David Presley - Rise of the Undead 1943

Pilch looks to his wound, “You could have let me take the blow.”

“Then, you would be dead.”

“But you’d be OK and have a better chance…”

Yusif interrupts him, “My fate was sealed the day I was born.”

A simple wooden door stands open 30 meters ahead.

“We are here.”

Pilch looks to the wooden door, “That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“Just that shitty wooden door?”

“Mahogany, I believe.”

“The gates to Hell!” and Pilch makes big gestures with his arms, “A fucking mahogany door.”

“I am sorry it is not what you expected.”

A small dog-sized creature emerges from the gateway.

“Hey boy,” Pilch calls and pats his side. The creature opens its mouth and gives a ear-piercing demonic scream.

“What the hell is that?” Pilch cries out in alarm.

Yusif shrugs, “Imp.”

“What the fuck is an imp?” and Pilch looks to see it has a scaly red hide.

“A lesser demon.”

“Lesser?”

“Still very nasty.”

The imp opens its mouth in a growl, and Pilchs’ eyes go wide at seeing multiple rows of razor sharp teeth, “Jesus Christ!”

It charges, its knife-like claws digging into the stone and sending out showers of sparks.

“Excuse me,” Yusif says and steps forward.

The imp lunges for his throat and he neatly cuts it in two.

Pilch looks down at the quivering flesh, “Is there a greater demon?”

“Yes, many sizes.”

Pilch is speechless.

Yusif looks to him, “We must hurry.”

They are both knocked to the ground by an energy blast and look back to see Belial marching toward them.

“I got him, go,” Pilch says climbing to his feet.

“No, it would mean certain death.”

“The gate, it’s more important than you or me.”

Yusif looks into his eyes, “Not to me.”

Yusif stands, swords in hand, facing Belial.

Harris stares at Oddball, “I never did like you.”

Oddball smirks, “Well that’s just ’cause you didn’t get to know me; I’m a good soldier.”

“I doubt that.”

Oddball throws a grenade he has deftly pulled from the back of his belt. It lands at the feet of the cocky lieutenant. Muller and Vanessa open fire as the grenade explodes. Harris sails into the air with his legs ripping off and going in different directions.

Belial and Yusif fight, swords’ striking together with showers of sparks sailing off.

Belial steps back, “Why do you fight me, son of mine.”

Pilch fires round after round to no effect.

Belial smiles, “Join me like your father’s fathers should have; walk with me hand in hand as we conquer this world.”

Yusif attacks.

Oddball, Muller and Vanessa fight back-to-back. Harris crawls up to Oddball and trips him to the floor.

Oddball falls with a cry, and Harris crawls on top of him, “I’m going to rip your fucking throat out boy!” and he opens his mouth to bite.

Vanessa jams the barrel her pistol into his mouth, “Manners manners.” And she pulls the trigger.

Muller shoots, and the last soldier goes down. He looks around at the bloody carnage, “That wasn’t so bad.”

Oddball stands and looks around at the bodies, “Where’s Monte?”

Vanessa looks around, “You don’t think…”

Mueller nods, “He’s turned.”

They hear the pounding of boots and the battle cry of men.

“That don’t sound good,” Oddball says.

Muller looks down the tunnels. The roar of the charging undead becoming louder. He sighs, “A glorious death.”

“I was hoping for a glorious life,” Vanessa tells him.

“Yeah, that sounds better,” Oddball agrees.

Hundreds of undead are charging for them.

“Oh well,” Vanessa sighs.

Pilch moves in to try and hit Belial in the back. Belial kicks Yusif to the ground and uses an energy bolt to send Pilch sailing down the passage, landing hard. Belial turns to Yusif who struggles to get to his feet, battered and injured. Belial draws his sword back for the deathblow.

“I told ya’. You and me got business,” Monte stands ready, Sumerian sword in hand.

Belial turns and smiles, “You are my servant now,” and Belial extends his palm trying to bend Monte to his will. Monte stares him down holding strong but then slowly begins to falter under his will.

“Now, kill for me,” and Belial closes his hand into a fist. Monte fights for control; he looks back to Pilch who lays on the ground defenseless.

“Kill him,” Belial orders.

Monte fights to bring his head around and look at Belial, “No!”

Yusif stands behind Belial, and with a cry, runs his sword into his back. Belial doesn’t flinch; he looks down at the blade extending from his chest and smiles. Yusif twists the blade with no effect, and Belial swings his arm back hitting Yusif in the face and sending him to the ground, “You don’t have the power to defeat me, your family never has.”

“But I do,” and Monte thrust his sword into Belial’s chest coming face to face with him, “Undead to undead, you gotta go,” and Monte rips the blade out, dropping Belial to his knees.

“Mercy,” he cries.

Monte swings his blade, sending Belial’s head skipping down the passage and through the gate. Belial’s body explodes in a burst of energy, and Monte is thrown to the ground.

Muller, Oddball, and Vanessa all fire into the ranks of the approaching undead. They’re almost on them.

“Save a round,” Muller advises them.

Vanessa looks to him.

“For yourself,” and Muller turns his pistol on his own head. Vanessa and Oddball look at each other and do the same.

Oddball looks into her eyes, “I hope they made it.”

The undead are on them. Oddball locks the hammer back on his pistol, “I think it would have been good.”

“I know it would have been,” and Vanessa kisses him.

A burst of energy knocks them down.

Pilch helps Yusif to his feet, and they look to Monte lying on the ground, “Is he?” Pilch asks.

Monte climbs up to one knee, nods to Pilch, and looks to Yusif, “Never was big on long good byes.”

Yusif nods his head in understanding. Monte closes his eyes and before Pilch can speak, Yusif swings his sword decapitating him. Pilch looks up at Yusif and nods and then looks to the gate. The two help each other hobble to it.

“Mother of god!” Pilch exclaims looking in.

An army of undead stand in an endless chamber, stretching as far as the eye can see.

“That is why we are here. They are ready to be unleashed on humankind.”

“What’s holding them in?”

“Time. When the sun next sets, they will be free to cross over into our world.”

“And how are we supposed to know when the sun sets?”

Yusif pulls out a pocket watch, “It was much harder before the watch.”

Pilch glares at him, and Yusif smiles with a wink.

“So let’s close this thing ,and get the hell out of here.”

Yusif shakes his head, “Not so easy,” he looks to Pilch, “The door can only be closed from the inside. One of the living must be sacrificed.”

“You said all we had to do was close the gate. No one said anything about…” he points toward the army of undead, “… going in there.”

Yusif calmly takes his shirt off, revealing a row of long vertical scars across his chest, “It cannot be helped.”

Pilch takes a step back, “You son-of-a-bitch. You’re not throwing me in there.”

“You Americans. Always assuming the worst about my people.”

Yusif mumbles a short prayer.

“What are you doing?”

Yusif gestures to the scars on his chest, “I was born with these scars. One for every generation in my family that has closed this portal through the centuries. I have been waiting for this day since I was born.”