The Dark Trinity (Book 1): Shuffle (12 page)
I, ZOMBIE
Intense and unadulterated pain racked his body. Ronnie had
felt nothing like it in his life. Opening his eyes, he was surprised by how
bright everything looked. Everything had a reddish tint to it, as if he were
looking through rose colored sunglasses. The unrelenting pain that radiated
throughout his body disoriented him. He couldn’t remember where he was or how
he got there. Looking around through rosy eyes, he saw that he was in an
alleyway, but couldn’t remember what had happened.
He looked down at his hands, or what used to be his hands.
They looked foreign to him, as if they belonged to someone or some
thing
else.
What the fuck is this shit?
he thought. The hands in front of him
had no fingernails and the tips tapered into two-inch-long bony claws. The
knuckle joints were knobby and large, which made the hands look even more
grotesque. On his left palm, just underneath the pinkie joint, a faint set of
teeth marks where Grandpa had bit him.
A flood of memories returned to Ronnie. The scene across the
river at Station Square, the jam of cars along Ft. Pitt Boulevard, a crazy old
man who had bitten him.
Grandpa!
The images of the fight flashed in his
brain as he recalled how the old man bit him on the hand. He could remember the
old geezer drawing blood, but the marks on his hand had healed and faded, like
an old wound. At the center of the lesion, a small dot marked the remnants of a
puncture trauma. Ronnie was confused. He knew that it couldn’t have been long
since the attack, as he still heard the bloodbath ensue throughout the streets.
That meant that this had healed fast. Really, really fast.
“This is some fucked-up comic book healing shit, man,” he
said to himself. The slight smile that had crossed his lips immediately
vanished when he heard his voice escape his mouth. It didn't sound like his
voice. It was lower and had a raspy sound to it, almost like he was talking
into a fan, like he used to do when he was doing his best Darth Vader
impersonation.
Another wave of pain washed over him. He doubled over onto
the pavement. A noise to his immediate right caught his attention. Glancing
over, he saw a large rat scurrying in front of him. Instincts took over; his
claw flashed out and grabbed the rodent and shoved it into his mouth. Without
thought, he bit down, crunching off the rat’s head. Blood spurted out the
severed neck as he chewed on the skull and brains. He swallowed the rest of the
head and opened his mouth for the next bite.
His jaw dislocated and dropped, allowing his mouth to open
another eight inches. His taloned hand thrust the rat body into his gaping
mouth. It wasn't until the hindquarters were passing beyond his teeth that
Ronnie realized what he was doing. At first, the thought repulsed him, but then
he paused.
Tastes like chicken,
he thought as he continued to chew the
last of the vermin.
The pain that had racked his body subsided and eventually
abated. Standing up, he felt much better; stronger even. Looking around, he was
still amazed at how much better his eyesight had become. It was if he were
viewing everything in 1080p high-definition. His hearing had also improved. He
was able to pinpoint sounds and understand the direction that they originated
from. The new abilities enamored Ronnie and he began thinking up new superhero
names for himself.
Before he was able to settle on a suitable name, he stopped
and began to stare at the wall of the alley. A strange, ghost-like blob glowed
white in front of him. He reached out to touch it, but his clawed finger
stopped at the brick. I must be tripping balls right now! Scanning up the
building’s wall, he noticed another white blob further up where the second
story would be. Then the blobs started moving. The one at the top moved in the
direction of the street, while the bottom one started to fade, then
disappeared. Ronnie moved his attention back to the top light-blob-thingy. He
followed it as it neared a second story window that led out to the fire escape.
The window opened and a young Hispanic man emerged out onto
the fire escape. It was then that Ronnie realized that the man was glowing! The
ghost shapes that he saw on the wall must be people inside the building! “Oh,
this is just too cool!” he exclaimed in his new raspy voice. The man looked
down to where the voice originated from and saw that it came from one of those
murderous creatures. He froze.
Ronnie smiled and waved at the petrified man. “Hey dude!”
The man on the fire escape screamed and ran back inside the
building, his phosphorescent glow fading away through the wall as he
high-tailed it to the far side of the building.
“What an asshole.”
Making his way towards the street, he peered out from the
alley. Looking down Grant Street, he could see white glowing bodies flee from
the infected. It seemed as though humans weren't the only glowing bodies out
there, as the infected had a dark red aura around them. It turned out that the
zombies were able to distinguish their own from potential prey by the type of
color that a body emanated.
