Beyond the Barriers (Novella): Ghouls (8 page)

“
K
atherine
!” I yelled, but of course she could not hear me.

Thomas grabbed my shoulder as I lurched forward.

“Wait. You can’t storm that place alone. You’ll die,” he said.

He shouldn’t have had to tell me. I knew it was being stupid. I was just reacting on instinct, instinct that would indeed see me slaughtered. Plans formed and fell apart in my mind. There weren’t enough of us. The group that had brought us here had numbered at least six and there were still others in the house and possibly more surrounding it. The gunfight had been brief and now everyone would be on alert. Not only that, but every ghoul around would be on its way to kill us. I had no doubt that would be our fate. They weren’t dumb enough to try capturing us again. This time we were going to die.

Frontal assault was a bad idea. We could try to set up a flanking maneuver with two of our crew providing a distraction with gunfire. Then Scott and I could sneak around the side. The problem was that we didn’t have the manpower for an assault. Plus, we didn’t have enough guns. We’d barely be able to escape with our lives. The only choice we had was to regroup.

“You’re right. We need to meet up with Lisa and get her involved. With her force we can take the building,” I said, convincing myself it was the best option. The truth was I had no intention of leaving until she was safe. Or I was dead.

Someone poked their head out of the compound and bullets erupted from the woods again. The man spun in shock and the flopped to the ground. Christ. The guy with Jackson was a hell of a shot. If I had to guess, I’d say he took the man from fifty to seventy yards.

Jackson picked that moment to make a run for it. He pounded across the ground and dropped behind the fence with us. He’s picked up a couple of bags on his way and tossed them to us.

“Let’s move, kids. Nothing else to see here,” he said.

“One of ours is inside the building,” I said.

“Sorry to hear that but we’re not here to fight. This rescue was an accident,” he said as we pushed away from the fence and toward the surrounding woods.

I dug into the bags and found some of our gear. The food was gone and I cursed the fact that someone had taken the M4 and I was likely never going to see it again.

I helped Scott up while Thomas poked his head over the top of the cedar fence. When it didn’t get shot off he grabbed Sloane’s arm under his shoulder and hoisted her to her feet. She grunted with pain. I noticed that blood had seeped through her sleeve from the gunshot wound.

Together, the five of us staggered into the woods. When a dozen undead didn’t fall on us I almost breathed a sigh of relief.

Goddamit!
I wanted to go back for Katherine so badly. I wanted to assault the building and kill everyone inside who’d done her harm.

Rounds passed overhead making us hit the dirt. Jackson nearly dropped his wrench but managed to keep a death grip. I’d never considered using a weapon like that but now that I’d seen him in action, I might have to reconsider. Swinging something that heavy could quickly tire a person.

We wove our way through the forest in the direction we’d initially arrived from. After a few minutes, a new face appeared ahead of us. I lifted the Remington but Jackson motioned for me to lower it. The guy who approached had to have been the shooter in the woods. He wore a dark ball cap and had ebony skin. As he drew closer, I realized this guy and Jackson were the two men we’d seen earlier in the day as we’d been pushed toward the camp. They’d poked their heads out for the briefest of seconds before disappearing again.

“Jackson. What kind of happy horse shit was that?” the new guy asked.

“My bad. I didn’t think the shuffler saw me. Then all hell broke loose.”

“I told you we’re not in the rescue operation business,” the black guy said.

“Yeah, man but those ghouls had it coming.”

Joel looked at his friend and something flashed between them before the other man rolled his eyes.

He was dressed in the remains of some kind of military body armor and wore a light camouflage jacket. Jackson and I did introductions but Joel, the guy with the assault rifle, didn’t look too interested in getting to know us. That was cool with me. He and Jackson had saved us and I was grateful but I had no chance of dragging them into my newly forming plans to save Katherine.

“How’d you end up there?” Joel asked us.

“We got captured a few hours ago west of here. Heard rumors of some kind of ghoul activity and we wanted to make sure the way was clear before heading to our final objective,” I said.

“Military, huh. What branch?” Joel asked me.

“Ex-Army. Wasn’t in long.”

Joel and Jackson exchanged another glance.

“Well hell, brother. If we had an air force puke here we’d have a complete circle jerk. I’m Navy and my friend here was a Marine,” Jackson said.

“Still a Marine,” Joel said.

“Right. Once a jarhead always a jarhead,” Jackson said.

Thomas tended to Sloane while we chatted. He dug around in the bags until he found a small first aid kit and applied some clean gauze.

“I’ll need stitches,” Sloane said.x

I grimaced at the thought because I’d been stitched up the day before and the experience had not been pleasant. My wound itched, and I hadn’t had a chance to change the dressing and put fresh salve on as the doc had instructed.

