Alone (22 page)

Trish moved closer. “Did they go away?”

“No. I heard Roy through the wall, he said something about going to get the rest of their things.” Tony said. “I think they will be back.”

Tony strained to see the image on the two mirrors he set up outside. He glanced at the tree line and was happy he didn’t see any activity out that way.

“I’m scared!” Trish said. Her entire body was shaking as she looked at Tony.

Tony moved closer to her and put his arm around her and pulled her against his side. “It will be OK. Do you still trust me?”

She looked up at him. “Yes.” She said. But Tony didn’t feel convinced by the way she answered or the look in her eyes.

Suddenly the radio crackled. Not one of the ones that he and Trish had been using. The radio that crackled was the one sitting on the floor under the window. The one he had last used to talk with Roy.

A voice came over the radio loud and clear. “Hey asshole!”

Trish started to tremble even more than she was before. “That’s Roy!”

“I know.” Tony said.

“Hey asshole. I know you can hear me. Talk to me.” Roy said, sounding as arrogant as usual.

“Aren’t you going to answer him?” Trish said.

“No!” Tony said calmly as he looked at Trish. “I’m done talking to that son of a bitch!”

“He’s going to get mad.” Trish whimpered.

“Good.” Tony replied. “I hope he gets so mad he can’t see straight.”

The radio crackled again and Roy spoke. “OK asshole, then don’t talk to me! It really doesn’t matter. You really pissed me off with your little bobby traps. But just to let you know that I’m a generous man, I’m going to make you one last deal. You know I’m serious and I am going to get in that warehouse. There is no way you can stop me. Being I’m a generous man, here is my deal. I’ll give you ten minutes to get out of the warehouse and disappear. You do that I will let you live. If I have to come in there and you’re not gone, well let’s just say you won’t be walking out of there. You’ll be leaving, but you won’t be leaving alive.”

Trish began to shake uncontrollably. “He means it. Maybe we should leave.”

“No!” Tony said. “You know Roy. It’s just another of his tricks. Another one of his lies. If we tried to leave, we wouldn’t make it twenty feet away from the building.”

Tears started to run down Trish’s cheeks.

The radio crackled again. “Oh by the way asshole, I know you have that little bitch in there with you. I think you should leave now while you can. I don’t think you are going to want to watch what I am going to do to her when I get in there.” Roy started to laugh. “When I’m done with her, she is going to wish the dead had eaten her. You have ten minutes.”

Tony took the radio and tossed it on the floor under the window. He put his arms around Trish and pulled her close to comfort her and to keep her from falling to the floor. She looked like she was going to pass out. “Don’t listen to him. He isn’t going to hurt you, because I won’t let him.”

Trish put her arms around him and almost squeezed the air out of his lungs as she trembled and hung on, terrified.

Tony just stood holding Trish for a few minutes and hoped her panic would pass.

The radio crackled on the floor. “Times up!”

Tony led Trish to the side and away from the window. “You just wait here. If I need your help I’ll call you. Otherwise, you just stay here.”

Trish didn’t want to let go, but Tony moved her hands, held them for a second, then went over to the corner by the window. He picked up the 22 rifle and put two boxes of shells in his pocket.

He glanced at Trish as he moved to the window.

Tony quickly scanned the clearing, then looked down at the mirrors. He could see movement in the mirror that angled down the left side of the warehouse. The same side where they had just tried to break through the doors. The image seemed to be getting larger. Someone must be coming towards the front of the warehouse.

Tony raised the rifle, waiting for a head to appear around the corner.

Suddenly a figure darted around the corner, running fast.

Tony froze as he watched.

It was Roy, but that’s not what had his attention. It was what Roy was holding.

He had along pipe like object that was about a foot long in his right hand. At the end of the object was something burning or sparkling.

It was happening so fast Tony didn’t have time to react.

Tony’s mind screamed. “Dynamite” as Roy whirled around and tossed the dynamite towards the window.

Roy dropped the rifle, turned and grabbed Trish as he dove towards the corner of the room away from the window as the dynamite flew in through the window.

Trish had no idea what was happening. She looked wide eyed and shocked as Tony rushed at her. He grabbed her as they both tumbled to the floor with Tony landing on top of her, pinning her to the floor.

The dynamite came in through the window, into the room and through the door that led down to the warehouse.

It exploded just outside the room.

The concussion threw Trish’s chair out the window as Tony’s chair and bed crashed into the wall next to the window.

The door was blown off of its hinges as it splintered into a dozen pieces and slammed against the window.

Half of the door flew out the window and landed in the parking lot below as the rest of the pieces ricocheted off the walls and landed on top of Tony and Trish.

Black smoke filled the room and poured out the window as Roy hooped and yelled below.

Tony was dazed by the explosion. He rolled off of Trish and they both coughed and choked as they gasped for air.

Tony couldn’t hear anything for the loud ringing in his ears.

He tried to sit up and noticed blood drip down on his shirt.

He reached for his head with one hand as he tried to hold himself in a sitting position with his other arm.

He looked over his body. Everything appeared to be moving in slow motion.

All he could hear was a deafening roar in his head.

He looked down to see Trish moving beside him. Her eyes seemed to be rolling aimlessly in her head.

Other than the blood dripping off of him on to her pant leg, she appeared to be in one piece.

The room started to spin around him.

He put his hand on his forehead to try to stop the spinning.

