All around us, the fence started to rattle and shake as the eaters slammed up against it and began to climb. Yeah, the top of the gate was surrounded with barbed wire, but I doubted that the wire would stop a bunch of hungry dead things.
Dylan, still in shock from being bitten by one of the corpses, just sat on the ground near the warehouse's back door. He turned as white as a sheet of paper, and he was sweating like crazy. Dylan kept mumbling something to himself, but I could hear what the hell he was saying.
The first of the stenches made it to the top of the gate. The dead thing pulled itself up and the strands of barbed wire cut into the undead man's face. He didn't really seem to mind, however as he just kept climbing. The dead guy reached over to the other side of the fence and flipped over the gate, landing back-first into the parking lot.
"Oh fuck," Maurice muttered.
"I got this," I said. I ran up to the dead guy, he sat up and tried to grab me by my right leg, but I kicked him back and drove the blade of my axe across his forehead. That was one down, didn't know how many more to go.
Mick hurried to the front of the building, "There's more coming this way!" He yelled. I really wish he hadn't screamed as the dead things on the outside of the warehouse heard Mick's yell.
Another dead thing had climbed to the top of the fence and she was trying to maneuver over the barbed wire.
"We have to get back inside," Maurice said. He grabbed Dylan and tried to pull him back into the warehouse.
Dylan pulled away from Maurice and ran across the back of the lot, "No! Stay away!" Once again with the damn screaming. I'm just gonna put neon signs up so the dead things from far and wide know that there's a fresh meal waiting for them in the warehouse. Shit.
"Dylan, be quiet," Carla pleaded.
The undead woman tumbled over the top of the gate and got to her feet. She was wearing blue sweat pants and a plain gray t shirt and was barefoot. She ran right towards Dylan.
Dylan held his hands out in front of him, "Stay back! Get away!" He yelled at the biter. She didn't listen.
The corpse grabbed both of Dylan's hands and then bit down onto the left one, taking a few fingers away with her. Dylan bellowed out in pain as the undead creature then dragged Dylan to the ground and sunk her teeth into the front of his throat. Dylan kicked and screamed as the biter continued to rip away at his neck and chest.
Maurice ran to try and help Dylan, but Mick and Philip stopped him. "Dylan's fucked. Just get inside," Phil said.
"No, we have to help," Maurice protested.
Cynthia pointed towards Dylan, his legs weren't moving and he wasn't making a sound. "He's gone. We have to get out of sight. now!"
Maurice relented and we all hurried back into the warehouse as a few more undead creatures made it over the top of the fence and were falling down inside of the lot.
Carla closed and locked the back door of the warehouse. Mick did the same to the front door and sliding garage door.
"Reid, help me with these boxes," Carla said. The two of us pushed a large, heavy stack of cardboard in front of the back door to keep the dead things at bay.
"What about the windows out front?" Angie asked the group.
"Just get low and stay out of sight," Maurice said.
And that's what we did. We all dropped to the ground and hid behind the various stacks of cardboard and listened to the dead things outside. It sounded like they had the entire building surrounded. Some of the creatures were pounding on the back door and were trying to get inside the warehouse.
I was sitting on the floor, crouched in between Janice and Carla across from the back door. "You think that door will hold?" I whispered.
Cynthia nodded. "It should."
"Everyone just stay calm," Maurice said quietly. Yeah, really easy to do when the undead are trying to break into the damn building. Great advice Maurice.
The sounds of shattering glass came from the front of the warehouse. One of the dead things had broken in. The undead creature slid into the broken window frame and she was now inside the warehouse with us.
I popped my head over the stack of cardboard and watched as the undead woman got up to her feet. She had shards of glass embedded in her neck and face, but she didn't care. She spotted Angela looking at her and the dead thing made her charge towards Cynthia's kid sister.
"Ang, run," Cynthia gasped.
Before the dead thing got to Angie, Mick pushed the eater to the ground. Before the stench could get up, Mick stomped on the biter's head, crushing it.
"Oh man, now it's gonna stink in here," I complained.
Carla slapped me on the arm. "Fucking seriously?"
Yeah, not the best time for a wisecrack.
Mick and Angie ran over and crouched down beside me.
"You okay, Ang?" I whispered.
Ang gave me a nervous nod. "Yeah."
After a few more minutes of pounding on the door, it started to grow a little quiet outside. The eaters were still out there; I could hear them growling and snarling, but it didn't sound like they were trying to get into the building anymore.
"Reid," Phil whispered from behind another stack of cardboard at the opposite end of the warehouse.
I looked in Philip's direction and nodded.
Philip pointed to the warehouse's front door and mouthed the phrase, "Follow me."
I moved out from around my cover and went with Phil to the front door of the warehouse. Being as quiet as we could, the two of us pushed another stack of cardboard in front of the door. Then, the two of us grabbed a smaller stack and placed it in front of the broken out window. The smaller stack of cardboard was still pretty heavy, and it would take a few dead things to even move it.
Eventually, we all moved out from our hiding spots and gathered in a corner of the warehouse by Carla and Phil's little love shack.
"Is everybody okay?" Maurice asked us.
