1: A Living Undead

I: The Last Refuge

Experience: that most brutal of teachers.

But you learn, my God do you learn.

C.S. Lewis

“We’re confronting a threat unlike any we’ve faced before,” the lead speaker, Thomas Gilford, said. The tightly-packed audience leaned forward, eager to hear the details and possible solutions. “While in the past we’d get surges of the undead, the latest seems unparalleled. There are not just hundreds of them, but thousands. What’s more, they seem particularly responsive, meaning they’re quicker to react, and likelier to attack. Faced with these numbers, given our limited resources, we’re facing a dire situation. We need suggestions folks.” He wiped his brow before continuing. The small enclosed meeting hall, like the rest of the compound, concentrated the sun’s heat. That feature made the compound ideal for raising crops and animals, while the building was used as a meeting hall because it contained few doors and windows exposing the participants to the fields fed with animal waste. “Anything anyone can think of which might—in the very least—buy us a little time.”

The Collective was a small community, totaling twenty-three individuals—though that made it one of the largest functional communities in the region. The fact they focused on farm work, augmented by research into perfecting plant species which produced well in restricted areas, allowed them to supply many groups with the goods needed to survive. The compound was a walled village, though most of the area was composed of fields, animal enclosures, pastures and communal facilities like medical and blacksmithing operations. That made the buildings and human habitations incredibly crowded—and the farm smells ever present—especially since they relied on human and animal waste as their primary fertilizer.

The compound was so crowded that the residents, including men, women and children, regularly volunteered to engage in dangerous combat missions just to escape the monotony of life within its walls.

“We’ve each faced the same dire consequences before,” a woman in the back said, “and each time we’ve won out. The zombies might be unrelenting, but they’re as bright as turnips. Once they get bored, they’ll move on.”

“It’s decidedly different this time,” Thomas warned. “They’ve been congregated in one group, shifting and pulsing, but they’re not heading anywhere. They migrate from one area to another, only to have others take their place. As far as we’ve been able to tell, none are leaving the vicinity.”

“What about the other groups nearby? Surely they’ll provide assistance.”

“We’ve sent someone to David’s Pump Brigade to the north,” Thomas offered. “The other groups are too difficult to reach, but it’s possible David’s group could include them. With luck, they’ll launch an attack, drawing the undead away, allowing us to initiate a counterattack. Between us, we may whittle the zombie masses down.”

“Whittling doesn’t sound like much of a solution,” someone else argued.

“It doesn’t, but we’re hop—”

The door was flung open and a panting man entered, holding his hand up while he regained his breath.

“We ... have a ... situation. We need you to ... return to the front gate and ... evaluate it.”

“Damn!” Thomas swore. “I figured this would happen soon, but hoped we’d have more time.” Heading towards the door, he turned, walking backwards, issuing instructions as he went. “Prepare your weapons. If we need you, we’ll sound the bell. If this is what I’m expecting, forget about saving the children. If the adults die, they’re unlikely to escape. Frankly, we need everyone we can defending us in order for anyone to survive.”

Exiting the meeting hall, both men took off at a trot, the cool breeze blowing across Thomas’ perspiration a brief relief from the heat—which wouldn’t last long. “What’s the situation?” Thomas inquired.

“Sorry sir, but I can’t do it justice. You need to see this to comprehend what we’re confronting. It’s ... frightening.”

“Worse than what we were facing earlier? You’re right, this I’ve got to see!”

Climbing the steep ladder to the compound’s front overlook, the two men hurried to the edge.

“Damn! This is bad.”

Below them, the numbers of undead had dramatically increased from the previously overwhelming multitudes. Instead of hundreds meandering aimlessly, they were now packed shoulder to shoulder, moving together as a force, their voices united in a consistent moan.

“When did these new additions arrive?” Thomas demanded, wiping his brow.

“They just marched in, just as you see them. As they did, the ones already here fell in with them, joining the others and adopting their behaviors.”

“Shit! This is terrible. They’re acting in unison, something they’ve never done before. If one rushes the front gate, the rest will follow. There’s nothing which would keep it standing.” He turned. “Someone get Fredrick. We need to discover what’s happening. I’ve never seen zombies so organized. We’re facing something unprecedented. We need to comprehend what’s controlling their behavior.”

“We’ve called him. He should arrive soon,” Jefferson, the Collective’s second in command and military leader, said.

“I can answer a few questions for you,” Red said, stepping forward and raising a rifle. While guns and ammo were in short supply, they kept at least one rifle at the main gate, in case someone approached needing refuge. While they couldn’t fire many shots, they could slow those pursuing to give them time to enter.

Red braced the gun’s butt to his shoulder, resting his elbows on the wall’s rim. “I’ll take one down and we’ll see whether they respond in unison, or scatter. I’m guessing they’ll trample each other once they start moving. Such behavior isn’t natural for them.”

“They might also surge, en masse, towards our front door,” Jefferson cautioned. “You might be opening a can of worms we can’t close and which might kill us all.

“Relax,” Red said, closing one eye as he sighted. “I’ll target one along the fringe. If they rush him, they’ll move away. If they charge forward, they’ll crush each other.”

“Or, they may rush the sound,” Fredrick cautioned, stepping off the ladder to stand beside the others on the barricade. “If you fire you mig—”

The shot rang out. Everyone jumped and Fredrick winced. “Jeez, Red, what the hell are you doing?”