The Zombie Evolution (13 page)

“Didn’t mean to stab the driver though. Sorry.”

10.

Our route eventually left the open fields before entering a sheltered woodland area through a gate fabricated from thick, full trees arching over a shadowed entrance. The sun still shone brightly above the trees yet only thin, infrequent rays managed to creep through the thick branches that arched over the road as we trundled on with caution. The country quietness was a welcome escape from the madness that we had all experienced over the past few days, providing a soothing release from the zombie moans amalgamated with explosions, screams and gunfire. Yet the noiselessness when we couldn’t really see our surroundings and were plummeted into a much duller light was far creepier than that of the wide open land we had just driven through.

About five minutes in, Mark slowed down our approach for discovery of an upcoming block in the road; four cars had clearly smashed into one another, two lifted and resting on the boot and bonnet of another with the fourth slammed into back. The first car had crashed into a tree causing it to collapse across the road just behind the pile up, crushing a fifth car in its wake. The pile up appeared somewhat aged, showing remains of long since extinguished fires and small explosions which had propelled fragments of glass and car parts across the ground.  Although the obstacle may have been a less intense version of its former initial self, the five cars covered every possible way of getting through the road; Surrounded with dense woodland accompanied by an array of large, staggered rocks on either side, there was absolutely no way through.

This particular road was a long one too, and one that had not offered any tarmacked tributaries for some miles so to turn back would mean a significant drive in the opposite direction and perhaps straight back into the waiting hands of danger and doom. We could have cut back the five minutes lost in entering the wooded area back out to the clear views of the fields, then attempted to go cross-country over the grassland and eye-high crops, but the terrain was sure to make mincemeat of a car that had already seen far better days. We had long since left the zombies in our dust, but they were fast and relentless, never tiring or stopping their cataclysmic rampage. Additionally, they now had our scent so there was little doubt that however vain it was, they were probably still on our tail.

The road ahead of the pile up albeit shadowed by the tress was still as straight and clear as the roads that preceded it, and about half a mile in the distance we could see a sixth car. This car didn’t appear to have been part of any collision and was lone standing in a sharp spotlight made by the sun through a break in the branches. It was deserted with the driver door flung open, waiting invitingly in the middle of the road with smoke still pouring out of the exhaust, signifying its retained functionality. It was good fortune to say the least, having a blockade met almost immediately with a replacement car, yet it was still half a mile through the wilderness in an area we didn’t know.

“Shall we go back?”

              Tina asked the question we had all invariantly pondered.

Mark looked at me, before tapping the petrol gauge on the dash. He had failed to tell any of us that the tank was nearly empty anyway, and God knows what his plan was when the car chugged to a fuel-less halt. We couldn’t turn back as we’d be in the same situation in 20 minutes anyway, just further away from our intended destination. It now seemed like the deserted car was a blessing somewhat disguised with the hindrance of the pile up. Half a mile really wasn’t far to go, but it was far enough when we had little visibility plus knew what could be out there.

“No”

              Mark retorted.

“We move forward. Let’s move into that car and keep going” 

It seemed assertive and like he was sagely taking control of the situation, but we both knew he was simply cascading a choice above no other option. Even if we could have turned back, even if there was enough fuel to change route, this still seemed like the best option anyway and one we were all unanimously up for exploiting.

The half mile journey entailed an initial obstacle of the pile up, presenting us a choice of going up and over the small automotive barricade or around the edge, a couple of feet into the woodland to go around. For fear of the woodland’s dark density we manoeuvred in silence, taking precaution with every step so as not to draw attention to ourselves. Kate and I took the outer route whilst Phil, Jon, Mark, Derek and Tina ascended the cars, pushing and pulling one another over the peek as they clambered up, and then descended down the other side. Just this took some time due to the sharp shards of glass and ripped edges of metal offering some pretty nasty hazards which were to be carefully avoided. It was a precise and gradual climb of which none of the climbers took lightly.

Derek, being the last to make it across, slid down the side of one of the upturned cars to clear the final segment of this challenge. As he did, an unnoticed trailing piece of metal caught his thigh, ceasing his sliding motion and working against his gravitational flow to slice into his flesh. It was a couple of inches or so in length extruding from the car, meaning the same measurement found itself deep within his leg, emitting a loud tearing sound in the process. Derek yelped in pain, still hanging from the car’s shank as it stayed strong in its standpoint. He screamed for help as Mark and Jon bolted to his side to see what had happened. Kate and I managed to complete our outer navigation without mishap, joining the frenzied group in order to attend to Derek.

The wound looked deep with thick, dark blood escaping his thigh and pouring onto the group. He couldn’t help but yelp in sheer agony, yet Tina took the initiative to try and console him as the loud cries could most likely be heard for quite some distance. Jon pulled his leg to find the metal had acted as an internal hook, which clearly caused more pain as more cries were uncontrollably unleashed. Looking Jon in the eye, we knew the only way to get him off this with the least amount of permanent and painful damage was to lift him off the metal; Up, back to follow the shape of the shard, then down. It was a nasty mess which was evidently excruciating, but we had to get him off and get the fuck out of here.

“Look at me”

              Tina held Derek’s jawline with one hand and brushed his hair back with the other, pulling him into her eye line.

