David Bernstein - Machines of the Dead

A few days after waking, Zaun was strong enough to leave. Jack went over gun protocol, making sure his friend knew as much about the firearms as possible, including where the safety switches were, how to properly load a weapon, and how to aim and shoot.

With their packs full and on their backs, guns loaded, Jack taking the two handguns and the rifle while Zaun carried the shotgun and his sword, the two companions left the apartment.

They easily made their way to the supply closet on the sixth floor. Looking out the window, Jack saw that the gate was open. A few undead were currently occupying the alley, with one right below the window where the rope was dangling. Another was about halfway down the alley and a third stood between one of the open gates and the brick wall, as if confused on how to exit the area.

Jack almost couldn’t believe it. The undead horde from earlier must have grown so large that their combined mass was no match for the gate and broke the steel door open. They flooded in like water from a burst dam. Finding no food, they receded back out, leaving a few stragglers behind.

Looking out into the street, Jack saw a single zombie walk by. Then another. At any moment, one could walk right in and then there’d be four to deal with.

“What is it?” Zaun asked.

“Remember that ‘ safe ’ alley I told you about?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it isn’t so safe anymore.” Jack moved aside to let Zaun have a look.

“Wow,” Zaun said. “Guess those military dudes were wrong about that gate being secure.”

“I just think they underestimated the undead’s strength. Those things might be weak and slow individually, but in groups they’re like a tornado.”

“There are only a few down there now,” Zaun pointed out. “We can take them out.”

“Yeah, but we have to do it quietly or we’ll wind up with half the city’s undead down there. I was thinking about picking them off with the rifle, but I’m not sure how the sound would travel from up here. The shots could echo and confuse the things, or it might attract them into the alley. Then we’d be stuck up here for who knows how long.”

Zaun turned to Jack, a grin on his face. “You trust me?”

“Why, what have you got in mind?”

“It might be nuts, but it’s our only option.”

Jack listened as Zaun suggested that he go down the rope. Using his martial arts training, he would then quietly take out the three undead.

“And if it doesn’t work,” Zaun added, “you’ll pull my ass back up and we’re no better off.”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

“What other choice is there, the sewer? T hat sounds more dangerous, at least getting to them does.”

Jack knew his friend was right. He didn’t like the guy going down there alone, but he’d be ready with his rifle. And if the alley became overwhelmed with the undead, he’d help Zaun back up.

“Fine, but you’re taking the harness. I’m not sure I can pull you up all that way and I doubt you’ll be able to climb sixty feet without tiring.”

“No way. I’ll be fine. Between the two of us, we’ll get me back in this closet. I’m rope savvy, having climbed before. You on the other hand are not. How do you expect to climb down without falling?”

Jack should’ve thought to bring at least one extra harness. Now one of them was going to be in danger.

“It’s settled then,” Zaun said, smiling. He grabbed a pair of the heavy workman’s gloves from the shelf and put them on. “I’ll be able to slide down easily with these. They should hold up well.”

Zaun gave the shotgun to Jack, then went to climb onto the windowsill.

“Hold on,” Jack told him.

Zaun turned around.

Jack held out the Sig Sauer. “Just in case.”

Zaun took the weapon, tucking it into the front of his pants.

“Safety’s on,” Jack informed him.

“I know. You think I’d shove this thing in my pants if it wasn’t?”

“Just watch your ass.”

Zaun climbed onto the windowsill, wrapped the rope around his left hand once, creating his own belay, then started down.

Jack kept an eye on the undead, but also watched his friend.

Zaun made his way quickly down the line, stopping just above the zombie that was standing below him. With his legs intertwined between the rope, and his left hand holding him up, he drew the sword with his right hand and plunged the blade into the top of the zombie’s head. The undead corpse went slack and collapsed to the ground. Neither of the other two undead seemed to notice.

Zaun dropped the rest of the way to the ground, landing in a crouch. He stood slowly, reached into his jacket, and produced a throwing star. Jack shook his head, remembering having the pointy things when he was a kid. He would throw them at trees or into the back of the door to his room, but never imagined ever using them in real life. They were a thing for movies or books; things kids played with. But Zaun, along with hand-to-hand combat and swordplay, practiced using all kinds of throwing weapons. He’d told Jack that knives were his favorite, the long blades were great for deep penetration and killing, but only when in somewhat close proximity to the target. Throwing stars were better for distance strikes, usually not penetrating deep enough to cause death, but could cause enough damage to hinder an enemy’s attack or impede his escape. Zaun was going to use them to draw the undead’s attention.

Jack’s heart was in his throat as he watched Zaun thr o w the weapon, hitting the undead in the back of its head. The thing stopped, and turned around, then headed straight for Zaun.

Damn, Jack thought. The weapon hadn’t penetrated deep enough to kill the zombie, but at least Zaun had hit his mark and quietly drew the thing’s attention.

The undead’s pace was slow, but faster than when it had had no target in it sights. The zombie near the gate remained in place, apparently unaware of what was going on.

Zaun stood like a statue as the thing came straight for him; his right hand on the hilt of his sword. Jack’s heart continued to slam against his chest. When the undead thing came within an arm’s length, Zaun swung his sword in one smooth motion. The zombie’s head tumbled to the ground, followed by its body.

Damn, Jack thought, the guy is good.

However, there was a problem. The zombie near the gate hadn’t moved, and was still about sixty feet away. Zaun couldn’t go up to it, not without the risk of attracting any undead that might walk by the alley. How was he going to get its attention? The distance was way too far for him to use another throwing star. If he missed, the metal clang would attract others.

Looking down, Jack saw Zaun motioning for him to come down. Right, why bother with the lone zombie? They would both be long gone and underground before the thing even knew they had been there.

Jack hooked himself up to the rope, climbed out onto the windowsill and began his descent. He moved slowly, not wanting to attract the attention of any undead that might see him from the street, or fall and break his bones. Turning around to check on Zaun, he saw that he wasn’t below him anymore, and was moving down the alley. What the hell was the guy doing?

Jack moved faster, wanting to reach the ground and get to Zaun before he did anything stupid, but by the time he reached the asphalt, the guy was too far away. Calling out was not an option.

Jack watched, sweat running down his face and back, heart still racing, as Zaun stopped about ten feet from the lone zombie. He produced another star and threw it at the undead thing. At the same time he released the weapon, a female zombie, dressed in a dark gray business suit, ambled from around the corner, and spotted Zaun immediately. The star did its job, drawing the heavyset zombie from where it stood.