The hedge trimmer caught the waiting dead, across the side of her head and tangled into her hair. It sliced noisily at her scalp, while loping fingers as she grabbed at the scissoring blades. Carl observed the woman from the balcony above, watching as the gardening tool made messy work of its victim. He felt a sense of horror as he watched things unfold, not from the sickening way the trimmer scalped the dead woman, but from the reaction in his companions. Even his own reaction was dulled to the extreme violence before him, something he had tried so hard not to let slide was, before his eyes, slipping away from him. Humans were losing their humanity, to be replaced by violence, horror and sometimes a madness. He should have been repulsed by the scene but he wasn't, and neither was anyone else, Dan even wore a slight smile, probably because it was his idea.
Regardless of how Carl felt about it, it had the desired effect, the loud commotion drew the attention of other nearby dead and they came seeking easy prey. The trimmer stalled, it's engine flooded, but the effect was well under way as more and more dead followed the hungry interests of others. Within minutes the injured lady was set upon, her weeping, fleshy dome, a beacon for the hungry and they devoured her still standing corpse.
"That should keep 'em busy." Dan grinned, the glow of a fire still visible in the distance.
"I hope so." Carl tried not to let his feelings about Dan's methods show, like it or not they needed his help.
They had spotted the signal fire just after dusk and while it had been a relief to at least know Jace had made it back, they were now faced with the problem of getting him and the supplies inside, that was if he had managed to get any. The zombie mass below them swelled as more hungry mouths, filled the spaces, each vying for a morsel to chew and the frenzy supplied plenty. It was still going to be a risky maneuver, no matter how distracted they were and there was always the danger of the dead refocusing their attention.
"Well I guess we had better signal Jace." Carl stated, once enough of the bodies had shifted. "Are you sure you're up for it?"
"You bet I am." Dan responded brandishing his cricket bat, while Beth simply nodded silently in the background. "There's still trust to be earned, right?"
"You earn trust when the chips are down." Carl kept his face sober. "You will know when that is, this is just an everyday thing, helping bring in the groceries."
"Aye, let's hope it is."
Carl didn't try to decipher Dan's meaning, instead he started for the front foyer. Who knew how long they would have power for, Dan had said a day or so but he had made it clear in his own crude way that he had been guessing. Keeping the lights off was sensible, being that they attracted the dead like moths, still he couldn't think of a better way to contact Jace. They had used torches many times to communicate short messages, mostly yes, no and clear. Quickly he flicked the foyer lights on and off, twice to say yes and waited for the flash of headlights in reply, before turning to the others again.
"We have to be ready when he gets here." Carl gave his best stern look. "There is still a few out front and Jace will have to drive through them, if any get inside, we'll have to kill them fast and get the doors closed."
"I'll unlock the doors and get ready." Dan volunteered. "If you both stay up on the stairs, you will have a better view and won't get in the way."
"Once he is in and the door is shut, I will turn on the lights." Beth offered. "It's not going to matter if we attract a few to the entrance once it's secure."
"Sounds like a plan." Carl smiled at last, feeling like it was going to work. "He is moving now, everyone get ready."
All of a sudden the carefully prepared plan seemed full of holes and Carl felt a pang as he thought of Jace and all the variables. There was no way to communicate the plan to Jace, it was all resting on unspoken and assumed understanding. He should have felt more nervous and the nagging feeling that everyone were somehow becoming desensitized to the danger played havoc. It took a moment of staring at the headlights to realize something was wrong.
"He can't see us!" Carl yelled as it dawned on him.
"Why the fuck is he going so slow?" Dan yelled back. "He is too far away."
"Beth, turn on the light." Carl had to do something, the commotion of a vehicle was rousing the dead. The paltry few that had been sluggish in taking the bait, were now more alert and being joined by other stragglers. "Get that door open, he needs to see us."
"Fuck it." Dan yelled in frustration sliding the door open. "Fuck, move your fucking arse you cunt!"
Too late Carl realized his error in thinking that the zombies left behind were the weak and stupid ones, he couldn't have been more wrong. quickly they came to life, having been well fed and rested for a day, their energy was at its peak. Where as before there was little worth chasing, now there was premium flesh on offer, like animals they quickly put their conservation to good use and tried to secure a new meal ticket.
Carl watched, panic gripping his chest as Dan, true to his word, was smashing wildly at the hord. Quickly he hit the first one inside for six, sending a black string of sticky blood flying as he cracked the young man's skull. Carl abandoned his position on the stairs to assist him as the doorway crowded with bodies. Meanwhile Jace had only just rolled into the car park, his headlights illuminating the whole area and painting a daunting scene.
"Get back!" Carl yelled in warning to Dan who was smashing corpses in a blind frenzy. "Move it."
Dan barely made it clear as the sedan rolled through the bodies at a paltry pace, knocking them down and dragging across the tiled floor as they stuck under the chassis. The windows were covered in items and had the vehicle not stopped on its own accord Carl might have thought the worst for Jace. As it was he had very little time to think about it, as the daunting task of closing the door dawned on him. Beth was hacking savagely at the closest zombie, cutting swaths of flesh with each strike but struggling to bring the bastard down. Dan's blunt force seemed to be doing better as he repeatedly smashed bones, dropping foes easily within a few hits.
The concentrated light made it hard to see outside at what was happening out there in the dark but whatever it was was noisy and not in a good way. The car had cleared a path but it was quickly filling up, Carl was not one to be overrun so easily, he was a veteran of this world and as such he knew the situation well. Using his bulk and with sheer strength, he pushed past the less than disheveled bodies to grasp at the door. Ignoring their hands as they gripped him violently and ignoring the bites that invariably followed, Carl reefed the door along its track with all his might.
He had no idea how many were inside, it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered to him was wether or not the others would stand their ground. He had pushed through to give them a chance, to make a stand right here, but it all meant nothing if they abandoned him now. He threw an elbow feeling the bony structure of teeth as it connected, but bare hands would never be enough. The act of freeing one arm only allowed for him to strike at the face biting into his other. Pain shot up his arm as the woman's teeth sunk in and he struck her nose with a closed fist. The act hurt like hell and had no effect on his attacker, Carl's hesitation to strike again cost him more mobility as bloodied hands groped at him.
It didn't matter now if his companions were helping or not, Carl quickly lost all sense of those around him as he struggled with his own battle. If they had fled, or stayed to fight mattered less and less, as his own personal survival took the fore front and there was no way he would go quietly, even of he were to be alone and abandoned he would fight to the very end.
