David Presley - Rise of the Undead 1943

Clint sucks in a drag of the cigarette and looks at the hieroglyphics carved into the wall. It shows people being impaled around a bonfire. Clint hears echoes of surreal screaming, the cries of impalement and the cheers of the priests. He spins, startled by the screaming, and looks around the room. The sound fades.

While the Americans examine the door, Yusif quickly slips the talisman onto the statue.

Harris leans down to study the door, “We’re gonna have to blow it. Breaching charges.”

Harris stands, and there’s metallic click from deep in the floor. Harris takes a step back as the stone begins to roll aside.

“Firing positions!” Monte screams.

Rifles are pointed at the doorway, and the men prepare for battle. The door rolls open to reveal the torn remains of a German soldier. The head is gone, and he has been disemboweled; blood is splattered onto the walls and drips from the ceiling in places.

Clint’s cigarette falls from his mouth, “God-damn!”

Johnson shakes his head, “This ain’t the cleaning up I had in mind.”

Oddball peers down the dark sandstone tunnel that stretches into darkness. Torches light the stone corridor, the eerie light playing tricks on his eyes. He stares, mouth open; the sounds of screams fill his ears, and he stands frozen in place.

Pilch moves up behind him, “You alright?”

Oddball doesn’t react.

“Oddball?” Pilch shakes his shoulder.

“What? Yeah, fine.”

“Margrave, you’re on point,” Monte barks.

Margrave stares at the remains of the German, “Where’s his head?”

Pilch frowns and pushes him forward, “Go on kid, it’s gotta be down there someplace.”

Margrave looks back to Pilch, fear in his eyes and then turns and enters the tunnel.

“Everyone stay alert,” Monte orders.

“No shit,” Clint retorts.

Monte glares at Clint and then looks to Smith, “You and Lewis hang back and cover our rear.”

Smith nods.

Margrave stops and looks down at the bloody entrails and gore at his feet.

“Get moving, Private!” Harris snaps.

Margrave, eyes wide with fear, carefully steps over the blood-soaked mess.

Monte shakes his head, “Jesus kid. You trying to keep your boots clean?” and he steps in, his worn boots crushing the gore into the stone floor.

Oddball looks to Pilch, “Who keeps all the torches going?” he asks concerned.

Pilch looks down the hallway at the torches and then to Oddball, “You ask too many god damn questions,” and he enters behind Monte.

Margrave leads them deeper into the earth. The flickering torches are less frequent, and the tunnel is becoming darker. Johnson spits a mouthful of chew onto the floor, “Krauts could be lying for us anywhere.”

Matty notices something on the ground and bends over, “Hey Sarge,” he holds up a German Luger.

Monte nods, “Any rounds left in it?”

Matty checks, “Couple.”

Pilch points to the wall, pockmarked from bullet hits, “Look.”

Matty looks up from the Luger, “Geez.”

Pools of blood and empty shell casings litter the floor.

“Somebody’s last stand,” Monte comments.

Pilch runs his hand over the chipped rock from the bullet hits, “Who were they fighting?”

Monte looks to Yusif, “Any of your men come down here?”

Yusif shakes his head.

Margrave stops at the edge of the torchlight. The darkness stretches out before him. Harris comes up behind him, “Get moving, private.”

Margrave pulls out his flashlight and turns it on, cautiously moving forward. He hears a growl from the darkness and freezes.

Harris stays close behind him, “Gimme some light.”

Margrave shines his light straight ahead to reveal that the tunnel ends in a “T” intersection with passages leading off right and left, “Which way?”

Harris taps his shoulder, “Right.”

A replacement solider steps forward and shoulders his rifle to cover them.

Clint looks around the dark passageway nervously, “Hey Oddball, got another smoke?”

“Yeah.” Hand quivering, Oddball passes a smoke back over his shoulder.

Clint looks at Oddball’s hand, “Relax buddy,” but his voice cracks as he says it.

Camir whispers something to Yusif.

Oddball snaps his head over to look at them, “What’d he say?” he inquires worried.

Yusif draws his scimitar, “Something waits.”

Oddball looks ahead to Harris and Margrave, “Watch your ass, Abilene.”

Margrave looks back to Oddball, gulps and slowly pokes his head around the corner. His flashlight illuminates the eyes of Radcliff standing only inches from him. Margrave opens his mouth to scream but is choked off as Radcliff locks his hands around his throat.

Harris draws his pistol and reaches over Margrave’s shoulder and shoots Radcliff in the chest. Radcliff looks up to him and smiles. Harris fires again and again with no effect.

“Good bye,” Radcliff tells him.

Two German soldiers step from the shadows behind Harris with knives in hand.

Monte swings up his rifle to fire, “Look out sir!”

Harris screams as the knives are buried in his back. He falls onto the floor as the two Germans drive their knives into him again and again. The American that had stepped forward to cover them fires, and one of the Germans is blown down with a round hitting him in the chest. The American moves his rifle over to fire as the other German calmly walks toward him, knife in hand. The American fires but misses, the German is almost on top of him.

Yusif jumps forward with his scimitar. The German ducks Yusif’s swipe and punches him in the gut.

Pilch lines up on the German, and with a sniper’s calm, fires a single shot, hitting him in the head before he can strike Yusif. The German falls back with an inhuman scream seeming to come from everywhere and a dimly glowing ball of light moves from the German’s head up to vanish into the ceiling. Pilch rubs his eyes, unsure of what he saw. The American up front looks back to Pilch and smiles.

Monte looks back to Pilch, “Nice shot.”

The American upfront is blown down by gunfire that stitches him from his legs and up into his body; he falls back a bloody mess as rounds ricochet down the hallway. Pilch looks to see the German that went down first has risen from the floor and taken the rifle Harris dropped. Bullets spray the walls. Yusif dives as another American goes down with a cry. Pilch stands his ground and carefully takes aim, even as rounds whine past him. He fires, scoring a head shot. The German falls back; another inhuman scream echoes through the hallway, and a glowing ball escapes his head to disappear in the ceiling.

Pilch shakes his head, “You guys see that?”

Margrave struggles in Radcliff’s grip, desperately beating on his arms with his fists.

“The new kid, save him!” Monte calls out.

Radcliff looks up to Monte and smiles as he crushes Margrave’s esophagus with a sickening crack of bone. He lets go of Margrave and the young Texan drops to his knees and turns back to look at the platoon, gurgling for breath, eyes pleading. Radcliff snatches Margrave’s weapon and kicks him face down onto the floor.

Yusif draws his scimitar and moves forward. Pilch lines up, but Yusif blocks his shot.

“Out of the way!” Pilch screams.

Radcliff fires, and Yusif deflects the round using his scimitar with a flash of sparks. Radcliff’s eyes go wide in amazement of the timing, and before he can recover, Yusif runs his scimitar though his head. Radcliff’s eyes roll up to see the blade in his forehead. Another inhuman scream echoes through the hallway, and Yusif kicks the twitching body around the corner and out of sight as a ball of energy emerges from Radcliff’s head.