TYBEE ISLAND
By By Paul Paul Cales Cales & Becca
Continued from the Dec. 2019 Beachcomber.
Catch up @ http://tybeebeachcomber.com/magazine
CHAPTER 31
INTO THE WAITING ARMS OF THE HUNGRY HORDE
DAY 10
“NOOOOOOO I didn’t… SHE pulled the trigger!” Brian shouts, just
before being punched in the back of the head by Paxton and slumping
over unconscious.
“Someone help Bunger!” Paxton yells.
“I think she’s gone, brother,” Eric says sadly.
Paxton looks down at the ever-increasing blood stain on the front
of Katherine’s shirt and notices that her eyes are open, but she’s
motionless. He grabs Brian by the back of his shirt and starts dragging
him towards the door.
“What the hell are you doing?” Winky asks.
“I’m feeding our growling friends in the parking lot.”
“Let him go, Paxton,” Eric says.
“Nah, man. Screw that. He doesn’t deserve to be here. He doesn’t
deserve to live.”
Brian opens his eyes and starts struggling against Paxton. “Get off me,
asshole!” He grabs onto the door frame and kicks Paxton in the shin as
hard as he can. Paxton instantly lets go and reaches for his leg.
“Everybody calm down!” Eric shouts over the noise of the rest of the
group.
Brian and Paxton ignore him. Brian jumps up and runs toward the
ramp on the back of the deck. He jumps onto the rail and swiftly kicks
the table that is stopping the undead from getting onto the deck. It
collapses and the barricade is released. Brian then jumps to the ground
and over the fence that leads to the five-dollar warehouse, escaping the
horde of zombies in the Huc-A-Poo’s parking lot and leaving the Poo
Crew to their fate.
“Oh shit!” Paxton exclaims, as he sees all the zeeks rushing up the
ramp and spilling onto the deck.
“Get to the vans by the back steps,” Eric says, to get everyone moving.
“What about the tank?” Winky asks.
“I think that’s the least of our worries at the moment,” Paxton says,
while helping move people in the direction of the vans.
“We can’t just leave Bunger lying here,” Winky says.
“We’re going to have to,” Eric says. “Now get to the minivans!” The
crew dashes for the back door and Winky holds it open and instructs the
28 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JAN 2020
ISLAN
crew. JT is the first one through the door.
“Jump into the driver’s seat and get her cranked up JT,” Winky says.
“Let’s go people, quickly!” Paxton is the last through the door. “Let’s go
Pax!”
“Dude, my leg is messed up,” Paxton informs him as he limps down the
stairs.
“I’m right behind you, brother,” Winky says.
Paxton looks back to make sure Winky is following him, and he
loses his footing and falls about halfway down the stairs. Winky, who
is following close behind as Paxton falls, tries to jump over him so he
doesn’t injure him anymore, but misjudges the distance and falls over the
stair rails into the waiting arms of the hungry horde. As the horde begins
to tear into Winky, he screams out above the noise of the hungry, snarling
infected, “Get out of here! Go! Go! Go!”
Eric jumps over the bar and retrieves the pistol from the floor as the
crew heads for the vans. He raises the gun and begins picking off the
infected as they pile through the door. The zombies begin to fall into the
screen walls, breaching the thin barrier. Eric backs up to the bar. Feeling
the cold concrete on his back, he takes two more shots and leaps over
the bar. He dashes into the kitchen in an attempt to keep the attention
of the infected and allow the rest of the crew a chance to get into the
vans at the bottom of the steps. He stops and turns to face the horde
trying to get him. “I’m right here! COME AND GET ME!” The infected start
falling over the bar and Eric slams the door shut. He grabs a pizza peel
off the oven and jams it through the door handle to secure it. He grabs an
aluminum softball bat that is lying next to the freezer and runs out to the
outside bar. He peeks over the bar and sees the last of the horde entering
the main bar area and jumps over the rail on the ramp. He sees Brian
trying to get into the five-dollar warehouse and jumps the fence after
him. “Stop right there, Brian!” He shouts after him. “I’m a lot faster than
you and I’ll run your skinny ass down.”
“You think it’s my fault. You’re going to kill me.”
“There’s a key under the door mat. Open the door and let’s go inside
where it’s safe,” Eric says.
“But you’re…”
“UNLOCK. THE. DAMN. DOOR. BRIAN!”
Brian unlocks the door and Eric runs inside. Brian slams it shut.
“It’s a deadbolt Brian. Lock it back.”
Brian turns and locks the door. He leaves the key in the lock for a
hasty escape if needed. “You think anyone is in here?”
“I don’t know,” Eric answers. “But it can’t be as bad as it is out there.
You’d better find a weapon of some kind.”
Brian looks around and sees an axe incased in a glass box on the wall
with a fire extinguisher. He grabs a bundle of t-shirts and wraps them
around his hand before smashing the glass and retrieving the axe.
“Shhhh!” Eric says. “You hear that?”
A snarl can be heard from the other side of the racks of clothing.
“There’s one in here,” Brian whispers.
“Hopefully it’s only one. Move around the left and I’ll go around to the
right and we’ll take care of it,” Eric says, and slowly moves to the right,
looking up each row of racks for whatever was making the noise. Brian
does the same to the left.
“I don’t see anything,” Brian begins, and as soon as the words left his
lips, he knew speaking out loud was a mistake. The zombie jumps out
at Brian and makes him lose his balance. They both fall into a rack of
clothing. “Get it off me!” Brian shouts as he holds the zombie off him with
/magazine