Death Has Fallen: Freedom Rock Chronicles: Book 1 (7 page)

              Once again we began moving this time with much more enthusiasm since gravity would be our friend rather than opponent.  I told the other two to watch their step and not go to fast.  The walk down was made much quicker and without rest. With less struggle I was able to take in the beauty before me.  The wilderness untouched by human hands was beyond description.  There are no words for something so simple and beautiful.  Each step seemed to be easier than the last and pushed the mountain further out of our path.  Reaching the bottom seemed to come quick and the ground leveled out forcing us to work harder for each step taken.

              I could hear one of the two struggling behind me so we stopped in a grassy field.  It was Jaime she was completely out of breath and was looking sick.  I helped her take the pack off and took a can of green beans out asking Amanda to hand me the can opener out of her pack.  We took the bowls out and split the food and liquid into equal portions.  Watching Jaime I took a sip from the liquid and dumped the rest into her bowl.  Surprised she tried stopping me telling me she was fine. 

              “You need this if you want to make it.”

              She let me finish pouring the rest of food and liquid into her bowl.  Watching the two of them eat I was quite happy to have company.  It would be hard to imagine going through all of this alone.  Thinking about our situation I began chuckling at the way in which we all came to know one another.  It was clear from the surprise of the other two they had no idea of what I was laughing at.  Trying to make myself seem less insane I said “Just thinking about the last few days and how we came to be together.”

              They seemed to have their curiosity satisfied and began finishing their lunch.  My stomach was growling simply watching them eat.  I found myself mainly staring at Jaime entranced with her beauty.  The man’s clothing she wore was not flattering, but did not seem to stifle that natural beauty few women are given.  She looked up seeing me staring and her shyness became apparent.  Smiling and seeming quite flattered by my visible attraction she looked back to her food and continued eating.  I stood up and began walking around the area somewhat bored of laying down.  The tree line was not far off and I carried the compass in front of me trying to gage where we would be exiting this field.

              In the distance I heard sticks snapping to my right.  Not being familiar with the area I had no idea if it could be one of the undead.  Fear shot through me petrifying me in the position I was in.  My mind ran back to the street where they chased us down and I had almost lost my life. After a few seconds I decided to duck down giving me what little cover I could get out of this field.  Slowly I reached down grabbing my gun thanking god I had reloaded it before placing it in my pants.  Every breath seemed to scream “OVER HERE”, I tried holding my breath, but could not with my heart beating so rapidly.  Brushes rustled the sound was certainly coming closer.

              Staying as low as I could while keeping vision on the tree line, I caught the first glimpse of movement.  It was at that second I knew it couldn’t be an animal. The movement was slow and without grace looking very unnatural.  After a few seconds I got sight of bright orange.  Both the chest and the head had bright hunter orange on it.  The air seemed to cool as the beast moved from the tree line and into the field my partners and I shared.  “Amanda and Julie!” I thought quickly looking at how far away we were from each other.  Seeing this one dead was terrifying and led me to believe he was not the only one around.  My companions were seventy or eighty feet away still slowly dining on the can of beans.  They took no notice of the dead and luckily the dead had not spotted them. 

              I was unsure what actions could get me to my partners unnoticed by our guest.  Feeling under me there was a golf ball sized stone.  The dead hunter with his long grizzly beard roamed aimlessly.  I saw his right arm drenched in blood.  Perhaps that was where he got bit.  Picking up the stone I waited for my chance to throw it back in the tree line without being noticed.  The man walked towards me for a few steps then stopped and turned to his left.  Thinking this would be the best chance I looked deep into the forest ahead of me.  I kneeled up and with all I had threw the rock deep into the forest.  As it left my hand I let my body fall to the ground letting the grass cover me once more.

              After a couple seconds the sound of the rock hitting trees and bushes echoed through the forest.  A loud grunt came from the direction of the dead hunter then silence.  Not being able to see if my actions had any effect I sat breathless and in silence.  After a moment I began hearing footsteps trail off towards the rock.  After a few moments I sat up silently and turned to my companions who had noticed what was going on.  Julie sat with her gun pointed in our direction and Amanda looked like she was digging in her bag for her pistol.  As low and stealthily as I could I began moving towards the two.  Putting my finger to my mouth in a shushing motion Julie understood instantly and put her hand on Amanda’s back so she could see as well.  They both remained still as I covered the distance between us.  As I reached them the fear on their faces told me they had seen the undead.  Silently I pointed towards the tree line away from where the hunter entered.  We packed up camp as quickly and quietly as possible and began moving towards the trees. 

              Each step brought us closer to the safety of cover.  Not looking at where I was going my foot caught a rock imbedded in the earth.  Falling didn’t hurt, but as my pack hit my back the metal pans inside clashed letting anything within a hundred yard distance know exactly where we were.  I jumped up immediately looking to where the hunter entered the forest.  He had not come out yet so we continued on now running and not caring about noise.  We made it to the trees which would give us good cover.  I pointed back deeper into the woods telling the other two to find safety.  Without a word they walked ten feet deeper into the forest. I stayed with my eyes across the field between the two trees where the hunter had walked into the forest.  After a few moments that bright orange visible before any other feature came running through and into the open.

              Once there the dead looked around without making a noise.  He certainly heard the noise and was expecting a meal.  The thought of food blasted away at that aimless meandering so common to these cannibals.  Backing behind the tree my heart raced.  My gun was in my hand cocked and ready to go if need be.  Not wanting to give away our position I went deeper into the woods and huddled down with the two women.  Steps in our direction began getting louder.  Easy to see this hunter knew where his prey laid.  All of our eyes were pointed in the direction of the field.  The steps were right out of the trees.  Suddenly the beast stopped as though not sure where to go next.  The next moments felt like hours with our lives hanging in the balance.  To our horror the steps once again started, somehow the hunter chose the right direction and began walking towards us.

