The monster drove its fist into the metal door again, feeling the steel warp under its assault. It understood the door would give soon, and anticipation drove it to strike even harder. It had already fed on the morsel torn from Gerald, and one of the bodies from the assault on the gas pumps, but Buddha Boy had a large capacity and a desire to fill it.

The pair of lesser dead picked up on that anticipation, flexing their jaws and hands and moving in close. The giant only heeded them long enough to swat one hard enough to send it tumbling back across the asphalt, while crushing the skull of the other that actually got between it and the door.

It also understood it didn't have to share, at least not until it had satisfied itself.

And satisfaction lay only seconds away.

Maelstrom - Marisa.

Another tremendous boom thundered through the garage, sending the crows swirling though the rafters. The sheet metal roof shivered, and a couple of tools clattered to the floor from the shelves.

"Oh shit, Harley! We've got to get out of here! Please tell me you've got the keys to the car."

Marisa looked at the man in desperation. Not a remnant remained of the madness that had overtaken her earlier. Sanity now returned in full force, and it told her in no uncertain terms what odds they faced against the monstrosity now beating its way through the steel door.

"I haven't had a chance to," came his tight reply. "I had just finished the last zombie off and came to see if you needed help. Besides, if Stacey is right then they're in that pile of body parts in the corner...and I noticed those aren't exactly dead anymore. I think the fungus has connected it all and the whole mass is alive now."

"Oh Jesus...."

Marisa looked over into the corner, then clenched her eyes shut and swallowed. That "mass" had been three of her friends. Leon, Tomas, and even old Arnold in his grouchy way. And now they were reduced to one more sight she would be spending the rest of her life trying to forget. She could only pray the squirming mess had no memory or intelligence.

It was almost too much. This nightmare just kept evolving and didn't show any sign of stopping. Every time she thought they had finally seen the extent of this night's horror, something even worse reared its head.

Another earthshaking slam jerked her attention back to the present, and the reality of their situation. They had bigger fish to fry.

What writhed in the corner might be an abomination of the highest order, but right now Death was knocking at the door. And he would be coming in any minute.

Buddha Boy was here.

Harley must have seen the despair in her eyes, for he summoned a grin that at least tried to be reassuring. Unfortunately, it looked more desperate than anything else.

"It's okay," he said, and moved towards the door. "I got this. I just need you to be brave one more time."

Not trusting herself to speak, she only nodded. She couldn't think of anything to say now anyway. It was time to get back into action. She doubted he would be able to hold the door closed for long and moved to find something to help him brace it shut.

"No, don't move," Harley waved her back as he reached towards the door handle. "I need you to just stand there, where he will be sure to see you when I open the door..."

On second thought, there might be something that needed saying, after all.

"When you WHAT???"

"I gotta open the door Marisa," he spoke in a low voice as he leaned against the buckling structure. "If I don't, he's going to break it and they'll all get in. Better to let him in and face him alone."

"And he's going to just waltz right in while you hold the door for him? That's awful nice of the big guy!"

"Well, that's where we get to the 'you being brave' part."

Of course it was.

"Annnnnnd my job is to be bait." She sighed.

"I just need you to catch his attention and draw him past me. I'll be behind the door. Then you run around behind the car when he comes in. I've still got one shot left, so I'll just step out and put a bullet in his head. It'll be easy. Then I'll get the keys, we'll hop in the car, and it will all be downhill from there."

"Right," Marisa nodded and faced the door again. If Harley said it would be easy then it was probably going to be difficult as hell, but that was just the way her evening was going. The gore splattered girl figured she was getting used to it. Hell, she had already done two or three death defying stunts tonight anyway. What was one more?

"Remember, run. Don't even try to mix it up with this thing."

That brought a hollow laugh from her.

"Don't worry, Harley. Miss Crazypants is gone for the evening. It's just me now. Don't you feel lucky?"

"Actually, yes." He replied with a sober look. "Your judgment, I trust."

Well, that was always good to know.

"Aw... thanks, partner," she smiled weakly. "I'll be good and run away. Now please don't die, okay?"

As if on cue, another thunderous crash shook the door.

"Not planning on it," he winked back.

Then Harley's grin tightened and he held up one finger while grabbing the doorknob with the other hand. It was go time.

"Okay..." He lifted his hand higher like somebody getting ready to drop the flag at a drag race. "Get ready...annnnnd...here we go."

Marisa watched him jerk the door open and step behind it in one smooth motion. And even though she had prepared herself for this, the sight of this new threat took her breath away.

The monster literally filled the doorway.

Buddha Boy's pale bulk spanned the entire breadth of the door frame. The great body was swollen and off color, a monstrous corpse that dominated the entranceway. And at well over six foot, its bald head almost reached the top as well. There could have been an entire horde of ravenous dead behind the creature and Marisa wouldn't have been able to tell. Whatever possible remnant that may have remained of her former berserker self melted away in the presence of this behemoth.

Its dead white eyes practically glowed in its mottled face. They scanned the room, then stopped as they came to rest on her. Their pearly surface seemed to take on an unholy sheen at the sight of the lone girl.

Oh looky! She swallowed. He's taking the bait. Lucky me! Harley, you better not miss.

"Hey, Buddha Boy!" she stammered out in mock good cheer. "You want your usual? No prob...HOLY SHIT!"

The monster exploded in her direction.