The dense smoke looked to be clearing slightly. He tried to look at the room, or the shambles that had once been his safe room.

Another explosion sounded from the front of the warehouse. Tony knew it had to have been loud, but all he heard was a hollow booming sound echoing like it had been miles away.

He knew it wasn’t miles away. He knew Roy had just blown one of the front doors of the warehouse.

Tony struggled to get up. He had to get his rifle. He stood, but fell back to the floor. He decided to crawl until he could get his balance back.

He crawled slowly to where he had dropped his rifle, right before he dove for cover.

He shoved the debris away as he searched for the gun.  Finally he found what he was looking for and started to crawl to the door. His mind didn’t register the large jagged opening where the door had once been.

He crawled out on the small part of the ledge that still remained. The pieces that had been the other half of the ledge laid scattered around on the floor below.

From here Tony could see the front doors. The first door he looked at was still in place and looked undamaged.

The second door looked like of can of tuna that someone had mangled with a can opener. The sides of the door were still in their tracks, but the center of the door had a six foot gash in it. The edges of the gash were rolled towards the sides of the door in a sharp ragged mess of mangled metal.

Tony raised his rifle, his vision blurry as the opening started to spin in front of him.

He tried to focus. He tried to be ready. He wasn’t done yet. He would try his best to keep them out of the warehouse and away from Trish.

Tony’s concentration was interrupted when he felt a tug on his left pant leg.

The warehouse seemed to spin out of control again as he looked back towards his leg. When the spinning stopped, he saw Trish sitting by his feet. She frantically waved her arm, wanting him to come towards her. Then she pointed to the hole in the wall where the window had been. She waved for him to follow her again as she moved back into the room.

Tony turned and crawled back into the room. He slowly stood, finally he was able to stand. He staggered forward to follow her and moved next to Trish, then he looked outside.

She pointed again as Tony looked outside. He blinked his eyes to clear his vision. Then he saw them. Hundreds of the dead were coming out of the woods towards the warehouse. The explosions must have attracted the dead.

Tony was sure the groaning had to be loud, but he still couldn’t hear anything above the roaring sound in his ears.

He looked at Trish and motioned for her to go back over to the corner. She nodded and staggered over to the corner and dropped to the floor.

Tony staggered back to the ledge and laid down as he watched the long jagged hole in the door.

He kept blinking his eyes as he tried to focus on the hole.

Movement outside the opening caught Tony’s attention.

Four legs moved towards the opening. A guy wearing jeans and a girl in shorts. The girl was limping as she dragged her bloody foot closer to the opening.

Tony could now see the two people from the shoulders down. The man turned and pulled a gun out of his waist band. The decayed limbs and bodies of the dead began to close in around them. The man stared firing his gun into the approaching dead. It was a large gun, Tony could see that even from up on the ledge. He was sure the shots were loud, but all he could hear was a low “Thup!” It sounded like the little sound made by his pellet gun.

The man stopped firing and threw the gun at the approaching dead. Tony realized the guy must have run out of ammunition.

The dead were getting closer.

Next the man put his hands on the girl’s shoulders. Tony was shocked to see him push the girl into the oncoming dead.

The guy then turned and started to crawl in through the opening blown into the door. Tony could now see the guy was Roy.

Tony aimed his rifle as Roy’s head and left leg angled in through the opening. Tony didn’t aim at his head, he aimed for the leg. “This is for Trish. Asshole!” Tony said as he pulled the trigger.

The arrogant look on Roy’s face turned into a painful grimace as he fell to his knees, half in the warehouse, half outside the door.

The last thing Roy saw as the dead gray hands pulled him out into the parking lot was Tony’s smiling face staring down at him.

Tony still had a loud roaring sound in his ears. If the ringing in his ears would have stopped, he would have heard the horrific screaming coming from outside in the parking lot.

If Debbie’s fantasy was to be with more than one guy at a time, guys that just couldn’t keep their hands off of her, then her fantasy had just become a reality. A dozen of the dead descended on her when Roy pushed her into the mob so he could try to escape. Not all of them had been men, but Debbie didn’t notice or didn’t care. The pain she felt in her ass as well as all over the rest of her body made her forget all about the stings she felt when she had been used for bait in the field.

Roy got a last fast glimpse of Debbie when the dead pulled him from the opening in the door. By the time he was pulled down by the dead, Debbie was in six pieces. Mobs of the dead were at each piece, fighting for their share.

Roy’s look only lasted a moment before he began to scream as he felt the dead bite into him. He too was soon being scattered across the parking lot. The scene was the type of horrific feeding frenzy Roy had always enjoyed watching. However it felt different this time with him personally taking part in the festivities.

Tom had been long gone by the time the dead feasted on Roy and Debbie. The loud sounds of the exploding dynamite attracted the dead from every direction. As they came out of the woods behind the warehouse, he was the first one they spotted. He tried to crawl away, but the pain in his broken leg was too painful. He didn’t realize how painful his leg could really feel. The dead went for the blood soaked leg first. Tony and Trish didn’t hear the screams coming from the side of the warehouse either. The buzzing in their ears had been too loud.

Tony watched for a minute after Roy was pulled out into the parking lot by the dead. So far the dead didn’t try to come into the warehouse through the mangled door.

He turned and crawled back into the room. Hopefully they didn’t know he was inside and would just go away after they were done feasting.