              Laying in the bushes the bark from trees and bushes we were laying on was digging into our skin making our wait even more uncomfortable.  Once silent Jaime began whispering, “NO, NO, NO” and slowly began backing away from the oncoming footsteps.  The sound of her footsteps broke the small bush branches, just loud enough to draw attention.  Looking behind I pointed at Jaime then my finger to my mouth telling her to be quite.  Once she did I pointed her towards the ground and she sat.  It was all too little too late.  The once far away footsteps which slowly approached became barreling thuds on the ground as he began sprinting in our direction.  Jaime still panicked because of the monster pointed her .22 in the direction of the approach.  Quickly I pulled the lucky board with the nails still covered in blood from my bag.  I motioned towards the other two with my hand telling them to stay back.

              The hunter came through in a blaze of fury.  His mission to eat us and ours to stop him any way possible. I was behind a tree, the girls a few feet back lying down within some bushes.  The steps echoed in my head while I attempted to gage the distance.  Within seconds he passed my tree seeing the two women in the bushes.  Over my shoulder the board raised and I followed him towards the bushes.  He had several feet on me and as I brought the board down it sunk deep into the middle of his back causing him to collapse landing in the bushes on top of Amanda.  Her hands were placed on his face attempting to push the ravenous jaws away from her body.  Ripping the board out of his back I took aim at the back of the head and sank the jagged nails in with all my strength. 

              The hunter stopped moving and I helped Amanda push his body off.  Everyone we had killed thus far died quickly.  The nails must not have hit the right spot because this one gasped with his eyes still wide open and aware.  No longer with fire, but confusion of its inability to move.  Rather than killing him the nails had only caused paralysis.  Blood was spurting from his mouth and nose.  For the first time I saw one of these things as a human.  It had the exact same structure as us and could be wounded just like we could.  The other two stared at the man lying there with the same shock that filled my eyes.  After a minute I could hear Amanda whisper “Kill him.”  Slowly I stepped closer with the beast’s eyes following me the whole time.  The board was still in my hands.  As I raised it above my head the eyes followed almost begging “Please don’t”.  I drove the board deep into the man’s skull and the life those white eyes once held depleted instantly.

              After pulling the board out I took a couple steps back to absorb what I had just seen and felt.  I sat looking towards the man in a daze.  The thought overtook me “I had just killed someone”.  Never before had I been able to see their humanity until this man sat defenseless and hopeless staring at us.  I thought back at the bullets I let fly realizing they were hitting mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons.  These were people and simply sick.  Still there was the feeling of self-preservation which over powered remorse.  If I had not ended this man’s life he would not have stopped attempting to eat us.

              After a while we decided to move again.  This time we stayed out of the field and kept to the forest for cover. 

Chapter 9

              Over an hour we walked before hitting the small creek I had seen from the mountain.  The other two ran for the stream attempting to drink their fill.  I ran toward them pulling them away telling them to stop.  They looked at me with surprise. 

              “We have to boil it to kill anything that may be living.  Amanda fill the pot with water while I get a small fire going.” I said.

              They looked very disappointed sitting so close to cool refreshing water and unable to drink.  With the practice I received making fires the last couple days I was able to build one quickly.  Dead leaves, sticks, and branches covered the forest floor.  As the fire began building I placed the pot full of water as close as I could without putting the fire out.  I asked the two to give me anything they had that would hold water.  All together we had the three canteens and two gallon sized zip lock bags.

              The water took about twenty minutes to boil.  I took the pot off the fire sticking the bottom of it in the creek to cool the inside.  After a few minutes the water was cool enough to drink.  The water was gone very quickly so I repeated the process over and over until everyone’s thirst was satiated and the canteens and bags were full.  We put the fire out then cleaned the blood from the hunter off our skin. 

              Looking at the other two and looking at myself I joked “We look like three mass murderers.”

              Right after the last word left my mouth I wanted to take it and shove it back in.  The two looked at me dismally and Amanda simply stated, “We are.”

              With that, I looked at the compass and we began walking once again.  No longer thirsty and the other two somewhat filled with food we were able to move much faster.  The creek headed north so we were able to stay with it for a couple miles.  The forest seemed to be endless.  It was a mix of pine, spruce, and aspen.  The air seemed so clean and the smell quite pleasant.  The walk had a peacefulness making our trek somewhat enjoyable.  The coolness began falling upon us making me realize the time.  It would be dark within a matter of hours and with running into an undead out here we would have to pay more attention to safety than the previous nights. 

              “Keep a look out for anywhere that looks safe enough to spend the night.” Turning my head slightly as I spoke.

              In the corner of my eye I could see both heads nod.  The darkness was falling upon us making sight difficult.  As hours passed and we were stuck in the forest unable to see more than a few feet.  We had to build a camp.  We stayed close to the stream walking only a few yards before we found a suitable spot for camp.  Unlike the previous night we decided a fire was out of the question fearing it would draw unwanted attention.

              We pulled the large blanket out laying it down first then the rest we laid down on top of the large one.  We used our packs for pillows and huddled together as the frozen air flowed above us freezing any skin not covered.  Without fire we had to smash together.  Jaime was in the middle since she was in the worst health.  Slowly time went on and like our first night in the woods every sound made all three of us bounce awake terrified of another encounter. The night seemed to drag for what felt like days and as each hour passed the cold became increasingly worse.  By the morning none of us were asleep.  We all sat looking towards the sky shivering uncontrollably.  The sun slowly rose pushing light through the thick forest.  No longer fearing a fire being seen in the dead of night I forced myself to get up and begin collecting sticks and logs.