“You need to be brave”

It seemed somewhat patronising, yet Derek responded well, stifling his cries with his mouth clenched shut. His eyes wobbled as he stared intensely at Tina, not averting his gaze for a moment as we got into position. His whole body shook, sweat absconding every pour and frequent tears climbing out from his eyes before running down his cheeks. Jon and I pushed his arms up onto each of our shoulders before gaining a secure grip around his legs and waist. It wasn’t possible to do this quickly as would rip his flesh from inside should we get it wrong, making a larger wound and running the risk of catching an artery. So, cautiously, we grabbed a tight hold and began to count down…

1…

Derek’s hands clenched our shirts tightly with anxiety.

2…

Tina held his head, his once staring eyes now closed, cutting off the streams as they continued to fall down his face.

3…

We lifted him and yanked his thigh backwards off the metal. We were as careful as we could be, but the metal was so jagged it clearly caught the inside of his leg in several places, tearing his flesh in the process. Against his willpower, Derek emitted a soul-cutting scream of pain. It was sharp and short, but one impossible to imitate unless experiencing the same agony. Most importantly though, he was off the hook and safely back onto the ground, panting excessively and crying tears of both distress and relief that the ordeal was over, however short lived it was. Patting his back in some otiose attempt to assure him it was over, we heard the same scream echo off in the distance. It seemed strange for there to be such a clear echo bounced back from the woodland.

Then, another scream.

A third scream filled the air, but now from a different direction.

Tina hugged Derek as Phil wrapped a tourniquet at the top of his thigh, but the strange array of echoes caused everyone to stand and look curiously in the directions of each of the noise’s sources.

A fourth.

A fifth.

And a sixth.

Each scream met our ears from every angle, strong in reverb yet loud enough to suggest that the source of the scream was relatively nearby.

A seventh.

An eighth, now even closer.

We turned to one another, wide eyed all with matching expressions of terror. These weren’t echoes at all, and they certainly weren’t screams from anything…human.

“Go.”

Mark uttered.

“Go!”

Jon helping me and Phil helping Derek, we darted in the direction of the running car. Both Derek and I found enough strength to put our pain aside and run to the best of our physical abilities, permitting Jon and Phil an as fast as possible escape. As we ran, the screams increased in their frequency and seemingly increased in their numbers, ever approaching and ringing terror in each of our hearts. The screams then became accompanied by rustling in the surrounding trees, with the sound of quick paced footsteps crashing through the leaves. We could see figures heading towards us from every angle, not too far back in the woodland as they gained distance at rapid speed, smashing branches and circumnavigating tree drunks in their wake. They had surrounded us, showing their evolution had made them even quicker than before, and unless we got to this car in time, we were all done for. In fact, if the car didn’t run, if there was any problem or defect with it whatsoever, we were utterly fucked.

Kate tripped over her own feet in the panic, tumbling to the ground. Mark stopped and shot back to assist her, grabbing her arm to lift her back to her feet. As he did, a zombie shot from the bushes and rugby tackled him with force across the road as another pounced from the other side. Both assailants stuck their teeth in as he screeched with pain in a fruitless attempt for help. I turned and caught the glaze of his eye before life escaped it entirely, the zombies made quick work of eating away at his neck whilst using their long, sharp finger nails to rip through his stomach and pull out his intestines. He was done. I didn’t like Mark, I’ve even gone out of my way to hurt him in the past, but this was a grizzly end I never wished for him and felt instant remorse as his soul was torn from inside him. Panicked, I looked back at Kate who looked like she had twisted her ankle and was struggling to get back to her feet. I didn’t know what to do, having seen the zombies were now in our direct vicinity with two only just to the right of her feeding on Mark, it deemed any rescue attempt completely futile.

“We have to help her”

I instructed Jon, as I shimmied away from his steadying arm and manoeuvred toward Kate.

As I did, another five zombies quickly made an appearance out from the trees and surrounded her, like velociraptors in a pentagram formation. Kate looked petrified, taking short sharp gasps of air through her tear soaked lips. She looked up at us, and through the salty water her lip quivered with realisation that there was no helping her, no matter what we did. She took a couple of quick, penetrative looks at her surrounding attackers before closing her eyes and lowering her face to the floor to admit defeat. Just as we thought she had given up entirely, a shimmer of hope came in the form of an unexpected burst of energy; Kate fired herself like a runner at the pistol toward us with a sudden look of determination across her face. She wasn’t ready to go now, giving every remaining ounce of dynamism she had to free herself and make it to the car. Unfortunately, her action was met with a faster one as the zombies launched themselves upon her and make quick work of removing her skin. She secreted a piercing scream which swiftly transitioned to a gargle as she was eaten alive. The zombies pulled her arms from their sockets and bit through her back and chest rapidly and aggressively. Both Jon and I froze in shock; we had seen many people turned inside out by these monsters as they mercilessly used their decrepit jaws and jagged fingers nails to disembowel and dismember their helpless prey, but her determined attempt at breaking free before being the newest addition to the list of brutal endings was a really hard pill to swallow yet.

“Come on! Fucking Move!”

              Tina dictated.

The other three had managed to get inside the car, Tina in the driving seat revving the engine and impatiently awaiting our prolonged arrival. With one last glance back at the red swamp which only moments before was Kate and Mark, I grabbed Jon by the shoulder to pull him out of his daze.