Urban Dead

by Skinny Kenny

THIS STORY IS ABOUT ZOMBIES WHO TAKE OVER THIS TOWN AND THESE FEW SURVIVORS TRY TO MAKE IT TO A SAFE AREA. ZOMBIES:

* Urban Dead *

Author: Kenny Helka Illustrator: Nick Moran

It was three o'clock in the morning and we were at a party hanging out with our friends. My brother and I were getting tired so we went back to our dorms to get some sleep. When we woke up the next morning we had the worst hangovers ever and saw that we were late so we got ready and hurried to class. When we got there nobody else was there besides the teacher named Mrs. James and she was looking at the board so we couldn't see her face. She wasn't moving at all I walked over to her and she turned around and was missing her right cheek and she lunged at me and attacked me but I fought back and pushed her off. I was thinking about how strong she was and then I knew she wasn't human. Nick asked if I was ok and I said yes I just bumped my head. She got back up and I remembered I had my pocket knife so I pulled it out but she knocked me down again and my knife slid across the room towards Nick. I said help and Nick looked up and saw that she was about to bite me so he quickly grabbed the knife and ran over and shoved it right through her skull and she fell on her side and instantly died. Nick asked me if she bit me and I said no but almost. He helped me up and we ran back to our dorms. Nick was roommates with Josh Beechum, but he first went to my dorm with me. We finally got there and noticed that there was a dead body on the ground in the middle of the room. We got some supplies such as food, weapons, and armor as fast as we could. We were about to leave when we heard someone in the bathroom crying. We went in and saw a bat covered in blood lying on the floor. We looked in the bathtub and saw that it was Jay crying. Jay Peterson was my roommate. We asked if he was bit or scratched and he said no so we gave him some armor and a backpack to put some food and supplies in. We just remembered about Nick's friends Matt Christian and Josh Thompson. We then headed to Nick's dorm to see if Beechum was there, but when we turned around the corner of the hall on which Nick and Josh's dorm room was there were three people banging on their door furiously. Nick called Josh and Josh answered and Nick said he heard Matt and Thompson in the room with Beechum. Nick asked Josh if any of them were bitten or hurt. Josh said that Thompson hurt his arm when they tried to get in through the door and they knocked him down on the coffee table, then Matt and I had helped him push them out the door and close and lock it when they were out in the hall. Nick said, "Ok, when I call you come out and attack the deads from behind." Nick told me that Beechum asked what a dead was and Nick said that is what we called them for short because they look dead. Nick, Jay, and I started heading down the hall towards the deads when one of them turned and saw us. Jay stopped in his tracks and we had to help him walk forward because he was scared. Nick had the bat that we found on the floor in the bathroom at my dorm, Jay had a golf club we found in the closet, and I took out the bar that hold the hangers in the closet and pulled out my pocket knife and taped it to the tip of the bar and made it my weapon. The three of the deads rushed towards us and Nick called Beechum and he came out in a flash with Matt and Thompson right behind him. Beechum had an aluminum bat for a weapon, Matt and Thompson both had crowbars out of the closet. They went up behind the deads and started attacking them. Matt hit one straight in the forehead with one of the crowbars. The other two turned around and went back to attack Beechum, Thompson, and Matt so Nick, Jay, and I went up behind them and finally killed the last two. I asked if everybody was ok and everyone said yes. Nick said this place isn't safe so we have to leave but before we left we went back in the dorm and got some more food and supplies. We started walking down the hall and saw a few more deads but we killed those ones easily and we were sitting in the main lobby of the dormitory building when we all stopped and were all staring at the same thing we all knew it too. There were about twenty-five to thirty deads in the student parking lot. Beechum said his truck was out in the middle of the lot too. We had to make a break for it because there were a bunch of deads behind us closing us in. I opened the door and we all sprinted towards Beechum's truck. Nick, Matt, and Thompson all hopped in the back of the truck after they threw the supplies in. Jay, Beechum, and I sat in the front. We had planned to go to the hospital but after we drove past and saw that there was about one hundred deads just on the outside we really didn't want to risk going to see how many were on the inside. We also drove past the police station and saw that there were about forty of them in front of it so we just told Beechum to keep driving. Beechum mentioned to us that he was running low on gas so we had to stop at the gas station to fill up. Matt