“So you guys just happened to be around and got into the shit?” Scott said. “Thank God for you both. I thought we were dead.”

“Didn’t mean to rescue you,” Joel said, “but I’m glad it worked out.”

“Regardless, you have our thanks,” Thomas said.

I nodded. Thank God indeed. If they hadn’t stumbled on us, I’d probably be a damn ghoul now or zombie food.

“They have my girlfriend in there,” I said and nodded back toward the house we’d fled from.

“Oh hell, brother. I don’t know what to tell you. Even if we helped it wouldn’t be enough,” Jackson said.

“I know. Appreciate you saving us,” I said. “We’d be dead. Hey, why don’t you guys join us? We have a tight crew and we’re going to Portland once we figure out how to get Katherine out of that home.”

“Thanks for the offer but we’re doing okay,” Joel said.

“Wait. What’s in Portland? We actually came up here from California and we’ve heard rumors.”

“Yeah. Lots of rumors,” Joel muttered.

“There’s a large group intent on taking this entire area back. They’ve been building up for the last month. I’m tired of hiding and shitting in holes. I want to take the fight to the dead and those ghouls,” I said, and I meant it. From the very beginning I’d wanted to strike back.

“That’s an interesting proposition. What do you think, Joel? Bring them to fortress?” Jackson said.

Fortress?

“No offense, but we’re flying solo. Don’t need more help,” Joel said.

Gunshots echoed then, and something exploded from the direction we’d fled. I rose to my feet and found smoke trailing into the air. What in the hell was going on back there? Then more shots were exchanged. I couldn’t see a damn thing.

I took a few steps before Scott once again stopped me. “Dude. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that I need to go back. Now.”

“Let’s just look. Nothing more. Okay?” Scott asked.

“Tragger. Hold up,” Thomas called to me.

I turned and found he was on the radio. He’d dug it out of one of the bags and was communicating with someone.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s Lisa. They just engaged with that compound and shit is going south fast,” Thomas said.

“Lisa is here?”

“As soon as they heard gunshots from our capture they set off in pursuit. They picked up the path and followed us here.”

“Goddamn. We may be able to rescue Katherine after all,” I muttered.

Sure enough, more guns sounded near the compound. Like any battle, it was hard to get a feel for what was happening in the distance. I needed to get closer if I was going to get Katherine out. Waiting could mean she died in the fight.

I turned and found Jackson and Joel’s eyes on me. I hoped I met their gaze with enough pleading. Regardless, I was about to do something stupid and they could join me or they could go back to wherever they’d come from.

E
vening was fast approaching
, and with it came the threat of rain. It was like I could smell it in the air. The other scent was smoke and gunfire. I’d been in this situation before. Too many times, in fact. And here I was, once again, going in headstrong. It was going to be the death of me one of these days.

“Thanks for all the help. Sincerely, but my girl is in that compound and I need to get her out,” I said.

“Shit,” Jackson said and hefted his wrench.

“No, man. We don’t have time for this. Good way to get killed.” Joel told his friend.

“Yeah but it’s his girl, man. I understand,” Jackson replied.

“I do too, but we don’t know them. After all the shit we’ve seen, you’re telling me you’re ready to just jump when someone needs help? Ain’t no one helped us in a long time.”

Jackson nodded but he was obviously chewing on the things I’d presented.

“I get it,” I said, but I was disappointed.

I didn’t stick around to make a plan. If the others followed, which was looking highly unlikely, then good. If not, well, I’d been in worse situations over the last few weeks. The goal was to get to that compound as quickly as possible, but I had one serious problem. I was at the point of exhaustion and my body might give out at any second.

“I got your back,” Scott said.

I clamped my hand over his shoulder and nodded at my friend. Thomas lifted his weapon and pointed at the house.

I broke away from the group and ran toward the duplex, using the cedar fence as cover. As I came to the edge I poked my head around to assess the situation. What I saw caused great concern. I checked over the shotgun and decided I was lucky if there were still two rounds left. I needed more firepower.

The shed.

Scott and Thomas were right on my heels. We came to a stop at the edge of the fence and panted for breath. Leaves crunched under my feet and knees as I dropped to the ground

“We need more firepower. Might be some on the bodies in there. Cover me,” I said.

I dashed toward the shed. I barreled through the doorway and found the corpses of the men who’d tried to feed me to a ghoul. I checked bodies and found a Glock chambered for .40 caliber. I dug out an extra mag and stuffed it in my pocket. I also found some shotgun shells from one of the dead men’s packs and got lucky. I chambered three rounds.

I rolled his corpse over and found a snub nose revolver in his belt.

Scott had moved to cover the entrance to the shed. He gave a sharp hiss that drew my attention.

“We gotta hurry, man,” he said.

