World War H

World War H

  By

  Shane Griffin

  Smash Words Edition Published by Poupichou Press

  Copyright Shane Griffin 2014

  Table of Contents

  Start

  About the Author

  Other Titles by this Author

  #

  Zombie Keith lumbered along the city street. He did not notice the hastily abandoned chaos that was evident at every turn within the city. He even ignored the other zombies, with the exception of randomly changing direction when he stumbled into one. All that was running through his chronically swollen brain was an unrelenting, desperate craving for living flesh.

  Unfortunately pickings had become very slim lately and if zombie Keith would have had any sense of time he would have realised that the last time he had feasted on human flesh was more than two weeks ago and that he had been lumbering around aimlessly ever since. His only flesh intake being that of cats, dogs and more recently rats. He did not realise of course, but if he did not continue to consume fresh flesh his body would die and only the power of the virus inside him would keep his mind intact and his rotting flesh moving around.

  Suddenly his aimless stumbling came to a stop outside a narrow alleyway when his heightened zombie sense of smell picked up the distinct odour of rat! He was compelled into the alleyway and he moved as fast as his dysfunctional legs would allow. His nose lead him directly towards the source of the smell, a large open dumpster filled with refuse from the restaurant next door.

  With just a few metres left to shamble zombie Keith was unexpectedly struck down to his knees by a sharp pain in his head. He let out a deep zombie moan. Then a memory flashed into his mind as clear as though he were really there.

  #

  "Emma! No!" he found himself screaming.

  #

  As soon as it had started the memory faded and the single minded desire for fresh flesh returned and drove him to his feet. Zombie Keith once again lurched haphazardly towards the dumpster. When he reached it he scrambled clumsily inside and clawed relentlessly at the refuse until he found what he craved. With surprising speed and dexterity he corned the large black rat and grabbed it. The rat fought back ferociously, biting and scratching his hands, his arms and even his face as he brought it up to his mouth and tore out its stomach with his yellow teeth. Soon his face was covered in rat blood and flesh as he devoured the smelly disease ridden rodent.

  The screeching of dying rat and the smell of fresh blood drew more zombies into the alleyway and they quickly started to pile into the dumpster in search of more rats. His craving for fresh flesh temporarily quelled zombie Keith squirmed out from the writhing pile of zombies inside the bin and then started to shuffle further down the alley. Once again, however, he was struck down to his knees by a sharp pain in his head.

  #

  Keith literally jumped down the last 5 steps directly onto the underground train station. There were hundreds of zombies only metres behind them. Further down other zombies were already spilling out onto the platform and those humans left were madly scrambling to get onto what was certainly going to be the last train out of the city.

  Emma came charging down the stairs just seconds behind him and came to a skidding halt by his side.

  "No... we're too late!" she cried despondently.

  Keith's lungs burned and his legs were cramping, under the best of circumstances he doubted he had enough energy to run the length of the platform to get to the train, but he could not tell Emma that. There was no way he was going to let her give up. He looked into her beautiful green eyes, now filled with fear. He had never gotten around to asking her to marry him, but he loved her deeply nonetheless. He gently brushed back her dark hair from her lovely, but grubby face, then lent in and kissed her hard on the lips.

  "No matter what happens just keep running and don't stop!"

  "There is no way we can get through that," she replied shaking her head.

  Keith gripped the cricket bat in his hands with determination.

  "Don't argue Emma just go!"

  Keith charged ahead of Emma as fast as his aching legs would allow. As they reached the zombies between them and the train Keith swung the cricket bat like a berserker in the midst of a medieval battle. Zombies fell around him with bone crunching regularity and at first they made good progress. Soon however the mass of zombies became too thick and they lost momentum only metres away from the train.

  Keith smashed another zombie in the head that had grabbed Emma and then another in front of them to clear a small gap.

  "Go!" he screamed at her as he physically shoved her towards the train. He tried to follow, but was brought to the ground by a zombie that leapt onto him. He looked through the throng of zombies, now piling on top of him, to see Emma burst free and sprint the last few feet to the train, only to have the doors close just seconds before she reached them. He heard more than saw the train begin to move off. In his last frantic glimpse through the mass of zombies he saw her stumble. The zombies were soon upon her.

  "Emma! No!" he screamed loudly as the anguish of losing her, mixed with the excruciating pain of the zombies biting him all over and tearing at his warm flesh.