We all nodded.
"Was anyone else bitten?" Carla asked the group.
Everyone checked for bite marks, but found none.
Maurice shook his head, "Dylan. Dammit."
"What happened, Reid? You were out there with Dylan," Cyn asked me.
"Dylan noticed that some of the fence covering had come loose, and he was trying to fix it. Fucking biter was right out there and it grabbed him," I answered. "We didn't see or hear it, I swear."
It got pretty dark in the warehouse as the night wore on. We all huddled together in the back of the building and waited for dawn.
As soon as morning came, I got up. Sitting up against a concrete wall and a sitting on a cold, cement slab of a floor does wonders for the neck and spine. I highly recommend it. I twisted my body from side to side and then did the same with my neck. The cracking sounds were so loud, I'm surprised the eaters outside the building didn't rush in.
"Dammit, Reid," I was sleeping," Cynthia muttered. "Take all damn night to conk out, and when I finally do, you do that shit."
"Good morning to you too, Cynthia," I replied.
"Anything going on out there?"
"I haven't heard anything in a while."
Maurice woke up next. "Hey, guys."
"Morning," I replied.
"Seems a little quiet."
"Yeah, I haven't heard much of anything outside. Think we should check things out?"
"We'll have to do it sooner or later anyways."
"Better sooner than later," said Cynthia.
Carla and Phil were laying side by side. Carla woke up first, and then Philip. "Hey, we're still alive," Carla remarked.
"For a couple more minutes at least," I joked.
"Huh?"
"We're about to go out there and see what's going on."
"Too early for this shit."
Everyone else had woken up by the time Maurice, Cyn, and I were ready to go outside and check on things. We all gathered near the minivan to plan things out.
"Okay, I highly doubt that the biters left the area. We just need to see how many are out there in the lot, and how many we have to deal with," said Maurice.
Mick chuckled. "Yeah, and try not to get our asses bit off."
"That too."
"Wait a minute, do we have to walk out into the parking lot?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah?" Cyn replied. "How else can we see what's going on outside?"
"The roof. If there's a way to get up there that is. Shit, only one of us has to walk up there and see what's happening. Is there a hatch somewhere?"
We all stared to look around the warehouse for a way to get up to the roof. There had to be a roof access hatch somewhere in the building. At least I hoped there was. Basically, the warehouse was just one big ass room filled with stacks of cardboard. There was the smallest of offices in the back that everyone used to store their equipment and food. The bathroom amounted to a small storage closet with a toilet and sink in there. And that was all.
"I don't see a way to get up there, Reid," Maurice told me.
"Fan-fucking-tastic," I replied. "This end of the world just keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to see what'll happen during the next apocalypse."
"So what do we do?" Angie asked everyone.
"We have to take care of those eaters out there. We won't be able to leave if we don't," Philip answered.
"I have an idea. Why don't we all get in the van and high tail it out of here? Find a new shelter?" Mick suggested.
"How? Biters are literally right outside the door,Mick," Maurice responded.
"I'll plow through the garage door, plow through the front gate, and plow through any fucking eaters that get in our way."
Carla laughed. "Of course you would."
"And risk doing all kinds of damage to the van? No, we better play it safe," said Maurice.
"There's no getting around it, we have to go out there and clear the dead fuckers out," Cynthia said.
"Wait a minute. Instead of us going to them, why don't we have them come to us?" I suggested.
"Oh no, what are you thinking of now?"
"Touching your feet."
"I am going to murder your ass, Reid."
Ang looked at Cynthia, "I see Reid's back on his foot fetish."
"No, I'm back on the 'irritating the piss out of Cynthia' fetish, Angie," I replied.
Ang nodded. "Oh okay."
"Anyways, what is your plan, Reid?" Carla asked me.
I motioned to the back door. "All we have to do is open up the back door and stay behind that stack of cardboard. The dead things can't get over that. We can make the stack a little higher if need be. We stab and jab at the eaters until they're all, uh, dead. Or dead for good, or whatever." Yep, I'm smooth.
The others in the group thought about it. "Reid, I think you might be onto something there," Mick told me.
"Carla, are you ready to give that spike a workout?" I asked.
"You don't need to tell me twice," Carla replied, producing her weapon.
Cynthia, Janice, Carla, and I approached the back door of the warehouse. The stack of cardboard came up to slightly above our waists. The four of us readied our weapons; Carla with the spike, Janice with the long pipe wrench, Cyn with her knife, and me with my axe. Maurice stood beside the back door, ready to open it, and the rest of the group was standing by the minivan ready to take out any stenches that might get past us.
"Ready?" Maurice whispered.
"Yep," Cyn replied.
He unlocked the door and pushed it open and then stepped aside. We were greeted by an empty parking lot and some bright sunshine. I think we were all expecting for the biters to reach in and try to get at us, but there was just nothing.
"Now I know those bastards didn't-" Cynthia tried to say. She was interrupted by an eater that finally decided to show up. The undead woman stumbled up to the doorway and saw us standing there. She reached over the stack and tried to grab Janice.
