Oddball shakes his head, “Naw, we just ain’t used to him. We lost all our non-coms at Kaserrine, and ’ole Monte got promoted. One day, he’s tossin’ the baseball with us, and next he’s acting all high and mighty.”
Pilch struggles to keep his eyes open. Camir walks by and waves as he heads down one of the tunnels.
Matty waves to Camir and turns back to Pilch, “It’s gotta be religious.”
“Uh-huh”
“Some kind of curse or something.”
Matty stops cleaning the Luger, and listens. Something moves in the darkness. Matty sits up, straining his ears, peering into the tunnel, “You hear that?” he looks to the other tunnel, “I thought he went… oh well,” Matty shrugs and drops down with his back to the tunnels, “Like I was saying, it’s got to be religious. A pagan thing.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I shoulda paid more attention in Sunday school.”
A hand slowly moves toward Matty’s head from the other side of the barricade.
“Pilch, for Christ sakes, I’m trying to have a philosophical discussion…”
The hand grabs Matty’s head and he’s jerked into the tunnel.
“Yeah,” Pilch hears a muffled cry and opens his eyes, “Matty?” he looks into the dark tunnel, then looks down, seeing something. He picks up a gold coin on a leather necklace.
Chapter 11
Monte and the others stand at the entrance to the tunnel. Everyone is on edge, scared, with fingers on triggers.
Monte looks into the darkness, “Shit,” he looks to Pilch, “You saw nothin’?”
“I told you; I dozed off for one second, and he was gone!”
“God-damn-it!”
“Besides, that damn A-rab was out there. Hell, he might a’ done it himself.”
Yusif puts a hand on his scimitar.
Monte turns on Pilch, “Shut up!”
Vanessa studies the coin, “This is a Denarius. Roman coin, from 200 B.C.”
“Why would that be down here?” Johnson asks.
“Why is anything down here?” Oddball whines.
Monte shakes his head, “Oddball.”
Oddball continues, “Nazis and demon priests and undead and…”
“Oddball.”
“Hell, why are we down here?”
“That’s enough!”
Johnson spits on the ground, “Yeah, sure it is.”
“I’m trying to get us out of here alive.”
“That why Matty’s gone?” Johnson accuses.
From down the tunnel, they hear a whistle. Pilch raises his weapon. Monte motions for the men to take up firing positions.
“No!” Yusif barks.
Monte looks to him as he whistles toward the darkness. Camir emerges from the tunnel.
“Geez, that guy gets around,” Oddball whines.
Yusif hands Camir a canteen, and he takes a long pull. The two begin to talk in Arabic. Yusif turns to the men, “To the right is a barracks room, I think for the undead we killed before…”
Oddball interrupts, “Undead we killed?”
“Yes, to the…”
Oddball interrupts again, “That don’t make no sense.”
“Oddball!” Monte snaps.
“I’m just saying, ought to be a different word for it is all.”
“How about undead you re-killed,” Vanessa suggests.
Oddball thinks about it and nods, “See. That’s better.”
“I swear, I’m gonna kill you myself,” Monte says between clenched teeth.
Oddball winks at her. Monte shakes his head in frustration and turns to Yusif.
“Ahead, the tunnel leads down. The Germans are there,” Yusif reports.
Monte nods, “Down it is.”
“Thought we was stayin’ here,” Johnson says.
“We still got a mission. We can always fall back here.”
“And we gotta find Matty!” Pilch says.
Monte looks doubtful, “Sure, Pilch. We’ll look for Matty too.”
Monte looks to Yusif, who shakes his head.
Monte turns to Oddball, “You’re on point.”
“Me? But Sarge, I’m no good on point,” he whines.
“Oddball!”
“I’m serious, Johnson is way better.”
Monte points toward the corridor, and Oddball reluctantly starts off.
Chapter 12
Oddball is on point with Monte close behind. Water drips from the walls. The torchlight flickers. The tunnel is tight and dark. Oddball stops. From ahead, they hear the sounds of muffled gunfire, followed by screams.
Oddball turns around, “We should go back.”
Monte spins him back around, “Keep moving.”
Oddball sighs, “Shut up Oddball, keep moving Oddball, knock it off Odd…”
Something moves in the darkness ahead.
Oddball screams, “Here they come!” and opens fire.
The rest of the men take up positions, and the tunnel is instantly a blinding din of flashing gunfire.
Monte signals them to stop, “Cease fire!”
“Zombies!” Oddball screams and continues firing.
“Cease fire!”
Monte snatches Oddball’s weapon from his hands. Oddball looks at him guiltily.
Monte turns to the rest of the men, “Everyone take a deep breath and calm down!”
Oddball shakes with fear. Monte shines his flashlight ahead and illuminates a dead rat that’s been blown to bits. Monte looks to Oddball who sighs and shrugs.
Monte hands Oddball back his weapon, “Johnson, take point.”
Johnson slips past. Pilch lights a cigarette and hands it to Oddball.
“Thanks, pal.”
Vanessa puts a hand on his shoulder, “I would have shot it, too.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah, he had it coming,” and she smiles at him.
Oddball frowns, embarrassed.
Johnson stops as the tunnel opens into a football-field-sized room with a low crumbling ceiling that’s held up by rough timbers. German bodies litter the floor entrance. He puts his hand up, “Quiet. Somebody is…” and he peers ahead.
He can see a group of Germans behind a makeshift barricade at the far end of the room.
Monte grumbles, “Germans.”
“Live or dead?” Oddball asks.
Pilch smiles, “Dead by the time I’m done with ’em.”
The Americans get into a firing line as several figures move toward them from a side tunnel jutting off from the room midway along its length.
Johnson spits, “Looks like they aim to hit us.”
Some of the figures move toward the Americans; most move toward the German position. Monte looks to the figures moving toward them, “What kind of uniforms are those?”
“I was right. Romans,” Vanessa says.
The attacking undead wear the uniforms of Roman Legionnaires.
Pilch lines up his rifle on a German, “Congratu-fuckin’-lations Professor.”
As they get closer the Americans can see they are almost full skeletons --skin dangles from bone and the uniforms fit poorly with little meat left on the men.
The Americans open fire. The Germans open fire on the Romans from their position.
“Go for head shots!” Yusif screams.
Pilch smiles and mutters to himself, “Just the way I like it,” he fires dropping the German with a shot through the head, “That felt good,” he says evilly and lines up on another German, a fellow sniper, “Hello, sweetheart.”
Pilch smiles as his finger touches the trigger. Monte notices and hits him in the helmet as he fires, sending the shot wild. Muller and the Sniper look over.
“That way!” Monte indicates the Romans.
“But…”
Monte smacks Pilch in the helmet, “Fire!”
Pilch mutters to himself as he lines up on a Roman. Camir slips past them and moves toward the German position.
“Where’s he going now?” Monte cries out.
“To the Germans,” Yusif tells him.