Feb 18 2009
Episode 31
Bill or rather, ‘Fry Cook 1’, had sent the directions to Area 51 to the on board navigation systems of the Hummers.
We flew through the streets of Vegas, guns blazing and tires squealing.
The Mini guns tore the ‘Deaders’ to pieces, making the journey much easier then it had been in Roberts RV.
Soon we were past the city limits. Without the confines of streets and buildings. The undead parade widened out. Soon we were in the dessert.
The beautiful expanse of the clear blue sky full of twinkling stars was an awesome contrast to the mayhem we had witnessed in the last few days.
I paused for a moment, took a deep breath of the clean fresh air and tried to relax my shoulders.
The wind blowing through my hair caused my scalp to sting where my hair had ripped out. All and all it could have been worse
My mind wondered for a bit as we traveled into the darkness.
I have done many events in my short lifetime. In many different places and with many different people. I felt blessed that when the ‘shit’ had it the fan, I was with these people.
We traveled for an hour or so as the western horizon began to brighten with red, orange and yellow hues.
Off in the distance from I could see the silhouette of a razor wire topped fence.
A few more minute past and we came to a high gate.
Done the fence from the gate I could see areas where the ‘Deader’s’ had breeched the fence line from the shear weight of their numbers.
The filed through the openings and paid little attention to us now that they were so close to the otherworldly beacon that beckoned them.
“Just a second.” Snipe said. “ I’ll have this gate open in no time.”
He started exit the Hummer when the thunder of Stevil Mini-gun exploded through the night air.
The locking mechanism of the gate disappeared in a shower of sparks.
“Okay,” Snipe said, “That works too.”
Snipe revved the Hummers engine and plowed through the gate.
We followed closely behind.
On the dashboard navigation system, a flashing red dot highlighted the building we needed to get to.
We flew across the base that the government had insisted was not a reality. The building that we needed to get to was on the far side of a vast open area and appeared to be a bunker of some sort.
It was surrounded by zombies milling about trying to get in.The sound of their moaning was deafening and had a nearly bowel loosening effect.
As we sped toward the bunker Stevil and I had the Mini-guns a blazing. Wide swaths of the undead turned to gray green mist as the hot steel tore then to shreds.
Robert and Snipe slid the Hummers to a sideways halt right in front of a huge metal door.
Stevil and I kept the zombies at bay as Robert, Snipe and the girls exited the vehicles.
As Snipe went to work on the door’s electronic lock. Robert and the warrior women unleashed as much fire power as they could to keep the ’Deaders’ at bay as Stevil and I jumped down from the Mini’s.
Snipe finally got the door open and we all rushed inside. Once we were all in, Snipe pushed the heavy door shut.
The door closed with an ominous boom that echoed down the halls of the bunker.
It was deathly quite and yet the hairs on the back of my head began to rise. The air was thick with a feeling of foreboding.
“Does this make anyone else think of the ’Under the Mountain Scene’ in ’Lord of the Rings?’ Robert asked.
As if to punctuate his comment, unearthly scream came boiling up from the depths of the complex.
“I’m scared, Mr. Frodo.” I said.
Episode 32
The neither worldly scream that we had just heard, did not, sound like a ‘Deader’. It sounded much bigger.
I looked down the hall and noticed that all the lights were dead. Yet I could see several yards down what should have been a dark hallway.
I heard Robert’s voice, “Holy crap!”
I turned around to see everyone staring at Gypsy. Her eyes were jet black orbs of infinite depth, and her entire body was engulfed in a cold white silver flame.
No one was standing next to her because, hey, I’m sorry, It was really freaky. “Gyp’, You Okay?” Snipe asked attentively.
Her voice sounded far away and yet as crystal clear as a silver bell, “I am quite well Patrick.”
“Oooookay then,” Snipe said, “We had better get moving.”
“What about that, That thing we just heard?” Stevil asked.
“We’ll kill that Zombie when we come to it.” Snipe answered.
“It sounded like that huge creature from the Lord of the Rings.” Robert said. “The Rancor.”
“The Rancor, was the pit creature in ’The Empire Strikes Back.” Trey corrected.
Snipe spoke up, “If you two are done geeking out, we need to get moving. Besides there is no use scaring ourselves. I’m sure we can find something to do that for us.”
We traveled down the hallway. Our way illuminated by the glow of Gypsy’s flames.
At the end of the hall was an elevator, and because there was no power in the building, was just nothing but a box on a wire.
Near the elevator door we found another door. This one was marked ’Stairs’.
We open the door and entered the stairway. On the wall was the number 23 painted in bright orange numbers.
“Crap!” Stevil said.
“Why crap?” I asked.
Stevil answered “23 means 23 floors and since we are at ground level. That means that there are 23 floors below us.”
When we looked down the center of the stair well we could see the stair winding down, round and round down into the darkness.
Then from below we heard growling.
Then a sound like running on cement.
The sounds were growing louder.
I looked over the railing and down. What I saw was an abomination.
Coming up the stairway with cat like speed and the agility of a spider monkey, was a creature the size of a small pony. It had huge paws for feet and large pointy claws at the ends of its arms. It head looked like a cross between a lion and a shark. Feline shaped and a massive amount of pointy teeth. It had no fur and its skin had the appearance of burnt flesh. The muscles underneath that flesh would have put a body builder on Venice Beach to shame.
Stevil stepped to the front of the group, shot gun at the ready. He waited for the creature to round the stairs.
The creature had a different idea and leapt over the handrail and bound up the center of the stairwell, covering the distance between us in two mighty leaps.
It swung back onto the stairs right behind Stevil.
Stevil swung around and started to bring his weapon up.
The creature was faster and swatted Stevil away as if he were an annoying insect.
The blow of the Creature was so strong that it lifted Stevil off his feet and sent him flying into a nearby wall.
We are heard a loud crack as Stevil’s head came into contact with the unforgiving concrete wall. A trial of bright red blood stained the wall as Stevil’s body slid to the floor and lay in a crumpled heap.
The rest of us unleashed everything we had on the creature.
All of us, except for Snipe.
Snipe leapt at the beast. All around him, bullets were striking, but he didn’t seem to notice of even care.
Snipe moved to strike the creature high in the face. The creature move its great apelike arms to grab Snipe.
Snipe dropped to the ground and with the loudest yell I have ever heard, delivered a sweeping kick to the things ankles.
The creatures feet come off the ground.
The force of our shots started it flipping head first over the railing.
Snipe grabbed its feet and gave soul wrenching yell of anger and anguish and shoved it the rest of the way over.
I looked over the railing and watched as the creature flip tail over tea kettle, gaining speed until it vanish from sight.
A few seconds later we all heard a wet, deep, smacking sound. Like a watermelon hitting the pavement.
Snipe stooped down and retrieved Stevil’s fallen shot gun then turn back to look at the rest of us. “ Come on. We have work to do.”
Snipe led the way down the stairs.
As we descended, Stevil’s vacant eye’s watched us pass.
