Rise of the Dead

Chapter 17: The Surgery

"Violence is the first refuge of the violent." ~ Aaron Allston

- - -

As we make it out of the city we drive into a vast forest, the sun flickers through the trees gently and I sigh with a small smile tugging at my lips. It can't be too long now until we make it to the port and the boat that will reunite us with my parents. I don't know whether I should be happy or nervous. We pull up into a small campsite and the car slows to a stop, we all get out and close the doors quietly. The tents flap open in the light breeze, some shredded, bloodstained or torn open completely. An eerie atmosphere is cast around the camp and I find myself shivering uncontrollably.

After searching for about fifteen minutes we find a group of three tents that seem in good enough condition, deciding that the area is safe to stay in overnight. I motion for the group behind me to be quiet and I bend down by the entrance of a tent, I pinch the zip and take a deep breath. I slowly draw the zip down, the normally quiet sound echoing through the campsite. As I reach the bottom I swing the tent door open and glance inside.

I stumble backwards out of my crouch and scramble backwards with my feet, the others walk back too, covering their mouths with their hands. I keel over and gag violently, feeling bile rise in my throat. I squeeze my eyes shut and calm myself down for a while before shuffling over to the tent once again, keeping my hand over my mouth.

A figure lies sprawled out on the floor in a pile of blood, I flinch at the sight and grimace at the smell of decaying flesh. Its hair has been mostly ripped out and the rest is straw-like and matted with blood, the jaw is fully visible as the skin and muscle flap in the breeze only attached by a vein.

One eye is popped and lies slightly off centre whilst the other is pulled out off its socket, dangling down its cheek. The nose too is smashed in and you can see their forehead is deformed because of this. Multiple teeth have been knocked out and one ear has been ripped off completely, the other has a huge bite out the bottom.

Looking down the rest of the body, arms and legs are bent at sinister and unnatural angles. Its back is arched and I shiver at the uncanny feeling, many toes and fingers are broken and all of the nails have been pulled off leaving blood to cling to the skin. I look down at the rib cage and see it's torn open, I follow the trail of blood and see two ribs lie in a perfect x by its missing ear and marking its location like a sick treasure hunt.

Sweat trickles down my neck and dizziness washes over me, I feel the vomit rise in my throat again and I turn away in disgust. You can't tell whether the figure was infected or human in its gruesome state, the body skinned and gutted. This surgery hasn't been performed by a human, it wouldn't be this violent- the level torture unnecessary. This surgery has been performed by the infected, a telltale sign of their evolution.

***

I open my eyes groggily and feel the sharp morning air chill me, I pull the sleeping bags up higher but it doesn't make much difference. I hear a chuckle beside me and I look up to see Josh smiling, his hair dishevelled and messy. 

"What's so funny?" I ask him.

"I was just remembering last time we were camping," he says happily, his eyes glancing at the tent around him.

"Last time it was just us," I whisper looking down at our daughter lying in between us, "and we weren't together then," I add making Josh chuckle.

I hear him take a deep breath before speaking, his tone disheartened and still showing signs of exhaustion despite hours of sleep.

"I don't know Madeline, things were better and worse back then," he whispers.

"What do you mean?" I ask and he purses his lips tightly, a frown creasing his forehead.

"Back then Toby was alive, the zombies hadn't evolved and we hadn't been split up after the cure- those months were the worst of my life. But then, we weren't together yet, we hadn't met Maria and we didn't have Ashia," he explains.

A groan echoes from outside and worry is mirrored on each other's faces, we press closer to Ashia and I grab my knife silently. One more groan follows before voices crash over the tent, their tone irritable.

"Would you guys shut up? I'm trying to sleep," Maria yells. Josh and I only have to look at each other before we burst out laughing, our amusement only irritating Maria further.

I slowly get up and unzip the tent, the morning sun blinds me and I stumble out clumsily. I shrug on my coat as Josh comes out carrying Ashia, I take her from him gently and send him a small smile. I walk over to Maria and Amelia's tent and shake it with my free hand, laughter escaping my lips.

"Wakey wakey guys!" I say in a sing-song voice, causing them to groan and cuss at me before I wander back to Josh who's hands work tirelessly to ignite a campfire.

I sit down by the fire where Josh starts and heat up some tinned food, waiting until the soup bubbles before I dish it out into bowls and wait for the girls. Amelia and Maria shuffle towards us and slump down next to me, whilst Soph yawns tiredly on the log opposite. I hand them food and they mumble thanks, slurping the warm tomato soup. I stare around the campsite and think back to the start of the apocalypse, did these people even know when it hit? I guess there's no way of telling now, in fact, I doubt we'll ever know.

We pack up the supplies and load it into the car, all piling in when I see some of our clothes lying on the floor still. I let out a small sigh before unclipping my seatbelt, shrugging it off of my shoulder.

"Guys we forgot our coats," I say shortly and jump out the car with Josh, Amelia and Maria following me- leaving Soph with Ashia and Jaz. We walk over and grab them up into our arms, the padded material awkward in my grip. I stare around the eerie campsite and shiver slightly, the atmosphere slowly changing. A light mist has settled over the dewy grass and vision is rapidly decreasing as it thickens. I turn around and look back up to the car, a gasp escaping my lips, the clothes falling out of my arms and floating to the floor in a wispy dance. The car doors are open and our belongings are strew out across the ground, some clothes ripped and tinned food spilt on the floor.

In front of the car, Sophie is on her knees with her head tilted back, exposing her pale neck whilst Ashia lays in her car seat upon the bonnet crying weakly. A zombie has it's teeth just centimetres from Soph's neck, its eyes on me whilst it grips Ashia's car seat roughly in its free hand. Soph squirms uncomfortably but he tugs her hair harshly making her scream out in pain.

I take a step forward but stop immediately as the zombie rests its teeth on Sophie's neck, her eyes widening in horror. I slowly sink down to my knees and put my hands up in the air, mimicking a universal surrender. I hear the others do the same and the zombie straightens up, fixing us with a hatred-filled stare. It wants something, I can see it in its eyes. Sophie and Ashia will be free if we co-operate, it's crystal clear now in the absence of death he's inflicted on my family. Slowly the zombie raises a decaying hand and points shakily, it's joint clicking in the crisp morning air.

Me. The zombie wants me.