and Nick saw a cop car that was parked on the curb as if someone had dived out of the car as it was still drifting and they headed over to check it out. They found a shotgun in the front of the car and a 9mm clip in the driver's seat. They popped the trunk and went behind the car. They leaned over and looked at us with big grins on their faces. They disappeared behind the cruiser for a few minutes and came out with a black duffle bag. They threw it in the back of the truck and I asked them what was in the bag. Nick replied that there was another shotgun and two cases of shotgun shells. While Nick was telling us what was in the bag Matt ran back to the cruiser and came out from behind it with a few bullet-proof vests. Nick also said that there were nine 9mm clips in the bag. So in total we had two shotguns and three pistols. Nick took a shotgun and put some shells in it. He then cocked it and said this one is mine. Matt took the other one and loaded it. Beechum, Jay, and I each took a 9mm pistol and loaded it and took an extra clip. Beechum didn't have a gun yet because he was the driver so he just kept the crowbar. We asked each other if any of us had any guns at our houses. Beechum said he had a shotgun at his house. Jay said his dad had a revolver in his room. Nick and I had .22's at our house from back when we went hunting with our dad. We both missed dad a lot ever since he died in a car accident. Beechum said his house was the closest so we headed for his house. We arrived there and he ran in and looked for his 12 gauge. He came back out in five minutes and said that his dad must have taken it. We next headed to Jay's house. He ran in and back out in less than a minute. He had the revolver and a box of 9mm shells in his hands. He gave the 9mm pistol to Thompson and he kept his dad's revolver for himself. We next went to our house to get our .22's while Beechum is driving very slowly so we can shoot the deads. Some were close so we put our guns away and pulled out our close range weapons and started hitting them. We got to our house after a few minutes and we ran inside and heard my dog Skipper barking in a different room I ran in the room and a dead was about to eat our dog but I shot it straight in the back of its head. Nick ran in the room and saw the dead on the ground and we checked our dog to see if he was bit but he wasn't. We remembered a few years ago we taught our dog tricks and to follow and to be a guard dog. We got our guns and brought our dog and when we got outside Jay asked who that is. We said it is going to be our guard dog and everyone said ok. Nick and I got back in the truck and we decided to go to Wal Mart because it has lots and lots of food and supplies. On our way to Wal Mart there were more deads but we killed them. When we got to Wal Mart we were getting ready to get out of the truck a dead grabbed Thompson and pulled him out of the truck. He fought back, then Matt got out of the truck to shoot the dead but it bit Thompson in the neck before he could get a chance to shoot the dead and Thompson died instantly. We all knew he was dead and we couldn't save him. We walked over to get his gun and ammo when he grabbed Matt's leg and was about to bite him but Matt kicked him off and Jay pulled out his revolver and shot Thompson straight in the forehead. We then realized that when a human is bitten and dies that person turns into a dead. We picked up his gun and ammo and started heading inside Wal Mart when we saw about ten deads so we made a makeshift fort and started shooting at them. After we killed about half of them they were getting close to us and started attacking the fort when Matt and Nick pulled out their shotguns and killed two each with one shot and then double teamed the last one. We then went to look for a new place to hide when Nick spotted a subway restaurant. Nick told us to get supplies like food, flashlights, weapons, and stuff to barricade the doorway of the subway. I figured we were staying there for the night and Nick told me to get some air horns in case we all had to wake up in the middle of the night. I went to get the air horns for Nick. Beechum was looking for things to barricade the doors like benches and tables. He went back to the furniture department and got a couple of beds to put in the restaurant to sleep on when he saw these long thick wooden tables. He grabbed four of the tables after he took the beds in and took them back for the barricade. The restaurant also had a steel door to pull down so we could be safer. Jay went to get the food with Matt and they also grabbed the flashlights. Matt also grabbed some walkie talkies so we could keep in touch. After we got all the stuff in the restaurant and had everything set up Matt said he was going to go make sure the store didn't have any unwelcome guests. Nick told Beechum and me to go with him. I asked him what he was going to do while we were gone and he said he was going to barricade the front door to Wal Mart. We left and headed towards the electronic department when we heard someone crying. It sounded