The Real Night of the Living Dead by Mark Kramer, Felix Cruz Page A

that surrounded the therapy building. There were two cars parked here, the rest were gone; any staff who were lucky enough to escape must’ve driven away. Hopefully, they went for help.
    The building and its parking lot were enclosed in a black wrought iron gate, a little over six feet high, that wrapped around the building. There was an opening in the gate, about a hundred feet in front of us.
      I noticed an attendant, to the right of us, near the corner of the building, moving our way. The noise of the window shattering probably caught his attention. His white shirt was torn down the center and there was a gaping hole in his stomach; looked as if his intestines had been removed. The blood was still running out of his wound and down his front.
    Scattered throughout the parking lot were another five of these infected creatures, wandering, like they had no place to go. I couldn’t see further than the gate; the rain was too hard, and it was too dark to see if there were any outside the gate.
    But the two cars were nearby, both parked within a few spaces of each other and maybe fifteen feet or so from the opening of the gate.
    Billy was getting to his feet as I said to Melvin, “You feel good enough to walk?”
    He shook his head, “I feel weak, but I got a job to finish, see? I ain’t ready to die.”
    I stared at him. We saw it happen a few times already. I knew what would happen to Melvin. I wondered if he knew and was just lying to himself and hoping that he wouldn’t become one of them, or if he really believed their bites didn’t infect him the way it did the others.
    But there was no way I would hurt Melvin. He was my friend. I was going to do anything possible to make sure he would live to see this nightmare come to an end.
    We helped Melvin to his feet.
    “Let’s check those cars for keys,” I said. “If nothing, we’ll have to go on foot to N-5.”
    Me and Billy stood on either side of Melvin, threw his arms around our shoulders and moved to the cars before the mutilated attendant could reach us. We carried the mop and broom in our hands.
    We got to the first car, no keys. Melvin groaned seeing this, not wanting to hike the hundred or so yards to N-5.
    As we moved to the second car, we attracted the attention of two of the infected in the parking lot. The mutilated attendant was also moving in, about twenty feet away from us.
    Billy smashed the window of the driver’s door of the second car. Again, no keys. Melvin cursed, then I could feel his arm, around my shoulder, twitch.
    “Keep your cool, feller,” said Billy. “We gonna walk. I’ll give you a piggyback ride if you feel you can’t make the hike.”
    “I’ll be fine. I just hate rain. That’s all.”
    We moved toward the opening in the gate. That’s when the entrance doors to N-3 opened and the mob of creatures that surrounded us in the stairwell came flooding out, spilling down the stairs and moving toward us.
    We heard the noise and looked back at them. “Shit,” I said and looked at Billy. “Grab his legs, we gotta bolt.”
    The three of us were outside the gate now as the mob continued moving closer. I ran to the gate and closed it. From what I could see, there was no lock, so I left it shut and just hoped it would hold them off for some time.
    “Let’s cut across the field,” said Billy. “It’ll save us half the time than if we took the road.”
    “Yeah, but who knows what’s in that field,” I said.
    “We need to take that chance, partner.” Billy motioned to Melvin, saying, “This mess here ain’t gonna make it if we gonna take the road.”
    I gazed at Melvin. Billy was right, Melvin looked really weak and pale. Christ, I knew he wasn’t going to make it. Probably wouldn’t even last to N-5 if we did take the field. But he was my friend, and this was a chance I had to take. “Fine,” I said. “Let’s move it, across the field. Keep your eyes peeled.”
    “Hey, don’t you worry ‘bout that. The Kid’s always