In the Dead of Night (Conclusion)

And now for the conclusion of...

In the Dead of Night

"Frank saw many different wrenches, screwdrivers, and hammers on the floor. He picked up one screwdriver about six inches long and placed it in his back pocket. He also saw, in the midst of various sizes of bolts and sockets, a crowbar. It was slightly bent and no longer held its original luster. He picked up the crowbar and figured that it might serve useful in a close encounter with one of those...dead. Yes, dead, that's exactly what they were, walking, hungry, dead.

Frank looked up and noticed that several zombies had moved in front of the shop. They had not focused on him yet, but they undoubtedly would see him when he left the shop. The first thought he had was to check for a back door. "All shops have a back door," he mused. Frank made his way to the back of the shop and found a short hallway extending from the main counter. He figured that the back door should be at the end of the hallway. His hands however, would never feel the object of his search. He saw the entire area surrounding the back door and the end of the hallway cluttered with large beams of steel.

The back door was blocked by the smoldering remnants of the supporting walls lying across the floor. There had indeed been a fire in the shop and it had brought down the back wall of the shop onto itself. He turned and headed back towards the front of the shop. There were more of the dead than before in the parking lot. He stepped softly as he moved forward, but the crunching sound of broken glass grinding together underfoot was still too loud. One of the zombies turned its head looking into the shop is his direction and Frank stood still.

He watched as the ghoul silently stared right at him. Then it began to walk towards him and let out a deep gurgling moan. The sound made Franks skin crawl and he knew the others would hear and follow. As he stepped out of the shop, the large group of zombies moved in on the shop from all sides. He made a break for the main street, quickly passing two of the nearest zombies with their out-stretched arms.

Near the curb on the West Side of the shop, stood a lone zombie. It was the only one directly in Frank's path of escape. He ran forward and heaved the crowbar overhead. Then he swung at the zombie's head just as he neared the curbside. The zombie moved slightly to Franks left, as the crowbar was about to make contact. The blow struck the ghouls shoulder and scraped its neck as it missed the thing's head. The zombie stumbled a few steps and toppled onto the asphalt of the street as the crowbar dropped away fromthe two of them. The momentum of the swing pulled Frank forward and off balance, and then he fell.

As the zombie slowly stood erect, Frank had time to stand and look for where to go from there. The group of zombies that were gathering near the shop entrance began to moan in unison as they moved in Frank's direction. Frank ran up the street from his neighborhood and could see the ruins of the buildings that once stood on either side. Smoke was issuing from almost every building, and so were the zombies.

As he ran, he saw the fast food restaurant, the gas station, and his favorite bar; all filled with the living dead. He felt an overwhelming sense of doom as he remembered all the different moments he had spent having fun, getting the things he needed, and simply living life. Now, here he was running like a fox chased by hounds, running for his life, and running the wrong way! He stopped his run with both feet hitting the pavement at once and caught himself from falling.

He realized that he had run into the heart of a highly populated suburb. He choked on a quickly inhaled breath as he saw his fate around him. Hundreds of the ghouls were milling about in their thoughts of the dead. Then they saw him, and heard the fading echoes of his footsteps. The moan that had once been coming only from behind him now rang out in his ears in full surround stereo.

The sound of so many dead caused Frank to lose control of his bladder and he trembled as the warm liquid seeped down the front of his pants. He looked around, and from every possible direction they came. In an ever-tightening circle the zombies moved in closer with clawing hands and hunger in their sunken eyes. He punched and kicked at the zombies, and even stabbed at a few with the screwdriver he had. He fought until the first bite sank into his shoulder.

Another bite into his leg caused him to twist around and let out an agonizing scream. One after another, the ghouls continued to devour him and the loudest sound that could be heard was his scream. A scream of terror and of pain, a scream that echoed out into the night, a scream that caused Frank to bolt upright in his bed!

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could feel the beads of sweat cascading down his face. The same sweat that had saturated the pillow and the sheets he now tossed aside. "Holy Shit!" He put his legs over the edge of the bed, reached over and clicked on the lamp. "That's what I get for watching all of those horror movies," he said aloud. He washed his face and changed into a fresh tee shirt. Then he went into the living room and sat on the couch. He figured he would watch a little television to clear mind of the sunken-eyed faces that still flashed before his eyes.

He clicked on the television and surfed around until he saw a re-run of Gilligan’s Island. It was one where the castaways built a bicycle car out of bamboo and coconut shells. He always got upset about how absurd that invention was. Then an announcement broke in with an Emergency logo across the screen. The announcer sat with unbelieving paranoia in her eyes, and Frank's expression froze.

THE END

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Thank you so much for reading my story. Comments and critiques are welcome as always.

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  Today's Cure song is "A Forest" from the Seventeen Seconds CD - (1979) A Cure classic! This song, driven by a fantastic bass line, makes you feel lost in the forest Robert sings about!

"Suddenly I stop, but I know it's too late. I'm lost in a forest, all alone"

CJ