“Found you a present,” I said and tossed him the little .38 revolver.

“Damn, I didn’t get you anything.”

Scott found a knapsack one of the men had carried. He tossed the contents and found another handgun and one spare mag.

From the east corner of the dilapidated townhome, smoke rolled out of a window. Someone had smashed the glass allowing for escape. It also let more air in and that would help a fire spread quickly.

Scott and Thomas had moved toward the home. They used what little cover there was, mainly trees and a couple of barrels that were probably used to store rain water.

I noticed a pen when we were brought into the compound but it was now empty. The people trapped inside had somehow managed to escape into the woods.

I moved catty-corner to Scott and Thomas but provided hand signals. We moved as a team.

Someone kicked open a top window. The figure appeared and leapt. They landed, rolled, and then were quickly on their feet. My conservative guess was that the distance had to be at least twenty-five feet. How in the world did they do that?

Then the man turned and I caught green eyes. He snarled at me so I lifted the shotgun. At fifteen feet the blast was lethal and took off the side of his head.

Someone opened fire from the window and I had to duck. I rolled away and came up behind an old tractor. Rounds
plinke
d off the metal. Thomas fired back and the figure disappeared.

Scott waved me on as he pointed his gun at the side of the building.

More figures appeared in the downstairs window I thought I’d seen Katherine in. Now that I was approaching the house, I wondered if it was really her. Just a glimpse, that’s all I’d had. Maybe it was my desperation to find her. Maybe it was just my imagination and I had seen someone who looked like her. Maybe I was simply chasing a ghost and Katherine had died a week ago.

A door opened on the west side of the building and out poured a half dozen people. We ducked and took cover but it was too late. They had spotted us. More figures pounded behind them and fled into the woods.

A
nother asshole opened
fire on us and we had no choice but to make for the side of the building. We were less than a dozen feet away and, if we stayed out in the open, we were sitting ducks. As I hit the side of the home, figures swarmed out of the woods toward the compound. In the lead was Lisa.

I breathed a sigh of relief until someone on the second story opened fire on them. They scattered but one of the men took a hit and went down. I wanted to rush to their side but Lisa fired back at the shooter while someone helped her man back into the woods.

Her group returned fire and splattered bullets over that side of the house. I wanted to yell at her to stop shooting because one of the bullets might find Katherine.

Fire crackled overhead and that made me cringe. I glanced up from my location and found a window was directly overhead.

“Scott, cover me.” I said.

He rolled to the right and trained the gun around. I stood and got a quick look at the interior. The layout was weird. What had probably been some kind of kitchen had been replaced by a prep area complete with card tables. There was something on one of them that looked like a pot filled with blood. Appliances had been ripped away from the wall, leaving gaping holes, and there were shackles bolted to the floor. Someone swam into view and I ducked back down. The man didn’t look like a ghoul but he moved like one. Long and lank hair covered his face but there were no green eyes. Luckily, he didn’t see me.

“I’m going in through that window,” I said to Scott.

“How the hell do you plan to do that?”

“Shoot it a couple of times. I’ll hop up, grab the ledge, and smash my way in,” I said.

“That’s the stupidest fucking plan I’ve ever heard,” Scott said. “It’s not going to work because you aren’t a stuntman in a movie and what if the room is filled with armed individuals?”

“Got a better suggestion?”

“What if we go around the back. Those guys ran out of a door so it’s probably open,” Scott said. “It’s less than twenty feet. We check it out and if it’s not clear we try your plan.”

I chewed on that for a few seconds. Scott made sense. I was working on a fierce need to get to Katherine and it was making me stupid.

I finally nodded and we moved together skirting the wall and staying low. Sloane and Thomas poked their heads out from behind their cover, a large stack of wood. I made hand gestures I hoped they understood. Then someone fired on them from the upstairs. They both ducked. Thomas waited a few seconds, and then returned fire.

Scott and I made it to the edge of the building and I peeked around. Sure enough, the back door was open as if in open invitation.

“This is dumb. It’s like they’re waiting for us,” I said.

“Go slow, man. Duck and cover,” Scott said.

I snorted and moved out.

I rounded the building and stepped over a pile of leaves someone had raked up. I nearly stepped on the rake head which would have resulted in a comedic yelp from me or Scott. I reached the entryway, which was wide open.

I waited and listened but there was little I could hear over the gunfire on both sides of the house, not to mention the fire that was kicked up far above. Something
popped
and a chunk of the wall fell. I looked up and found flames spreading as they licked out through a shattered window.

I took a chance and glanced inside. Luckily no one blew my face off.

I nodded at Scott and scooted inside, staying low as I entered the building.

