Undead at Heart (22 page)

Beyond him, Tony could
see Dan and Daz swinging with their weapons, knocking zombies to the ground on
either side of them. While the attack on Nicola had driven her and Tony
backwards, Dan and Daz had advanced into the oncoming crowd, dealing blows to
left and right. Some of their blows were enough to kill the creatures, but many
only stopped their progress and the undead things lurched back to their feet
and resumed their frenzy. Sam was standing behind the two
men,
and Tony realised for the first time – how could he not have noticed? –
that
she had no weapon of her own. He hadn’t thought to
check when they left the farm, but had been too caught up in what Nicola had
been doing with Dave. How could he be so utterly thoughtless? He cursed under
his breath, stooped to pull his screwdriver from the dead thing at his feet,
and saw Nicola already back on her feet and ready to face the oncoming horde.
Dave’s shotgun blasts had caused some of them to pause, and they had turned
their attention to the two men and Sam. Finding that they were enclosed in an
area of calm, Tony led Nicola and Dave towards the others, to aid them in their
fight and their protection of Sam.

He had only taken the
first step when it happened. A zombie broke from the circumference of the
undead which had formed just outside the radius of their swing, and flung
itself at Daz’s side as the momentum of his sledgehammer left him exposed. The
zombie didn’t gain a hold, but its force was enough to knock him off-balance,
colliding with Dan, and the two of them tumbled to the floor.

Sam was frozen,
watching as the defence which had kept her safe crumbled. Tony could do nothing
but watch as one of the undead monsters launched itself at her and bore her to
the ground.

“They’re on the roof!”

The attack had started
at the front door, but it had soon become clear from the noises coming from
outside that the entire Hut was surrounded. It seemed that, despite taking
their time, the crowd which they had met on the road had followed them and were
now determined to break inside their protective shell to find the tasty, soft
centre.

James wondered, even
as the noises started to come from above and Alan shouted the obvious
conclusion, if Buster was okay. That should have been the last of his worries,
he knew, but he couldn’t help but speculate.

The sounds from above
grew louder as more and more of the creatures found that the walls were too
sturdy to be broken, but provided sufficient handholds for climbing.

With the start of the
attack, everyone had risen to their feet, and stared around. Scott and the
other soldiers had moved from the main room to the vestibule, to repel any
zombies which managed to break through the door. The rest had stood,
impotently, whatever weapons they had managed to find clutched loosely in their
hands, and waited.

“Anyone
know
what the roof is made of?” asked Alan, looking around.
In the candlelight, James could see all faces upturned, listening to the
progress of footsteps across the flat surface above them. No-one looked down,
but one or two slowly shook their heads.

The silence of their
response was broken by a loud tearing noise from directly above the group, and
one or two of the waiting survivors let out short screams.

The tearing, like the
sound of sellotape being pulled from a dispenser, continued, inexorably, and
James had an image of gravel covered tar-paper being ripped and shredded. It
stopped to be replaced by thumping and banging, and the sound of growling.

James himself jumped
as he felt something touch his hand, and looked down to see Alyssa looking up
at him as she slipped her hand into his. She had moved away from Debbie, whom
she had attached herself to as soon as the mother had arrived, and for some
reason sought comfort from him. He clutched her hand in his and resumed his
upwards stare.

It was hard to make
out in the gloom, but James thought he saw the roof start to shudder under the
combined blows. Then, with a crack, he knew that they were having success. Dust
dropped into his eyes where the plaster on the ceiling had splinted, and he
bent his head, blinking away tears.

When he looked back
up, it was in time to see the ceiling start to fall away in chunks. Plaster and
concrete were falling into the room, yet still no-one moved. They were frozen,
unable to do anything more than wait.

With another loud
bang, a larger part of the ceiling fell away, and James was able to see a small
patch of the gloomy sky which lowered above the Hut. It was obscured by grasping,
groping hands, then reappeared, larger and stayed visible, steadily growing, as
the creatures on the roof tore away the concrete with their bare hands.

Still no-one moved,
they simply watched and waited.

As soon as the hole
was large enough, the rain of concrete and plaster stopped, and instead a body
fell through into the Hut, screaming and spitting.

It hit the floor, its
legs buckling under it, and despite the stasis which had seemed to hold them
all, Andy didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward and whipped his golf-club up
under the jaw of the sprawled zombie, ripping it clean off. Alan, barely a step
behind him, clubbed it across the back of the head with his iron bar,
collapsing both skull and zombie in one blow.

Despite their speed of
response, in the time it had taken
them
to despatch
the first creature, three more had dropped through the still-widening hole in
the roof into the hall of the hut. James could hear the booted feet of the
solders running through from their watch of the front door, but he realised
they were going to be too late as one of the zombies, turned, fixed its bloody
and crazed eyes on him, and prepared to leap. He shoved Alyssa behind him and
prepared to do what he could to protect her. He told himself to at least keep
his eyes open.

The zombie launched
itself
, and even as it did, the floor bucked, sending it off
course. James stumbled back as, with a roar of protesting earth, the Hut
shifted beneath him. He collided with Alyssa and the two of them fell to the
floor. He rolled off her, trying to make sure she was okay, and watched as the
zombie turned from where it landed at his side and aimed its drooling jaws at
him.

Despite his promise to
himself, he closed his eyes as he waited to die.

The zombies ignored Dan
and Daz, who even as they fell were still swinging with their weapons in an
attempt to impede their sudden progress. But with them down on their knees, it
was much easier for the zombies to move in from the sides. Sam’s flailing form
disappeared under the mass of attacking undead.

