Twilight was fast approaching. People had dragged a couple of bins out to the barricades and started a fire in them, proving an eerie feel in the early evening as the moans of the Viven's started to approach. Cheers rose up from the crowd, and people started to move the barricade as they rounded the corner, coming into view. This was the head of a snake that seemed to stretch on forever. They were filing the street, tightly packed. People started to shout. A man jumped up onto the barricade. It was Mark.
"Friends," he began, "the enemy is at the gates! We won't let them take our home or our families. Give them hell!" A cheer rose up from the crowd.
It was 6:30, and the ranks of the living had swelled to at least 4,000. We were at the back of the group, not wanting to get involved in the initial clash or stand too close to the petrol bombs that were starting to be lit. You could see people at the barricades begin to light them. A roar rose from the crowd as the first bomb was thrown through the air. It landed well short of the creatures, but it still claimed a gasp from the crowd as flames spread over the road. The creatures continued to advance straight through the flames. More bombs went soaring, this time landing in the crowd, igniting the monsters, and they still kept coming. More and more went flying through the air, setting light to them. After a couple of minutes, the hail of bombs had stopped, and they were still advancing. A voice came over the loudspeaker. Two men jumped out of the fire engine and picked up the hose lying on the ground. They then proceeded to the front of the barricade and turned on the hose. The dead were only 20 meters from the barricade now. Most of the flames had died out, but many were still smoldering. The men with the hose proceeded to douse the undead, extinguishing the flames.
Mark's voice rang out again. It sounded like he had been drinking. A slurred "CHARGE!" was yelled, and the crowd started to advance forward, people jumping the barricade, eager to get to grips with the monsters. Into the valley of death, they charged. The two sides met. Bats and teeth clashed, yells and moans rang out.
6:45. After the initial enthusiasm and momentum, the tide was now turning. The living were being pushed back to the barricade. Sirens rang out in the night. Someone had jumped in the fire engine. They put it into gear and rammed the barricade, driving into the mass of undead, sending the things flying before disappearing quickly around the corner, then reversing back and running over more of them. Dumb ass. The barricade was broken, and the dead started to swarm through the gap. The frontline defenders were taken by surprise and quickly overwhelmed.
Screams rang out, not from the front, but from the side. The dead were at the left barricade. No one had thought to keep an eye out in that direction, and they were pulling themselves over the cars. People at the back were starting to run. We moved to the side to avoid the main crush. Only a few hundred people remained to defend. The barricades were now overrun. The fire engine had stopped moving. I could see blood spatters on the inside of the cabin.
People were falling around us. I heard crying across the road. There was a young girl by the front of the fire station. She couldn't have been more than ten years old, blonde-haired, blue eyes, sitting down, hugging her knees. The dead were pushing forward, and no one seemed to notice. What was that rule from Zombieland? Never be a hero? Oh, fuck it, I thought. I started to make my way across the road, advancing towards the dead. I reached her.
"Hey, are you okay?" A stupid question.
"I can't find my dad," she bawled.
"What does he look like?" Why did I ask that? Like we had time to wander around and look for him? I turned around. Damn. The defenders had backed off further now. There were only a few meters of open ground between me and the dead. Jon and Toby made their way to me.
"Look, darling, I don't know if we can find him right now, but we can't stay here. It's not safe."
She looked up at me, tears in her eyes. "He's dead, isn't he?"
I heard a scraping sound. One of the barricades was being pushed further to the side by the sheer number of undead.
"Honey, if he is alive, we will find him, but we have to go now."
She nodded.
"What's your name?"
"Sky. Sky Harper."
"OK, Sky. I'm Tom. That's Jon and Toby. Are you okay to walk?"
She hesitantly nodded. "I'll tell you what, how about a piggyback?" She seemed to prefer that idea. I passed my bat to Toby, and she jumped on. And we began our retreat. There were only a few dozen defenders left now, too drunk or too macho to admit that we had lost. As we disappeared into the night, Jon lit the way with a small torch.
On the way back past the shopping center, we came across a grisly sight. Three survivors just lying gutted on the floor with four Viven's feeding on them. They looked up and saw us. Jon and Toby moved forward to intercept them. Jon put all his weight behind one massive shot to a creature's temple. You could hear the crack of its skull. I told Sky not to look. Toby's machete took off another head, and he proceeded to deal with the third. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement from the shadow of a shop doorway. One came charging out. It caught me completely off guard. I had time to throw Sky off my back and raise my arm before it smashed into me, knocking me to the floor. Its face plunged towards my neck. I managed to get my forearm underneath its chin. He was a police officer but now a monster. Its teeth gnashed inches from my face, hot breath washing over me. I looked over to Jon and Toby. They were having difficulty finishing the last one. Sky was watching me struggle. She cried.
I managed to get my foot up and boot the zombie cop straight in the solar plexus. This gave me a second to scramble to my feet. I stumbled over to Sky, putting myself between her and the monster. What I did next, I did without thinking. I walked forward towards the creature. When I was within range, I stomped straight down on the creature's kneecap with all the force I could muster. The sound of the snap was unbelievable. It started to sink forward. I grabbed its head with my gloved hand and pushed it back. It lay there on the floor, trying to get up. Jon and Toby had finished with theirs and had seen me stomp the thing.
"Bat," I said.
Toby passed it to me, and with one hit, I cracked the creature's skull. I stopped and looked at the officer. He was young. Could not have been on the job that long. Damn. I proceeded to search his belt. I took his collapsible baton, handcuffs, CS spray, a torch, a handcuff key. His radio was smashed, but I found a small first aid kit. I also took his notepad. We looked behind us. More of the Viven's were on the way. I picked up Sky, and we headed home, entering through the back door, ensuring someone or something didn't see us.
10:30 PM. Toby has returned to his flat. We have decided to stay separate for the time being. We have new rules for entering the house now. Everyone gets checked for bites and cuts. We have boiled up some water and put all the clothes we were wearing in with them. The water is still running, so me, Jon, and Sky all had a quick bath to clean off the blood. The things are advancing. I risked a peek out the window earlier and saw dozens in our street. Screams echo through the night. I have given Sky my earplugs, and she is asleep now, cuddled up with Clio the cat. I sat down at my desk, sipping my beer, and watched as fire raged through Coventry.