The room had been built to hold captives. Chains lay on the ground secured to bolts driven into the floorboards. There were a couple of metal cages large enough to contain people. Christ! They’d been using this location to add to the ghoul ranks.

Scott came in behind me. He covered our back as we moved around the room. Something
popped
overhead and then there was movement. A number of footsteps as if someone was running. A large
thump
sounded, then yelling.

“Shit. Someone’s locked inside up there,” Scott said.

The place reeked of human sweat and rot. There was an undercurrent of mold but all of that was about to be obliterated by flame. It was already beginning to permeate the air.

We swept the room but didn’t have time to do a full investigation. I knew this was risky. There could be a dozen people or ghouls hiding and we wouldn’t know it. The minute we went up the stairs we could be trapped.

The steps were old and, as I stepped on the first one, the wood creaked. Scott kept his back to me as he covered my ascent. I took one more stair, and then paused. When no one rushed us, I took them two at a time until I was nearly to the landing. There had been railing but part of the wooden latticework was broken. I poked my head up and found the upper level was cleared of all furniture. There were a couple of cages. One of them contained a person but they didn’t move. I rushed to the side, regardless of my safety. Scott hissed in dismay but followed.

“Careful,” he whispered.

I waved to him but kept the Glock trained ahead of me.

The woman wasn’t Katherine and I breathed a sigh of relief. She was a mess though, covered in wounds and bite marks. One of her eyes glowed with malevolence and a luminous shade of green I immediately recognized. Her other eye was filled with blood. She was dressed in the remains of a pair of shorts and a button up floral print shirt. She smelled of feces and urine.

Her lips pulled back revealing a set of shattered teeth. She tried to say something, but when her mouth opened her tongue was gone.

I choked back bile and moved away.

Someone
pounded
on a door and yelled, “Help!”

Scott patted my shoulder and motioned to the west corner of the big room. There were other doors but they were open and we could make out the fact that they were empty. There was a bed in one and some beat up metal chairs in the other. No one dashed out or aimed guns at us. Whoever had been shooting earlier were either gone or they were deeper inside the building.

I sucked in a breath when I realized we were only seeing about a third of the upper floor. It might take us an hour to search this place. Meanwhile it would burn to ash around us.

The door
thumped
again. Scott moved toward it as smoke started to fill the room.

I moved away from the woman who was on her way towards being a ghoul wondering if I should put her out of my misery. She was locked up and wasn’t an immediate threat.

We advanced down a hallway that was ten or twelve feet long. Glancing in doorways, we found no one moving. Just chains and rags. There were blood splatters on the walls and floors. It was like a damned slaughterhouse. More smoke rolled into the building and a fresh round of bullets peppered the side of the compound.

The door bulged again as someone hit it.

“Who’s in there?” I called out.

“Help us, please. They left us to die,” a man yelled.

There was a latch with a combination lock on the door.

“Shoot it off?” Scott asked.

“I don’t think that actually works. Better to pry the latch off,” I said.

We ducked into side rooms. I tossed items around and pulled the empty drawers out of an old wood dresser. Nothing. I kicked over a trashcan filled with debris and a few body parts. It rolled across the floor and out rolled a strip of metal that appeared to be the broken end of a machete. I gulped when I considered what it had been used for.

Smoke rolled into the hallway and we both coughed. It burned my nose and eyes and before I knew it tears were streaming down my face.

“Can you get it?” Scott asked.

“Working on it,” I said and tried again.

This time I pounded the metal strip but it slipped away from the latch.

“Please get us out. I can hear you out there.” The man’s voice sounded from within the room.

“We’re working on it,” I said.

I tried again but the metal strip was simply too thick to slide between the bolts.

Scott had ducked back into another room and came up behind me.

“Let me try,” he said.

I turned and found he had a metal fire extinguisher in his hand. I stepped aside with a grin. Scott lifted the red canister and smashed the end into the lock. The second time he struck it, the metal ring broke and the lock fell to the ground.

Scott stepped back and raised his weapon to cover me. I slammed the latch aside and pushed open the door.

They were a motley assortment of misery. Five or six men and women dressed in rags, covered in blood, and sporting fresh bruises. The man rushed at me with anger blazing in his eyes. I backed up and lifted my pistol. He stopped in his tracks but those behind him pressed close.

“Who are you? Are you with them?” The man croaked.

“I’m not with them, whoever them is,” I said.

“They’ve kept some of us in this building for days. Killed a few. Turned others,” he said.

“Is there someone named…” I didn’t finish my question.

A woman pushed past him and stopped in her tracks. Her auburn hair had been shoulder length the last time I’d seen her but now it was shorn close to her head. She had a large bruise on the left side of her face and her eye was partially closed. But her other was clear and when she took me in she gave a gasp.

“Erik,” she said, and then she was in my arms.