David Presley - Rise of the Undead 1943

Yusif smiles, “With great pleasure.”

Pilch smiles, but then thinks about what Yusif just said and frowns.

Oddball and Vanessa stand at the end of the chamber. It has collapsed into a mass of dirt. Monte walks up, “This the way?”

“Yes.”

“That could be a problem,” Pilch notes, coming up behind them.

Yusif stoops and sees a small opening in the collapsed tunnel, “We can fit.”

Oddball looks into the passage, just big enough to crawl through, “Oh no.”

Oddball turns to go and Vanessa grabs him before Monte can, spinning him around, “It’ll be easy, I’ll hold your hand.”

Monte laughs.

“This ain’t funny, Sarge.”

“Oh yes it is, son. Yes it is.”

Yusif crawls in and quickly disappears. Monte follows.

The water has drained away to reveal what is left of Lewis lying at the entrance stone. The lower half of his torso has been blown away by the earlier blast and his battered corpse is motionless. The stone block rolls aside revealing the temple entrance room and the statue of Belial seems to gaze upon him. Lewis wears the necklace that he took from the tents. A small ruby in its center lights up. Lewis coughs up a lung-full of water and looks down at his body, “Aw man,” he closes his eyes in despair and holds back tears. Then, his eyes snap open, and he whips his neck to gaze at the statue of Belial, “Yes Master,” and he starts to pull himself toward the statue.

Yusif crawls along the tight passage with dirt raining down onto him, “I can see light ahead,” he calls back.

“Just hurry up,” Monte yells to him.

Oddball struggles to move forward, grunting all the way. Vanessa is ahead of him, “Almost there, you’re OK?” she tells him.

“You know, it’s the man that is supposed to be reassuring the woman.”

Vanessa kicks him in the head.

“Ow!”

Muller pulls himself along, ahead of Vanessa. Something moves in the dirt beside him. He looks back to see Karl driving his dagger into the dirt, “From the walls, they’re coming from the walls.”

“Forward!” Muller yells.

Oddball looks around, “What the fuck?” A hand breaks into the tunnel from the dirt and grabs him, “Undead! Coming out of the walls!”

Krugger is bringing up the rear, he struggles through the tunnel, his sheer size bringing down pounds of dirt on top of him.

Yusif pulls himself out and turns to help Monte, “Hurry!”

Muller uses his pistol and shoots into a badly decomposed body that is attacking him as Karl climbs out ahead of him, “To me! To me!” Karl screams as he reaches in and pulls Muller out.

Hands have grabbed Oddball, “Help!”

Pilch climbs out and looks back, “Oddball!”

Vanessa climbs over the corpse that Muller left and struggles for the exit. Pilch and Karl reach in and pull her out, all three falling to floor.

Oddball pushes past his attacker and quickly crawls for the exit as more hands grab for him, “They got me!”

Muller dives back into the tunnel, “Hold my feet, my feet!” he yells back and Pilch and Monte grab his feet and lean in as Muller reaches for Oddball, “To me boy! To me!” Oddball reaches out for Muller.

“Help me!”

Their fingers touch.

“A little more!”

Muller grabs him, “Go!” he screams.

The two are quickly pulled free as Pilch and Monte jerk them out to land in a heap on the floor.

Oddball looks up to Vanessa, “It’ll be easy, you said. Easy.”

She shrugs.

Muller looks back to the tunnel, “Krugger,” he stands and dives back in. He can see Krugger, hands ripping him to pieces as more undead crawl out of the dirt, “Sergeant, to me, to me!”

Krugger looks up, fear in his eyes as bony hands tear the flesh from his body, “Help me!”

“Oh god!” Muller cries as chunks of meat and skin are ripped from Krugger and his cries for help turn into shrieks of anguish.

Pilch jerks Muller out of the tunnel and Karl fires a round from his long gun, hitting Krugger in the head. Monte throws in a grenade, “Fire in the hole!”

The tunnel collapses in the explosion and Muller falls back onto the stone floor.

“I’m sorry,” Monte tells him.

Muller looks up, tears in his eyes, “A baker, he was just a baker,” he looks to Karl.

Karl is near tears, “I had to,” he looks down, upset.

“It’s OK son,” Muller says giving him a fatherly squeeze.

Pilch looks at Oddball talking softly with Vanessa and then to Muller sitting on the floor.

He approaches Muller, “You saved my friend.”

Muller looks up.

“I ain’t got many left. Maybe you do have a worthwhile bone in your stinking body after all,” and Pilch holds out his hand. Muller takes it and Pilch pulls him up. The two turn around.

“Jesus Christ!” Pilch exclaims.

In the entrance chamber, Lewis claws his way up to the head of the statue. He looks into the stone eyes of Belial and then struggles to pull the necklace off his neck. He holds the necklace in one hand and looks again into Belial’s eyes, “Forgive me,” and he puts the necklace on Belial and then falls to the floor below with a sickening crunch.

Belial turns to flesh and steps from the pedestal. He grips the mighty sword in his hand and looks down to Lewis.

“Please, you promised,” Lewis begs.

Belial smirks with an evil grin, “Yes, I did.”

Belial draws back to strike, and Lewis closes his eyes, “Thank you.”

Belial strikes twice and walks toward the entrance tunnel.

“No, you promised!” Lewis screams, lying on the floor, both his arms severed off beside him. A torso with no way to move.

“You promised!”

The group stands with the collapsed tunnel behind them in a vast, vaulted treasure room. Gold, rubies, statues, every kind of treasure litter the floor. Embedded in the walls are six life-sized statues of winged warrior women with long dagger like nails and flowing hair.

“Holy shit!” Oddball exclaims.

“All the wealth of the world,” Muller muses.

Vanessa looks at a statue.

“They look like angels,” Pilch comments.

Vanessa points to the closest one, “Gargoyles.”

Pilch shrugs, “Still gorgeous.”

Vanessa looks closely at a statue. Monte sees a door on the other side that Yusif is already moving toward, “Come on, let’s go.”

“I ain’t leavin’ without a souvenir. For my mom, of course,” Oddball says as he picks up a coin and flips it into the air.

“No. It’ll slow you down,” Monte tells him.

Karl has walked to the center and is filling his pack with treasure.

Yusif looks back from the door, “It is death to take from them.”

“Who?” Pilch asks.

Yusif points to the statue that Vanessa is inspecting.

“I’m telling you, they ain’t gonna mind. Right, pal?” Oddball tosses a coin at Karl to get his attention. Karl looks in his direction and smiles.

“It looks so life-like; the quality is excellent,” Vanessa touches the statue and jerks her hand back, “Oh my god! It’s not stone.”

“What is it?” Pilch asks her.

“It’s real,” she says quickly heading for the door.

“We’re leaving,” and Monte turns to leave.

Oddball turns to go, but when Monte can’t see, he scoops up a handful of coins and pockets them. The ground trembles.

Muller is at the door, “Karl, leave it.”

“Not on your life,” he lifts the bag up over his shoulder with a grunt. The ground rocks.

“That can’t be good,” Pilch says and runs for the door.

“Shit,” Monte yells.

A gargoyle slips from the wall landing on the ground, wings flapping.