This is definitely cool stuff,
he thought.
A thought occurred to him as he watched the scene before him.
Nate-dog.
He had been so preoccupied with his new abilities, he had
completely forgot about his friend. He needed to find Nathan fast before the
nasties got to him. He was about to leave the alley, but then stopped himself.
Not sure if the other zombies would attack him or not, despite the fact that he
was now one of them, he decided to try to reach the subway station via the
rooftops.
Jumping off from the ground, Ronnie propelled himself
straight up about ten feet. He grabbed the fire escape railing and flung
himself higher, reaching the top of the three story building in a matter of
seconds.
Hot damn! I could definitely get used to this shit!
He ran
across the roof and jumped over the next alley, reaching the adjacent rooftop
with little effort. Soon, the newborn zombie reached the end of buildings and
looked out over the street. The buildings broke up and became spaced too far
apart for him to jump to.
Gotta go to ground,
he thought as he scaled down the
building and onto the street. Landing a mere three feet from a fellow zombie,
he stopped and stared at the other pale creature in front of him. The dead girl
returned his gaze, tilted her head to the side, let out a scream, and then
turned and began to run in the opposite direction to feed on more prey.
Guess I’m part of the club.
He continued down Grant,
now only a couple of blocks from Steel Plaza. A cramp panged in his gut,
causing him to stop. He felt a dull ache throughout his body. Maybe all the
parkour he was trying out was catching up to him. Or worse, maybe he was
getting hungry again. He shrugged off the pain and continued on towards the
station. He stopped after only a few paces and gazed upon the horde at the
subway entrance. Hundreds of infected amassed in front.
“Looks like my homie ain’t makin’ this easy,” he said to
himself as he devised a way past the dead army in front of him.
THE SUBWAY
He sat on a bench across from the abandoned train and sipped
on some bottled water, trying to wrangle his racing thoughts. He worried about
Evelyn. Looking back, he should have left work when she had called. As much as
he hated to admit it, she was always right. Now he wished that he had just
listened to her the first time. He pulled out his wallet and looked at the
photo inside; the picture-perfect couple with their loyal dog Boomer.
“I’ll find my way back to you, Sweets.”
A tear escaped from his eye as he returned his wallet to his
back pocket. The pounding upstairs in the lobby echoed throughout the station.
It would only be a matter of time before the things managed to usurp the super
secure stronghold of glass that kept them at bay. His thoughts turned to his
best friend Ronnie, whom he feared met a long and painful death at the hands of
the zombies outside. Even if by some miracle he was still alive, there was no
way he would be able to make it to his position.
Nathan finished the water and tossed the bottle to the side.
Standing up, he walked towards the train and began to look it over for a way
inside. After three minutes, he gave up on finding a safety release on the
doors, then smacked himself on the forehead with his palm.
Oh my God, you’re
an idiot Nate!
Not wanting to admit his stupidity out loud to himself, he
walked towards the end of the train and jumped down onto the tracks, being wary
of the third rail. He wasn’t sure if the tracks were still active, but he
wasn't going to take any chances.
He couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thought of this sooner. It
never occurred to him to try the inbound tunnel. It led to the same place after
all. He now stood on the other set of tracks, the inbound tunnel agape with
darkness.
Subway. Great idea Einstein.
Nathan pictured the horror movie
that his life was becoming and dark subterranean tunnels were at the top of the
list of things he didn't want to venture into.
He pulled off his backpack and dug inside for the heavy duty
Maglite. Returning his pack to his shoulder, he flicked on the light, casting a
beam into the dark tunnel ahead. A few paces into the darkness had increased
his pulse rate. Then he remembered that he was now armed to the teeth and
pulled his pistol from its holster. Scratching noises echoed up ahead and
sounded as though they were coming right towards him. Moving the light back and
forth, Nathan steadied his grip on the pistol, aiming it at the narrow ball of
light that lit his way.
As he approached a bend in the tunnel, the scratching noise
grew louder. Focusing the light onto the track ahead, Nate saw a flood of rats
turn the bend. He stood motionless as the vermin ran by him. Once they passed,
he continued on ahead, relieved that the sound wasn’t coming from a pack of
zombies.
He followed the track around the curve and halted when he saw
another train. It had derailed off the tracks and rested on its side, wedged
into the tunnel from the cars behind, making the way ahead impassable.