like it was coming from the staff room. Matt and I walked up towards the door while Beechum watched our back. Matt grabbed the door handle and turned it and she screamed, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" I said, "We're here to help you Miss…what's your name?" She replied and said that her name was Samantha. I told her our names and that it was safe to come out. She opened the door and came out crying. I told Nick on the walkie talkie that we found a survivor named Samantha. He asked what her last name was. She told us her last name was Briggs. I told Nick and he said that he'd be right here. We met him halfway back to the restaurant and he rushed to her and hugged her. They were good friends I guess; at least that is what Nick portrayed. It turns out that they were boyfriend and girlfriend back when they were freshmen. We all headed back to the makeshift fort when we heard stuff falling off the shelves about ten yards behind us. She said that there were other people but there were to many deads and that she ran and hid in the stall. We all turned around and saw that at least five deads were coming right at us. Nick had left his gun at the fort with Jay alone. I turned around and shot three shots at the dead in front. I hit him in the chest once missed once and hit him in the head. He dropped dead. Matt whipped his shotgun around and shot cocked it and shot again. He hit one in the stomach and hit another one in the neck. He cocked it again and shot but it was empty. We all ran back towards the restaurant while Beechum shot at the remaining two deads. Nick told Jay on the talkie to grab Nick's shotgun and to bring his own gun and to hurry. Jay was there in less than ten seconds. They were both shooting at the deads while they let Beechum retreat to the fort. I covered Nick while he reloaded his gun. One dead left. The dead lunged toward Jay and I shot two bullets and one went right passed Jays head and the other one hit it right through the side into its forehead. I reloaded my clip. We all got back in the fort and watched the front door area. We gave Sam the gun that Thompson had been using. I grabbed my .22 and loaded it and started using it rather than my pistol. We had about twenty-five shells for the shotguns. They were fully loaded now. We only had four clips left for the three 9mm pistols we had. Nick gave me the extra clip and gave one to Sam and one to Jay. I gave mine to Jay because I had a case of shells for the .22 I was using. The look he gave me made me feel like I had done the right thing. We were happy we knew each other. Nick had set his shotgun down and grabbed his .22. I loaded it for him before we left the house but didn't have enough time to load mine but it was fine because mine was loaded now. Sam was scared sitting all the way in the back of the room alone. Jay and I went back to keep her company. Nick, Beechum, and Matt were all up in the front standing next to the counter talking and cradling their guns. Beechum left the counter and sat at a booth with a magazine in his hands. I could tell that they were thinking about Thompson and how they will never get to see him again. It was getting late so Nick pulled down the steel door and barricaded the front door area. He and Beechum were going to stay up all night and watch over us with Matt taking one of their spots in the middle of the night. Jay slept behind the counter while I slept in a booth. Sam walked over to Nick and said goodnight and gave him a kiss on the cheek for helping her. She slept on one of the beds in the back of the fort. Matt Slept in another one close to the counter. Nick sat in a booth right next to the front door. Beechum was in the booth reading his book. When I awoke it was blurry and still dark. Beechum was sleeping in the bed that was empty when I fell asleep. Sam was already up and talking to Nick. Matt was reading a different magazine and eating some type of sandwich. When I got up he looked over at me and gave me a "Good Morning" look. Nick saw that I was up and asked me if I was hungry. I said that I wasn't but he insisted that I eat because I would need the energy. Jay woke up while I was eating a bowl of cereal at the counter. He said good morning and I replied. When we all got done eating Skipper started barking at something outside. I went over to see what it was and when I saw what I saw I was shocked. I ran and I picked up the air horn and blew it as loud as I could. Every one ran to see what it was and when they saw it they started running to pick up there guns and ammo. It was about fifty deads running straight at us but from far away. Jay, Sam, and Beechum ran to get the car started while Matt, Nick, and I started shooting at them. Skipper was still barking at them so I had to take Skipper back to the truck. The deads were getting closer and closer. Matt and Nick killed about thirty of the deads. Itook Skipper to the truck and told him to stay and then I went back to help Nick and Matt kill the rest of the deads. They were getting to close that we had to retreat to the