Death After Death (#2)

Chapter Fifty-Four

JJ tumbled out of the back of the van after Max and Lizzie, desperate not to let them out of his sight; desperate not to let her out of his sight. He could hear Rodney's screaming, and the wailing cries from George. He could hear Max's panicked swearing as the herds closed in from either side.

JJ reached out towards Lizzie's shoulder, desperate to keep her close if this did prove to be the end. His fingertips were close enough to touch a stray thread on her jacket when the first body cannoned into the roof of the van.

Before JJ could even comprehend what had happened, a corpse had rolled off the white metal roof, crashing down on him from above, sending him hurtling to the ground. His eyes flashed desperately towards Max and Lizzie, but they were already gone, hidden behind a stream of falling clickers.

Teeth snapped inches from the end of JJ's nose, putrid saliva splashing against his face. His right hand was trapped under the weight of the clicker's body, and his left was clamped tightly around its neck, holding the chomping canines back as best he could. His fingers began to slip as the slimy flesh around the clicker's throat began to give way, and the teeth edged closer.

He was sure that he was mere moments away from feeling those teeth slice through his face, and nails claw his chest open. He had never considered himself to be afraid of death itself, more the manor of which his life would end, and this was up there with the very worst. Eaten alive, feeling every bite and scratch until the mercy of death eventually eclipsed all pain.

Just as his fingers started to lose all purchase, a knife exploded through the side of the clicker's skull and its body was torn away into a heap on the ground.

Karl planted one foot onto the chest of the motionless corpse, before twisting his spear out like King Arthur's sword.

The bodies continued to rain down around them, the only saving grace being that most of the clicker's legs and joints shattered upon impact. Despite most of the undead being preoccupied with Max and Lizzie, a fair few had now turned to the twins as an alternative meal source.

The top of the van was now almost completely hidden under the mass of rotten limbs, as they spilled over the sides, blocking all doors back into the vehicle.

JJ's eyes searched frantically through the undead mist for Max and Lizzie, even Dawson; he had no idea if she had managed to escape the van too.

"Get the fuck up! We need to move!" Karl cried, yanking JJ to his feet.

"What about-"

"JJ, no!" Karl screamed, putting his face almost flat against his brother's. "We need to go! This is not the time to be a hero!"

JJ wanted to argue, his heart needed to charge back in and at least find out where everyone was, if everyone was okay, but his head knew better. They couldn't fight their way out of this one, they had to run; and he just had to pray that the others had managed to do the same.

The herd behind him was growing closer, he could hear the clattering footsteps approaching like an army of horses stomping across a battlefield.

Karl jabbed away with the end of his spear, sending it carving through the scalps of as many crawling clickers as he could, as they snapped at his ankles like vicious wolverines.

JJ grabbed his brother by the arm and led him through the minefield of bodies, desperate to reach relative safety before the stampede was upon them.

The twins tore across the street towards an old cinema, with the herd now only metres away. JJ pushed open one side of the thick, glass double doors and threw himself inside, yanking his brother in after him. He slammed the door shut and slammed his entire bodyweight against the seam between them.

"Take off your belt!" JJ yelled, unclipping his own and whipping it free of his jeans.

"I don't have a belt!"

"Then give me your t-shirt! Anything!" JJ spat, wrapping his belt between the two door handles before tightening it and clipping it together.

He followed up by tying both Karl's and his own t-shirt around the handles, fastening them in place just in time for the first few clickers to launch themselves into the glass.

Karl ran his hands through his long, scraggly hair, doing everything to avoid looking over his shoulder at the faces on the other side of the glass.

He used to mock JJ for his hairstyle, he wasn't sure why he was thinking of that now, but that was the one thought that had popped into his head. Faced with almost certain death, and a seemingly miniscule and frivolous detail played on his mind. He used to play a game when they were younger, to see how many scrunchies he could tie into JJ's hair while he slept; his record being seven. He chuckled internally at the memory, it all seemed so irrelevant now, but they were the memories he would cherish.

The doors squealed under the pressure as the main bulk of the herd arrived, opening in on themselves a few inches before holding firm.

Wide, open mouths crunched against the door, shattering jaw bones and crumbling teeth, bodies blinded by pure hunger and desire. The glass was thick enough to hold back a small huddle of them, but as more clickers arrived on the scene at breakneck speed, it began to give way.

"We need to find a way out of here, this isn't going to hold much longer!" JJ instructed, already sprinting off into the depths of the cinema. "There must be a fire exit somewhere!"

"Never thought I'd be running past free popcorn," Karl joked nervously as he spotted the long-since-abandoned snack stand.

The twins stormed down the long, musky corridor, with doors lining either side, numbered from one to fourteen. Just for a split second, it reminded JJ of a simpler time, saving up for weeks to come and see the latest release with his brother. It felt strange being in these kinds of places now, places of old entertainment and leisure, it was a sector of society that simply did not exist anymore. It was like running through a forgotten fairground, or an empty theme park. The places that used to be the busiest were always the most disturbing to see quiet.

"There!" Karl yelled, pointing furiously at a door on the left-hand side, right at the very end of the hallway.

Behind them, the sound of glass shattering filled the empty halls, followed by echoing animalistic groans and clicks. The herd was inside, leaving a trail of destruction behind it, wiping out any trace of past enjoyment felt in this building.

JJ reached the fire exit first, forcing his hand down onto the handle as he barged his shoulder into the wood. Fresh air graced his skin, and for a moment he felt a slim ray of hope emerge from the depths of his fear.