Shit,
now I have to go back and try to get on that other train.
Turning around, he began to jog back down the tunnel. The
good news was that he had only travelled about a hundred yards. A minute later,
he emerged back into the station. Pistol at the ready, he scanned both
platforms for any movement.
“Ronnie? You down here buddy?” he called out, not expecting
an answer, but he tried to be an optimist.
His call got no response. He was still alone.
Where did
all those rats go?
he wondered. He assumed they continued on down the
inbound tunnel to the turnaround. Nathan crossed the tracks and pulled himself
up onto the platform. He could still hear the crowd upstairs at the entrance,
but so far, they hadn't made it inside yet. Moving in front of a set of train
doors, he holstered his pistol and pulled out the machete. He wedged the blade
between the hydraulic doors and began to pry. The doors opened a crack, then
jammed. He tried again, but the hydraulics weren't going to let him get these
doors open.
He noticed the hydraulic line running down the length of the
train.
Again, you’re an idiot, Nate.
He pulled out the blade and gave
the line a good whack. The machete severed the line; fluid immediately spurt
out and down the side of the cart. He re-inserted the blade in the door gap and
started to jimmy it. The door opened a crack like before, but this time, he
could hear the hydraulics fail, which allowed him to force it open a little
more.
BOOM! CRASH!
Nathan’s head jerked to his left at the sound of the glass
doors shattering into the station lobby. He was out of time. Able to now get
his hands into the door, he stowed his blade and continued to force open both
sides. Droves of pounding footsteps flooded down the escalator at the far end
of the platform. Screeches echoed, causing a chill to run down his spine.
This
is it. This is when I’m going to die.
He was almost able to fit his body through the gap. Another
heave with his arms and an adrenaline rush allowed him to open the space
another foot. He wedged his body in the train and grabbed his gear. As he did
so, the first zombies emerged out onto the platform, and they looked angry.
Most likely because it took them over twenty minutes to figure out how to break
a glass door.
Giving the bags a hard yank, he was finally in the train.
Nathan removed the shotgun from his shoulder. He fingered off the safety and
blasted a dead teenager in the face as it approached the door. The familiar
plume of blood sprayed the zombies behind her with brain matter. Immediately,
they fell onto their downed comrade and began to feast on her. Loading another
shell into the chamber, he fired at another dead-head as it jumped over its
feeding brethren.
Nathan ran through the train car. Behind him, the horde was
forcing open the door. Other zombies were walking along the length of the train,
seeking another way inside. He opened the door to the next car and went
through, closing it behind him as two more creatures bounded down the car he
was just in. They made it to the door in two leaps and were now furiously
pounding on the window glass.
He continued through the second car and reached the door to
the driver compartment. Giving the latch a twist, he found it locked. The
window in the door behind him gave way to the barrage and shattered. The zombie
began climbing through, a horrifying shriek escaping its lips. Nathan ran at
the monster and blasted a kneecap, severing the right leg. It didn’t even
flinch at the pain, but instead, continued to reach out with its claws,
dragging itself towards him.
He didn’t have time for this. Running back towards the front
of the train, he cocked the shotgun and shot the latch, blowing out a hole in
the door. It swung open. He slid into the compartment and tried to open the
side door out into the tunnel. The door opened a foot, then stopped.
“Fuck, are you kidding me with this?” he cursed as he faced
certain doom.
The zombie crawled on the floor towards him and was about
halfway to him when two more zombies entered through the broken window. Just as
before, they began to eat the fallen creature. Another five zombies entered
next. Nathan fired off a few rounds at them, spraying blood all over the
interior of the train car. Two of the five dropped, which caused the
remaining three to stop their advance and feed. More ghouls were climbing
through the window.
Nathan turned back to the side door and wedged his body into
the gap to force open the door the rest of the way. He doubted that the
driver’s door was on a different hydraulic system than the other car doors, so
it seemed as though his current predicament was shitty luck. He jammed his foot
against one side of the door and tried to push with his arms. Since he couldn't
squeeze into the space all the way, he wasn't able to get the leverage needed.
The zombies were finishing their meals as more of them poured
through the rear door window. The car was filling up and now they remembered
that there was other food on the train. Shaking back and forth, he was able to
get halfway through the door. Expelling all the air in his lungs, his upper
body popped through. Thinking that his legs would follow, he leaned forward to
jump down to the tracks, but his machete caught the edge of the door, preventing
his legs from following.
