Iain McKinnon - Remains of the Dead

Underneath that leathery skin, bones snapped and grey matter turned to mash. The zombie lay still.

Ryan stood above the corpse like a conquering gladiator, his chest heaving from the exertion. An agitated moan caught his ear and he turned to see a second zombie plodding towards him. And in the sky behind it, Ryan could see the blink of navigation lights.

“Yes!” Ryan let slip in relief, the light rain splashing down, bouncing off his face.

More movement caught his eye. Across the playing field, a swarm of undead were pushing past the dislodged desk, pouring in faster than before.

The barricade had failed utterly. Lubricated by the sodden grass and mud, the desk Ryan had used to block the gap had been forced back by the combined strength of a thousand undead. Now that legion were raging through the breach.

Ryan looked back at the school for a sign of his companion.

“Cahz!” he screamed as loud as he could.

There was no reply. Ryan turned to see the undead shuffling closer.

The signal fire made their faces look even more monstrous as the flickering orange light twisted and warped their slack-jawed expressions.

Ryan turned and ran for the school.

Cahz battered open the double doors from the gym and stumbled into the main corridor. He held two long, unwieldy wooden benches sandwiched under his arm to fuel the signal fire. The corridor was lit by the dim reflected light from the fire in the schoolroom where Rebecca slept.

Ryan stood motionless by the open doorway, silhouetted by the golden flicker of fire light, his shoulders hunched over, looking thoroughly drenched, a pool of water forming at his feet.

“I’ve checked in on her already,” Cahz said, struggling with the gym equipment.

Ryan didn’t react; he simply stood there staring into the schoolroom.

“Give me a hand here,” Cahz said as the two benches started to slip.

The benches scissored in opposite directions. Cahz tried to calm the swinging with his free hand, but the stress was too much and they clattered to the floor.

“Don’t just stand there,” he said as he bent down to stack them.

As he gathered them up he caught sight of Ryan moving into the room.

Cahz started lifting the load. “I know you’ve got a sore foot, Ryan, but for fuck’s sake hurry it up.”

With the bench back in place, Cahz stumbled forward again. As he drew up to the door he shouted inside.

“Grab an end for fuck’s sake-”

Cahz froze.

By the light of the fire in the classroom, he could see it wasn’t Ryan he’d been speaking to. A thick-set zombie, its skin crisp and burnt, stared from lidless eyes at the slumbering baby. The child twitched in her sleep and the creature let out a baneful moan.

“Ah shit!” Cahz shouted.

The benches hit the floor with a clatter and Cahz pulled his carbine up to fire. The zombie seemed oblivious to the noise and threw itself at the child. It was on the child before Cahz could fire. The two merged and he lost his clear target. With no time before the creature bit down, Cahz pulled the trigger.

The zombie toppled over onto the floor. The child screamed.

Cahz vaulted over the toppled benches and kicked the neutralized zombie away from the child. He bent down and scooped up the crying baby. Her cheeks were puffed out red as she screamed in discomfort. Cahz gently placed his hand on the child’s forehead, his breath forced to a fearful stop. The baby was tiny, his cupped hand covering her whole head. The skin was burning hot, flushed with blood from screaming. He drew his hand over the child’s hair, ruffling her short silky curls as he felt for any wet patches.

With a puff of relief, Cahz let out his stifled breath. There was no bite, no spray of contagion. Again the baby had escaped infection.

“There, there,” Cahz said, bouncing the baby. “There, there.”

“Cahz!” Ryan cried out as he ran into the room.

“Ryan?” Cahz squeaked back in a surprised, high-pitched tone.

Ryan stopped just short of the incapacitated zombie. “The choppers back!” he gasped before he had time to take in the scene. He saw the inert zombie sprawled across the floor and caught the look of panic in Cahz’s eyes. “What the fuck happened?” he asked as he practically pulled Rebecca to his chest.

“It’s all okay,” Cahz said in a calming tone. “I took the W.D. out before he got to her. She’s fine-just a little freaked.”

Ryan held the child out at arm’s length and examined her. In a childish voice he comforted the girl.

“You said the choppers here?” Cahz asked.

Ryan nodded. “Yeah, but they’ve broken through the fence. The field is full of pus-bags.”

“Christ!” Cahz sprang over the body and out towards the main door.

Cahz sprinted out of the front door with such speed that he ran straight past the first zombie. The retarded cadaver swung round to grab at him, but Cahz was too swift. In the exigency to grab its prey, the zombie lost its balance and fell over.

Ryan was right; the playing field was swamped with undead, and maybe a mile away in the rain-laden sky there shone the lights of an aircraft.

“This is India Tango One, are you receiving?” Cahz shouted into his mic. “Are you receiving?”

The cross of burning desks was still alight, but the flames were lacklustre, dampened by the rain.

But there was still enough light to plainly see the dozens of zombies shambling towards him. Cahz fired his weapon, dispatching the approaching vanguard of undead.

“India Tango One calling. We need immediate extraction. Do you copy?”

The zombie Cahz had run past picked itself up. It stretched out its bone thin arms and lumbered after its kill.

Cahz looked up at the black night sky. He could see the flashes of light from the chopper illuminating the undersides of the clouds. Taking in a deep breath he hit the toggle to send, “Idris, you son of bitch, look down!”

The zombie edged up behind Cahz. It let its jaw drop and tried to let out an excited moan, but no sound emerged from its infection encrusted mouth. Maybe the fall or the rain or some other factor prevented it from moaning. It didn’t matter to the undead creature; it would still sink its teeth into the living flesh and gorge on its warm meat.

Snarling, its teeth at the ready, the zombie stepped in for the attack.

A shot rang out from behind him and Cahz whipped round just in time to see a zombie collapse at his feet. Ryan had emerged from the school building, the papoose strapped to his chest, pistol in hand.

Cahz looked at Ryan, the muzzle still pointed at his face, and then down at the crumpled zombie.

“Your aim is improving,” Cahz said, then turned round and looked back up at the sky. “Idris, this is Cahz. Come on, buddy, we really need a lift.”

As Ryan drew up Cahz could hear the baby zipped up inside the bag, her howls of displeasure marginally stifled by the fabric.

“What do we do?!” Ryan shouted above the child’s screams and the lashing rain.

A swathe of zombies where shambling towards them, converging on their position.

“Get closer to the breach,” Cahz said. “We’ve got to seal that back up before we run out of ammo.”

“What about the chopper?”

Cahz gave Ryan a solemn look. “If you can think of a way of signaling him, I’m all ears.”

“The school!” Ryan yelped. “Torch the school!”

Cahz slapped him on the shoulder. “It’s worth a try. Get to it. I’ll try to secure the area.”

Cahz edged forward, shooting as he did. Within seconds his carbine gave a dreaded click. He flicked the catch and let the empty fall to the ground. He pulled a fresh magazine from its pouch and slapped it home. There was no time to retrieve the empty and since there was no more ammunition, there was no point.