truck. Nick, Matt, and I hopped in the back and shot a few more as we were leaving but didn't kill all of them. The only place we thought we could go is the military base just out of town. We were on our way to the military base when Beechum was driving around the corner going just fast enough for Nick, Matt, and I to not fall out. He hit one of the deads and all the blood got on the windshield so he couldn't see any thing and he swerved around the corner and accidentally wrecked into a light pole, A few seconds after Nick, Matt, and I fell out, we got up and ran to the front seat to see if anybody was hurt. Sam said that she was ok and that she only hit her head because she was wearing her seatbelt. Jay said that he was wearing his seatbelt too but that a piece of the windshield was stuck in his arm. By the look on his face I knew it was painful. Beechum was knocked out because smashed his head on the steering wheel. Nick and Matt had to carry him the rest of the way. We saw that the truck was too damaged to drive so we had to walk from there. I went back to the car and told Jay that we had to get the glass out of his arm and he said ok so I told Matt to hold him down while I pulled it out and Nick had to hold Beechum. When I started to pull it out Jay started to scream because of the pain. When they were done we put a bandage around his arm to stop some of the bleeding. I had to carry two backpacks now that Thompson had died. We saw a few deads on the way there but they were easy to kill because we outnumbered them and had the right kind of weapons. We only had one clip left for the 9mm pistol so I gave it to Sam. Beechum had woken up now and I had ran out of ammo for my pistol so I pulled my .22 out of Nick's backpack because mine were full of food. I decided to use my close range weapon and put my .22 on my back so when the deads get close to us I can hit them. It was getting dark so we had to find a place to stay for the night. We walked for a few more minutes and found a pizza store so we went in and barricaded the door with tables and made a place to sleep while Nick and Matt stood guard over us. I slept next to the counter with Skipper while Jay and Sam slept near the back of the room near some tables. I couldn't sleep because of what is going on so I stayed up with Nick and Matt. I could hear them talking and sobbing because Thompson had died. In the morning we had breakfast and were getting ready to leave. Skipper started barking so I went to see what he was barking at and he was barking at more deads. There were about twenty deads outside so we started working to make our barricade bigger but they were breaking it down faster then we could make it bigger so we stopped. We all went behind the counter and loaded our guns to get ready to shoot them. They tore down the whole barricade and stumbled in. We started shooting at them. They were getting closer and closer every time one of them was killed. We killed about twelve before they got to the counter. They started climbing over the counter but we kept shooting at them as they were climbing over. There were four deads left but Nick, Matt, and Jay had to reload their guns and I kept shooting and killed two more. Skipper kept on barking at them while Sam killed one of the last two but the last dead grabbed Skipper and was about to bite him but I pulled out my 9mm and shot the dead through the skull then I asked if everybody was ok and they all said yes. We got our supplies and left to go to the military base. We ran out of pistol ammo but we had about twenty shotgun shells and we had our close range weapons plus Jay's revolver with five bullets left. When we were about there we saw three deads coming towards us so we waited until they got close enough for us to hit them with our weapons so we would not waste any ammo. After we killed them we started walking when we saw the military base. We ran to it and some soldiers asked us if we were bitten. We all replied no but they checked us any way and then let us in. They gave us a new pair of clothes and also gave us a place to sleep. They fixed Jays arm and gave him stitches. There were only about ten soldiers at the base and there were a lot of the dead soldiers' bodies. The remaining soldiers all had M16's and tons of ammo. They also had 9mm pistols with them so we knew we had enough ammo. We had brought food for us and they had MRE's at the base but they weren't that tasty. We were all soldiers now. They had enough bunks for us to sleep in. Since there were fifteen of us soldiers total and ten of us would sleep during the day and five of us would sleep during the night. Matt, Nick, Jay, and I plus the other six soldiers that chose to stay awake took the night shift. Sam went to sleep because you could tell she was tired. Nick hugged her and told her she should go off to sleep a bit. After she left all of us soldiers on the night shift went and ate a little food. After we were done eating we took our positions. Nick, Beechum and Matt were in a bunker in the courtyard but it was fine because the military had a .60 caliber