between the shortest path, the quietest, and the one with the fewest people pre-infection. While avoiding major roads. With sufficient cover to hide. Sounds like an engineering problem, he thought to himself. He could measure each distance, and then assign each route a coefficient of population...
Another tug at his feet snapped him back to reality. He gripped his crowbar tightly, determined not to repeat his earlier mistake. Grateful to have such supportive and caring friends, he vowed to do everything in his power to lead them decisively and effectively as long as it was necessary. As he started down the ladder, he reminded himself of something he always told Jenny: I'm an engineer, and I solve problems.
Current Word Count: 27,380
12:04am
Apartment Parking Lot
Acting purely on instinct, Ryan whirled around with his fist curled.
Great, he thought as his weight shifted. One of Purdue's finest climbs from his tower of safety and doesn't even bother to have his weapon ready. I must've gotten distracted by the note and forgot to check the shadows for a lingering zed. Fantastic. His torso had spun and he was about to connect with what he felt was a pretty decent right hook, even if it was useless against a creature that didn't register pain. What an ignominious end. I didn't even make it past the front lawn, like I'm in a shitty Choose Your Own Adventure book. Sorry Jenny...so much for your knight in shining armor.
With little else to do but follow through, Ryan gritted his teeth and hoped for a solid hit. Instead, a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.
Punch deflected, T.Rex looked up and saw one of the Fools clinging to the rope ladder. His wrists now free, he reached for a weapon in his pack. He'd learned his lesson and would not be caught off guard again.
"Beard!" Ryan hissed in the darkness. "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?" he shot back.
"I have to go, okay? Take care of the others!" he whispered, turning away.
"Just come back for a minute, will ya? I want to talk about it!" Beard pleaded.
"It'll be easier if I just go now, okay? I don't want to drag this out. I have to go, now." T.Rex defiantly took a few steps away. Suddenly, a moan resonated from very close by and he leaped from the ground onto the lower portion of the ladder without pausing. "Orrrr we could talk for just a bit, how's that?" He scrambled up the ladder after his friend, still clutching his crowbar as his bravery and resolve started to fade.
Beard disappeared into the apartment as Ryan pulled the rope ladder up onto the balcony. T.Rex adjusted the straps on his backpack before gently easing the door open. "I'm only going to stay a few min-" he started, before dropping his words mid-sentence as he entered the apartment.
In the living room, Beard, Peace, Kamikaze, Cowboy, Angel Hair, and Rubble stood at attention, packs ready.
Ryan paused for several moments, speechless. He stared at the Fools, knowing that moments ago most of them were fast asleep. A few showed faint signs of fatigue, but none appeared hesitant or anything but resolute. He made eye contact with each one, and nobody moved or spoke.
Finally, T.Rex drew a heavy sigh and threw up his hands. "What I'm about to do," he began "is probably nothing short of crazy. I appreciate the show of support, but I don't expect any of you to follow me, and I think it's best if you all stayed here. I don't want any of you guys to get hurt, least of all because of some crazy rescue mission. I thought I had you guys fooled. Anyway, I'm going to go try and rescue Jenny."
There was a slight pause, before Kamikaze said softly, "We're with you, T.Rex."
Another pause. Ryan drew his heels together sharply and brought his hand to his brow, and smartly saluted the group. They returned the gesture.
"Alright," T.Rex said as the formation broke. "Let's make sure we leave redundant notes on the exits and table in case somebody finds this place while we're gone. Names, dates, and make sure it mentions a stop at Hillenbrand for Jenny before heading in a westerly direction. Also, let's make sure there's nothing we leave behind that's useful. However," he added "we have to carry all of this, so don't overload yourself."
The Fools scrambled around what had been their fortress and home for the past week, carrying out their instructions. Ryan rolled up his sleeping bag and stuffed his handwritten note into his pocket. No need for this sappy mess to be seen, he thought to himself. He also retrieved his rations and supplies from the cupboard when nobody was looking.
"Cellphone check," T.Rex called out. "On your person, separate from your packs, but powered OFF. I will not have our position given away by a vibrating phone." Each Fool confirmed. "Now, everybody head to the roof and get out your primary weapon. Beard, you do one last sweep and meet us up there."
They slowly filed into the back bedroom and helped each other climb onto the dresser, through the closet attic space, and into the musty attic. Even in the evening, it was incredibly warm, and the six of them carrying extra equipment and stooping to avoid the roof made things uncomfortable very quickly.
T.Rex suddenly felt very protective, and his mind was racing. "Avoid combat, always," he reminded them frantically, spewing out anything that came to mind. "Uh, cover up anything shiny or that might rattle. Stay quiet. Whisper, use hand signals like we do in practice. Don't go alone. Ditch your pack if you have to, nothing is worth getting tangled up with a zed. Uh, uh, aim for the skull. Keep an escape route."
With no more pearls of wisdom coming from his mind, he defaulted to reciting rules from the Zombie Survival Guide. "Rule 2, guys. They feel no fear, why should we? Rule 3 - Use your head: cut off theirs. Rule 4 - Blades don't need reloading. And definitely Rule 9 -"
Rubble, who had his own copy, finished. "No place is safe, only safer."
Angel Hair gently placed his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Calm down, T.Rex. We've got it." Just then, Beard poked his head into the attic and clambered up to join them. He carried the rope ladder and carefully began fastening it to the floor.
"Just one more thing," Ryan said somberly to the group of Fools assembled before him. "I'm not looking for a Last Action Hero or anything. I just want to get my Jenny and get far, far away from this place, okay? If you find supplies or something, fine, grab them, but let's not get carried away with fighting or exploring anything we don't have to, right?" They nodded agreement as Beard flung the rope ladder out of the hole in the roof.
"Let's kick some ass!" Cowboy said, breaking the tension.
"Beard and Peace, you two go first and secure the landing zone. Give a pull on the rope when the coast is clear." T.Rex ordered, and the two of them grinned as they descended the ladder. A short while later, there was a tug, and Ryan ordered Kamikaze and Cowboy down next. Then Rubble and Angel Hair disappeared into the night.
He wasn't worried about the rope ladder - zombies couldn't climb. What he did worry about was what came next. There were over a dozen ways across campus to Hillenbrand, and the route he had in his head was a delicate trade off between the shortest path, the quietest, and the one with the fewest people pre-infection. While avoiding major roads. With sufficient cover to hide. Sounds like an engineering problem, he thought to himself. He could measure each distance, and then assign each route a coefficient of population...
Another tug at his feet snapped him back to reality. He gripped his crowbar tightly, determined not to repeat his earlier mistake. Grateful to have such supportive and caring friends, he vowed to do everything in his power to lead them decisively and effectively as long as it was necessary. As he started down the ladder, he reminded himself of something he always told Jenny: I'm an engineer, and I solve problems.
Current Word Count: 27,380
Monday, May 19, 2008
Summer Update
Hello reader.
It's now summer break and I have a little bit more time on my hands. I'm gonna try to update my story more often - something like at least once a week. Stay tuned and please comment!
Also, new poll.
Thanks!
It's now summer break and I have a little bit more time on my hands. I'm gonna try to update my story more often - something like at least once a week. Stay tuned and please comment!
Also, new poll.
Thanks!
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