Tony felt like a mime
walking against the wind. Even as he pushed his legs forward, he didn’t seem to
be getting any closer. He saw Sam’s hand appear above mass of bodies, and then
disappear, sucked down and out of sight.

Another step finally
made, Tony felt the world tilt around him and the floor shift under his feet.
The roar of an explosion filled his one still-working ear, and light – so very
bright after the gloom – lit the landscape in a sudden burst. He staggered to one
knee, but the momentum of his run still brought his other leg through, dragging
over the grass. He thrust his weight through that leg and came back to his
feet, still moving, but only slowly realising that he could now see clearly.

He glanced upwards,
not breaking stride and saw the clouds which had closed over their heads,
breaking, wisping, disappearing into mist, and then gone. He looked back down
and watched as, with time-lapse speed, the pile of zombies covering Sam melted
away into so much red jelly, leaving her covered in their glistening scarlet.

As though a spell was
broken, he felt speed return to his world and he was, in moments, at her side.
He threw himself down next to her, his knees soaking in the mess which had been
the attacking creatures, and started to wipe their residue from her face,
praying for her eyes to open and for her lips to part in a relieved smile.
Surely there hadn’t been time, surely she would be okay.

Even through his
closed lids, James could see the sudden light which poured through the hole in
the roof. He felt warm wetness splash over his face, and then, nothing.

He
squinted
his eyes open into the sudden brightness and saw the thick beam of sunlight - made
tangible by the candle-smoke – which shone down into the centre of the room.
The light which lit the Hut was tinged scarlet by the pool of red which the
sunlight hit, the pool which had been the creature that had melted even as it
leapt at him.

He looked across the
pillar of sunshine and saw Alan push another of the attackers into the light
where it joined its companion in its puddle.

The third had made for
the door, but the loud rifle shot which now sounded across the room as it met
the returning soldiers ended its life too.

James waited, but
nothing happened.

Everything was still,
everyone was silent.

Nicola was just behind
Tony, but when the earth shook and the light hit, she stopped. She watched as
the attack literally melted away, and as Tony slid to the ground next to Sam.
The girl was still, even as Tony wiped the remains of the zombies from her
face, giving no reaction, making no protest.

She walked slowly up
behind him, and the others, still shocked at the suddenness of their reprieve,
nevertheless also gathered around.

They watched as Tony
placed his hands on Sam’s shoulders and shook her gently. “Come on, Sam, Come
on. It’s over.” He glanced around as if to confirm for her that what he said
was the truth. “They’ve gone. The sun’s out. We’re okay. Come on. Wake up. It’s
okay now, they’ve gone.”

He let go of her
shoulders and patted her face, but she didn’t wake, even though he continued
his entreaties. His patting caused her head to move to the side, and Nicola saw
the gaping space where the side of her neck had been. She stepped up and placed
her hand on Tony’s shoulder, wanting to stop him, wanting to tell him that the
girl was gone, but unable to make
herself
speak the
words.

He carried on trying to
rouse her, a combination of pleading words – slowly becoming more incoherent as
sobs overtook him – shakes and pats. Sam didn’t respond. She couldn’t.

Words finally failing
him, Tony carried on trying to wake her, but as he moved from her face to her
shoulders once more, his fingers sank into her shoulders as whatever it was
that turned a dead human into a zombie took hold of her. He expected her eyes
to snap open showing whites stained with blood, and her lips to part in a
snarling scream, but nothing like that happened. She simply melted away in his
hands.

Tony
shrieked,
his head back, tendons standing out on his neck,
as she melted down into the mire of her attackers. His cry became a wail, and
Nicola dropped down next to him, ignoring the way her knees tried to recoil
from the wetness that immediately soaked her jeans. She pulled him against her
and held him while he screamed out his terror and loss.

Scott insisted that he
and his colleagues be the first to leave the Hut. They emerged, rifles at the
ready, but there was nothing to shoot other than the red pool which glistened
in the revealed midday sun. As they stepped out, a noise made them turn in
alarm, but they managed to stop themselves before they shot Buster, who was
wandering round the side of the Hut looking for clean grass to crop.

They shouted the all
clear, and the refugees emerged. Alan and Andy assisted Bert, who kept mumbling
that if only Doreen could have held on for a little longer it would all have
been over.

James, leading Alyssa,
was one of the last to leave the building, so was able to witness the moment
the power came b
ack on. The lights in the vestibule of
the Hut flashed once, making him cry out and Alyssa clutch him, and then they
came to life again and this time stayed lit. They seemed dim in comparison to
the sunlight both outside and pouring through the hole in the main hall’s roof,
but their shining couldn’t have felt sweeter to James.

They also lifted
Alyssa’s spirits, and she pulled away from James, singing, “The lights are on,
the lights are on,” and tugged people to come and see.

Despite the obvious
signs of carnage, destruction and loss, there was a feeling of happiness and
celebration in the group, and many of them acquiesced to Alyssa, following her
to peer in at the simple strip lights which lit the entrance to the Hut.

No-one seemed in a
hurry to get home. James watched them and wondered about that. He guessed it
was the same thing he was feeling. Going home would remind them of what they
had lost and what had happened. Staying here, in the sunshine outside the Hut,
they could pretend that it was some other kind of gathering, a fete, a jumble
sale, something. And maybe, now that the power was working again, someone would
come and put everything else right. Maybe, if they waited, everything would
just go back to normal.