Janice thrust the pipe wrench forward, hitting the biter in her chin. Carla then took her spike and drove it into the bridge of the dead creature's nose. The biter fell face-first on the stack of cardboard and stopped moving.
Then, another one of the biters showed up. He bumped right into the stack of cardboard and lurched forward, right into the awaiting blade of my axe, which split the biter's face right down the middle. And yes, the rotted bits of brain that fell out were utterly disgusting and smelled fucking horrible.
After those two undead creatures were put out of their misery, nothing else happened.
"That can't be it," Ang muttered from behind us.
Cynthia shook her head and sighed, "Screw this." She climbed over the two dead things and walked out of the building.
"Ah, shit," I said as I followed. Janice and Carla climbed over the stack too and joined Cyn and I in the parking lot.
We all looked to where we last saw Dylan being torn into by the dead things. Dylan was nowhere to be found. Just a large pool of blood drying in the early morning sun.
Stumbling out from around the front of the warehouse, the now undead Dylan saw the four of us standing there. The biters really did a number on him as Dylan's right arm was chewed away at the elbow. The front part of his neck had been eaten away as well. The front of his coveralls were just soaked with blood. He snarled and then ran at the four of us.
Janice swung the pipe wrench sideways at Dylan once he was within range. The shot from the weapon landed on Dylan's left shoulder. He fell up against the building and Carla drove her spike into Dylan's left ear and then quickly extracted her weapon. Dylan fell down to the ground and didn't get back up.
"Sorry, Dylan," I heard Carla mutter as she stood over his dead body.
The four of us hurried towards the front of the building. I peeked around the corner and there was one biter standing near the front door to the warehouse. The dead guy had his back to me. I hurried up to him and kicked the eater in the middle of his back to knock the corpse down to the ground. I quickly sent my axe into the back of his head. I guess the biter on the other side of the building heard me because he wandered out from around the corner.
Before I could pry my axe free from the stench's head, and take care of this new undead guy, Cynthia brushed past me and stabbed the undead creature in the left side of his skull.
Carla and Janice hurried by me and Cyn and looked around the last corner. "We're all clear. That's it," A relieved Janice said.
"We got em all?" I asked.
"Yep."
"Thank fuck for that."
The rest of the group joined us outside in the parking lot and Maurice surveyed our handiwork.
"Wow," Maurice told us. "Reid, that was a good idea with the barrier back in the warehouse."
I wiped my axe blade off on the back of one of the dead thing's shirts. "Thanks."
"Reid can be brilliant from time to time," Cynthia said.
"Now we have to clean this up," Mick told Maurice. "Outside and in."
"One, two, three, not it!" I said.
Maurice laughed. "That's okay, guys. You four did your part. The rest of us will handle the clean up."
Cynthia looked at Angie. "That means you too, Ang."
Angela frowned. "Damn."
Cyn poked fun at her kid sister. "Ha ha, you have to clean up bits of rotted brain."
"Oh, mock me."
"I know that has me ready for lunch," I quipped.
Cyn, Janice, Carla and I relaxed outside while the rest of the group cleaned up the bodies. I didn't envy Mick and Ang who had to clean up the rotten brain matter from inside the warehouse. Since Mick made the mess saving Angie, it was their job.
The group carried all of the bodies over to the front gate of the warehouse. Carla and Phil crawled outside and did a quick perimeter check. Once they determined there were no biters around, Cyn and I opened the front gates and we all started dragging the bodies outside of the lot.
Maurice felt it best to just leave the bodies in the small lot across the street from the warehouse, Dylan's included. "I would have liked to have given Dylan a proper burial, but the ground's too hard," Maurice told me as we set Dylan's body down, away from the rest of the dead biters. "This was a rough one."
"Really?" I asked. "How long have you known Dylan?"
"Quite a while actually. Way before all of this garbage."
"I'd tell you that I'm sorry, but I know it won't do anything."
"You're right, it won't."
"Come on, let's get back inside. Hopefully the smell of rot is out of the warehouse by now."
Lucky for us, it was. After our harrowing encounter with all of the eaters, we just kind of sat around the warehouse for a little bit. Mick and Phil repaired the broken front window by taping up a few bits of cardboard.
Cynthia and Angela were talking among themselves for a little bit. Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to see what those two were up talking about. I highly doubt their discussion was about my handsome face.
"What's up?" I asked the sisters.
"Give us a minute, Reid," Cyn replied.
"Are you two discussing which one gets to sleep with me tonight?"
Cynthia frowned. "What? No?"
"Dammit."
"Why do we even hang out with you?"
"Yes."
Cynthia sighed, "Reid, please.
The sisters exchanged glances, "You ready?" Angela asked Cynthia.
"Yep," Cyn answered. "Hey, Maurice, can you come over here for a second?"
Maurice nodded and headed our way. "What's up?"
"You tell him, Ang," Cynthia said to her kid sister.
"After talking things over with Cynthia, we've decided to stay here at the warehouse," Angela said.
"Oh, good," Maurice replied. "I was hoping you would. Finally some good news. Everyone, Cynthia and Angela have decided to stick around here with us."
I guess that meant I was sticking around too.