Stephen Knight - The Gathering Dead

THE GATHERING DEAD

By Stephen Knight

Copyright 2011 by Stephen Knight

CHAPTER 1

The dead had risen.

McDaniels heard the fragmented reports over the radio, and he could glimpse the reality of it through the Humvees thick, bullet-resistant windows. The dead had risen, and they swarmed through New York City like a plague of locusts, consuming every person they could find. The gates of Hell had opened, and the dead were the vanguard of Satans army. Every now and then, the .50 caliber mounted in the Humvees cupola would bark, and red-hot cartridges would roll into the vehicles passenger compartment, tinkling to the floor between McDaniels and the slightly stooped man cowering in the armored seat beside him. Whenever the soldier manning the .50 fired, the gray-haired man flinched. His pale face grew even more pallid.

Shooting them really doesnt help, he said to McDaniels. It takes a head shot to make them fully dead again. And the noise is just giving us away.

McDaniels shifted the M4 carbine in his lap. A few rounds from a fifty dont really leave all that much, doctor. Id rather deal with a couple of stiffs that are blasted into several different pieces than a couple that are still whole and able to give chase.

But the noise...

McDaniels shrugged. The citys falling apart. A little gunfire isnt going to make any difference, sir.

From the front right seat, First Sergeant David Gartrell glanced back at McDaniels. Zeds in the street ahead. Looks like they busted through the NYPD cordon. We have a choice of deviating or going through em. For what its worth, top cover says were on the most direct route. The grizzled senior noncommissioned officer hesitated for just a moment before dropping the bomb. There are lots of civilians still in the area, so its going to get messy no matter where we go.

Keep on going, McDaniels said. Doctor, youd better prepare yourselfthis wont be pleasant.

Doctor Wolf Safire shrunk even further into the seats hard contours. His big blue eyes brimmed with terror, but there was a defiant set to his jaw.

My daughter, was all he could get out. His voice was barely a choked whisper above the roar of the Humvees diesel engine and the sporadic chatter of the .50 caliber overhead.

Shes right behind us. We wont leave her behind, doctor. I promise.

Safire nodded and ran a hand through his thick gray hair. He started to say something more, but the Humvee bounced on its suspension as it drove over something. The bouncing continued, and McDaniels knew the vehicle had rolled over several somethings. He looked up as a distorted face flitted past the window to his right, then another. A smear of blood splashed across the window. Above, the .50 caliber opened up again, this time with a vengeance as the trooper manning it let loose salvo after salvo. McDaniels leaned past the troopers legs and looked at Safire again. The thin scientist had his hands clenched into fists and pressed them against his eyes.

Holy shit, is it thick out here! the gunner said over the din of his weapon.

He wasnt kidding. Through the windshield, McDaniels saw dozensmaybe hundreds!of the walking dead surging onto West 58th Street as they overwhelmed the hasty barricades set up by the NYPD and New York Army National Guard. The barricades werent totally ineffective; constructed from garbage trucks, fire engines, squad cars, and every other vehicle that could be driven into position, they still held a mass of stinking dead at bay. But the dead just piled up on each other, trampling each other as they formed great writhing dunes of bodies that loomed over the barricades. That was how they crashed through. Undeterred by the firepower arrayed against them, they closed upon the barricade defenders and slammed into them like a tidal wave. Their single-minded desire to feed was what drove the legion of the dead to swarm out of lower Manhattan like a vicious, malignant cancer. No matter what they had been in life, in deathor the new deathall that was left for them was incessant, never-ending hunger. And all the food was pulling away from them, headed to the north. Out of the city.

Why the dead needed to eat live human flesh was beyond McDaniels.

He slapped the troopers right leg. Ritt, button it up! Secure your weapon, now!

Hooah. As the Humvee plowed into the first of the walking dead, Rittenour dropped back into the Humvees passenger cabin and closed the cupolas hatch. Just in time; the vehicle was jarred by a sudden impact.

Looks like we got some jumpers, Gartrell said from the front right seat. I dont believe this... the damn stiffs are actually jumping off the buildings to try and get at us. He adjusted his helmets strap slightly as the Humvee slammed through two other shambling corpses, sending them flying. McDaniels watched as a New York City Police officer ran toward the convoy, a pack of the dead on his heels. He stumbled, and that was all it took; some of the faster ghouls fell upon him, nails slashing, teeth tearing. McDaniels turned away from the sight.

Gartrell glanced at the driver as the armored vehicle drove over another clutch of the dead, its big, knobbed tires spinning momentarily as they crushed bone and pulped desiccated flesh.

No need to try and go around them or anything, Leary.

The driver kept his eyes riveted on the chaos before them. First Sergeant, you can kiss myoh God!

The Humvee skidded to a sudden halt, throwing everyone against their harnesses before they could brace themselves. Sergeant Rittenour flew into the back of Gartrells seat and rebounded pretty much right into McDaniels lap before McDaniels could restrain him. He hadnt had the time to buckle up.

Leary, what the fuck? Rittenour yelled.

And then McDaniels saw what had prompted Leary to stand on the brakes. Standing next to the Humvees left fender was a slender woman with curly red hair. She wore a white terry cloth bathrobe, and clutched asmall toddler to her breast. The toddlers eyes were big, blue, and beautiful, much like her mothers would have been had they not been so full of terror.

Please! Please help me! the woman screamed. She pounded on the drivers window with one well-manicured hand.

Oh God, Safire whimpered.

Major, Leary said.

Drive, Leary! McDaniels said.

Leary twisted in his seat and looked back at McDaniels. He compressed his lips into a thin, bloodless line.

Major, he said again, his voice soft but the plea was unmistakable. Please major, dont make me leave this woman and her kid to these things.

God damn it, troop! Gartrell reached across the wide vehicle and rapped his knuckles across Learys Kevlar helmet. Drive!

Leary glanced back at the woman, and she must have seen it in his eyes. She pounded on the bullet-resistant glass as the dead swarmed toward her, some at a slow run, others at a limp.

My daughter, take my daughter! she screamed. Leary finally stomped on the accelerator, and the Humvees diesel engine roared as the vehicle pulled away just as the first of the ghouls slammed into the woman and ripped the child from her arms.

Oh fuck, Rittenour said.

God forgive me, Leary muttered. There was no mistaking the sob in his voice, and McDaniels heart went out to him. None of them had ever thought they would be abandoning defenseless American citizens to the ravages of a brutal and uncaring enemy like this. If they had, McDaniels knew none of them would have signed up to wear the uniform of the United States Army.

Gods not here today, Gartrell said. But I am. Just do what youre told to do, troopdrive. Straight down 58th until were told to turn. Got it?

Got it, Leary said. He got a semblance of his game face on and sped up, weaving around the odd abandoned vehicle here and there. But when the dead shambled into view, he drifted toward them and let the Humvees reinforced bumper and brush guards deal with them. The heavy vehicle swayed as it crashed through them.