Nathan fell in the narrow gap of the doorway, his upper body
flopping outside of the train as his legs remained inside. He hung there for a
moment and squirmed, trying to get his legs out. It was a valiant effort, but
it was too late. The dead were upon him. Claws dug into his legs, causing him
to scream. He flailed and kicked, trying to get free from the carnage. He felt
teeth sink into his calf. A moment later, the owner of the teeth ripped a
mouthful of flesh from the bone, soaking his pants with blood. The smell of
fresh human blood evoked more harrowing cries from the creatures.
The pain was excruciating, but he was able to raise himself
up and grab the edge of the door with his left hand. In his right hand, he
raised the shotgun and fired. The creature that was noshing on his calf muscle
evaporated, freeing his injured leg. Before another zombie could take its
place, he let go, pumped the gun, and then shot another burst in through the
doorway. The claws which had him pinned released their grip and he tumbled the
rest of the way through the gap and onto the ground below.
The dead inside the driver’s compartment howled at the escape
of their quarry and began to push at the door. A couple of them were able to
get their shoulders out before being crushed by the mass of bodies behind them.
Shrieks emitted from the train, but Nathan got himself up and began hobbling
down the tunnel as fast as his now useless leg would allow. Darkness enveloped
him, as he had dropped the flashlight during his escape.
He held the shotgun in front of him, sweeping it back and
forth as he limped along to keep from bumping into anything. He guessed that he
made it about fifty yards before his gun jabbed into something solid, jolting
him to a stop.
“Ah, fuck!” he exclaimed as the sudden change in momentum
made him put weight on his defunct leg.
Reaching out with his hand, he could feel the concrete wall
of the tunnel bend to the right. Continuing on, he followed the wall, keeping
the gun at the ready with his other hand. The extra support the wall provided
him was a tremendous help and he was able to move forward at a quicker pace. The
sounds of the zombies started to fade as he distanced himself from the train.
He had no idea how far down the tunnel he had to go before he would reach the
exit, but he tried not to think about it. Instead, he thought of Evelyn.
“I’m on my way baby, hang in there,” he said to himself.
Up until this point, Nathan had run on pure adrenaline, but
now he was getting light headed from the blood loss. He stopped and leaned
against the wall and removed the belt from his pants. He wrapped the leather
belt around his leg, just below the knee and right above the wound. He couldn’t
see how bad the damage was, but he knew that he was in some serious shit. He
needed medical attention fast, but he had to leave all his supplies on the
train.
No food. No water. No first aid kit. No ammunition. No hope.
He took off his jacket and removed his shirt, tearing it into strips. Taking
two of the four strips, he folded them into some semblance of gauze and then
wrapped the remaining strips around his ravaged calf. The added pressure hurt
like a sonofabitch, but it would help with the bleeding.
God what I wouldn’t
give for a smoke right about now.
He continued his hobble down the tunnel. Palm, step, drag.
Palm, step, drag. Palm, step, drag. Nathan laughed to himself. The sound of him
shuffling through the darkness made him think of the zombie movies he loved so
much; well, used to love. This day had definitely put a sour taste in his mouth
for horror flicks. He continued his zombie shuffle in the dark, hoping that the
end of the tunnel would arrive.
Ten minutes passed and he was in bad shape. He had paused a
few times to throw up and he was feeling fuzzy in the head. Ahead, a faint
light came into view. It was in front of him and was getting larger and
brighter with every step. Fires from the burning South Side illuminated the
mouth of the tunnel with a fiery orange.
The exit. I finally made it!
The mouth of the tunnel grew closer. Its edges started to blur in and out, but
he kept moving. A shadow appeared at the center of the light; small at first,
but it grew in size. It almost looked like a person. He hoped and prayed that
it wasn’t another dead-head. He didn’t know how many shells he had left and he
just couldn’t withstand another hand-to-hand assault.
The shadow kept approaching. It wasn’t moving fast; it looked
like it was... walking? He stopped to vomit yet again, and when he looked up,
the shadow had halved the distance to him. He squinted, trying to see a face,
or some detail about the mysterious figure, but his hazy vision just made
everything a shadowy blur. He stood there staring, then without warning, his
legs gave out. “I’m sorry Eve,” he said. He crumpled onto the tracks, his last
thought was of the woman he was to spend the rest of his life with.