machine gun that they gave to them. Nick let Matt operate the gun because Matt was going to enlist in the Marines after he got out of college and he had been to this fort before to have training with weapons. Nick and Matt got set up in the bunker while they had two other soldiers in the bunker across the entrance. Jay and I were on the second balcony with the other soldiers spread around on the roof and ground. The soldiers equipped Jay and I with M16's which was cool because I could use my rifle for deads that were far away and use the M16 once they got closer. They also gave us some grenades. I let Jay use the grenades because he had played baseball for our college team and probably had a better throw than me. Nick had a grenade launcher on his M16 and had about 5 grenades. It was about ten thirty when the floodlights and the siren came on. We all went to see what it was and we saw that there were about one hundred deads outside the gates about two hundred yards away. We all got our guns and got in our positions and started shooting the deads but they were getting closer by the second. Matt started firing the machine gun and Nick started sniping them with his .22. Jay through a grenade between some of the deads that were a few yards away. I pulled out my M16 and started to shoot the deads. We were killing them by the second but they just kept getting closer and closer. Now they were really close so we had to retreat a few yards. There were about 50 deads left. All the soldiers from the roof came down to help us. Matt was killing most of them with the machine gun. We were not paying any attention to the area beside us and I realized that they were coming up by the side and a few of the deads attacked two of the soldiers. I tried to kill them before they bit the soldiers but I was too late and they had all ready bit them both. I killed them and shot the two dead soldiers in their heads because they were going to turn into them anyway. Jay, Matt, Nick, Beechum and I started watching the sides too but they just would not stop coming. It was like half the population of the city and we started running a little low on ammunition. I had to go in and get ammo for Jay and I while Jay pulled out his 9mm pistols and started firing. When I came back they were way to close so Jay chucked a grenade and we took cover. Beechum came down from the roof and started to help us. While I was reloading I was not paying any attention to my side and there was a dead coming up behind me but unfortunately Beechum saw the dead and told me to get down so I did and He shot the dead in the neck once and then through the eye and when I looked up I saw that there was a dead behind him also so I told him to move and he did and I shot the dead but it was still standing so Beechum shot it with a went in the base and barricaded the door with what ever we could and the deads started to break it down. There were about 20 deads left. When the barricade was completely knocked down and they started coming in so Jay through another grenade at them and it landed perfectly next to the deads but we were not done yet there was still around 10 deads left. Jay and I both pulled out our 9mm pistols and started firing. Matt and Nick came down from the roof and helped us and when the rest of the deads were killed there was already about 30 more deads coming from outside and they killed the rest of the soldiers except for Matt , Nick , Jay , Beechum, and I. Matt started shooting and walked out the door a little bit and some deads were coming up from the side and one came out and lunged at Matt and scratched him in the arm so he was infected. He wacked the dead and then shot the other deads on the side. Matt knew he was not going to make it so he pulled out his 9mm and his last words he said were "kick their asses" and then he shot himself straight through the side of his head. Matt was Nick's best friend and was not going to die like he did. Nick was so angry he grabbed three grenades and chucked them all out there and he shot a grenade from the M16 and then there was a gigantic explosion. The grenades blew up and blew Jay, Nick, Beechum, and me back into the wall and Jay passed out but I woke him up. Beechum went and called for help and came and told Nick and me that reinforcement is coming so Jay and I went and guarded the door until they got to the base. When they arrived they asked us if we were bitten or scratched and if there were any other survivors and then I remembered about Sam and our dog Skipper, I ran to get her and Skipper so I went in the room and called her name and she came out from hiding in the closet with Skipper. She looked so frightened so I grabbed her hand and said every thing is going to be all right. We all got on the helicopter and they took us to another base were none of the deads have attacked yet. They gave us fresh food and gave us a place to sleep. The military people told us that the infection was over and we were going to be ok but unfortunately the infection had lasted for months but it was all over now…. Or was it!

THE END