And in one split second she realized they had made a terrible mistake.

They should have known that if the skeletal monsters from the cemetery could move quick, then something with fresh new muscles would be just as fast...or faster. But they had underestimated this thing. Its bulk had thrown them off, making them think it could only move like Buddha Boy in life. Now it stampeded towards her like a juggernaut of mortified flesh.

Marisa was a split second away from being torn limb from limb.

Realizing she didn't have time to run around the end of the car, Marisa whipped around and began a desperate attempt to dive across the hood instead. She started from about eight or nine feet from the car, knowing the putrefying giant was already almost right on top of her. Her long legs closed the gap in three rapid strides. This was going to be close. Hearing the slap of his naked feet right behind her, the terrified young woman gathered her strength and leapt for all she was worth.

She didn't make it.

The rancid titan landed on her like an avalanche.

His mass smashed her down onto the car in mid leap, buckling the metal of the hood and driving the air out of her lungs. It felt like somebody had dropped a dead elephant on her. The girl's spine bowed and her ribs threatened to snap under the titanic pressure. Marisa gagged and her vision became ringed in red as she struggled to get her breath back under the immense weight. The monster had her pinned like a bug. She was starting to suffocate and a whole new order of panic set in.

Worse yet, she could feel the thing turn its head against the back of her own, and realized it was preparing to bite...and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. She couldn't even wriggle under the crushing load. Marisa clenched her eyes shut, steeling herself for the agony of its teeth cutting into her neck or shoulder.

Benny...Stacey...I'm sorry. I almost made it back for you guys. I really tried.

Then a thunderous explosion went off right behind her ear.

Gladys's gun.

Even before the blast faded, Marisa realized what had happened. Harley must have been running behind the monster, chasing it as it charged, but not daring to take the shot until he could get close and make sure it counted. When it had caught her, he had caught it a scant second later. Then he must have put the gun against the creatures head, right behind her, and pulled the trigger.

Her head rang from the guns report, and if felt like she wasn't going to be hearing anything out of her right ear for a while...at least what was left of it...but the crushing weight suddenly eased. A second later it disappeared entirely.

Marisa slid off the hood of the car in a boneless heap. It felt like she had been squashed flat. Now, instead of just her toe, ear, and hip, every bone in her body hurt. Even her chest ached as she drew in her first gasping breath. Once she got her air and vision back, she fully intended to give Harley an earful about this particular plan. Next time, he could damn well be the bait.

"Marisa!" She dimly heard Harley yell through the ringing of her ears. "If you can hear me, slide under the car! Hurry!"

Huh?

What the hell?

Marisa cracked open a blurry eye to see Harley standing about seven or eight feet away. The man crouched in a fighter's stance, his face tight with tension. He tossed the empty pistol to the floor nearby, and she instinctively understood it was to free his uninjured hand for combat. For a second, the move confused her. Then her vision cleared further to reveal the awful truth.

She was seeing Harley from between Buddha Boys legs.

The giant corpse still stood.

It must have been getting ready to go after Harley when her labored attempts to breathe had recaptured its attention. Now it twisted to turn its pearly white eyes back down to where she lay. Looking up at a naked fat man from the floor already gave her a picture she would rather not see, but the sight of the monster's grisly cranium only made things worse. Almost half of the top of its head was missing, exposing brain matter and some strange cottony fuzz.

Harley hadn't missed...he just hadn't killed it. And now he was out of bullets and facing a monster that didn't feel pain, didn't get tired, and could punch its way through a steel door. For a second, Marisa tried to understand how this could have happened, and then the answer hit her.

Oh shit! The doc called it hindbrain, and Harley shot it in the side of the head! He must have missed the part of the brain this thing is using!

Now the corpulent horror looked like it intended to renew its previous hood-top acquaintance with her. And with it staring straight at her, she knew she had no chance to slide under the car in time. It shifted its feet and started to reach for her...

"Hey! Big guy!" Harley shouted and clapped his hands together. "Over here! I'm your dance partner now! C'mon, look at me!"

The monster paused and glared back at the man.

Marisa held her breath and forced herself not to move. The behemoth's meaty hand hovered less than a foot from her face. Her eyes almost crossed as they focused in on the blood crusted paw. Each finger was as thick as a sausage, and she knew they combined to form a grip capable of crushing her skull like an eggshell.

Every fiber of her being wanted to try and scramble away. But she understood the motion would only ensure an attack, and it could grab her before she had a chance to escape. Still, it was the hardest thing she had ever done. She just hoped Harley knew what he was doing, because she doubted he would have much more chance in a hand to hand struggle with this monster than she did.

"C'mon!" Harley clapped his hands again. "C'MON! I'm right here! Come get me!"

The giant seemed to consider him a moment.

"Yeah, that's right! Come get some, fat boy!"

CLAP!.

"C'mon! What's the matter with you! Come get me!"

CLAP!.

"C'mon, damn you! I'm right here!"

Harley spread his hands, as if offering himself to the monster.

Marisa tried to convince herself that he wasn't just doing this for her. She wanted to believe he had some higher strategy behind this crazy move, but this time she knew better. This time he wasn't just doing his job. If he were being ruthless and practical, then his best shot of killing this thing and saving the others was to attack it from the rear while it attacked her. But he wasn't doing that.

Instead, he was openly inviting a killer behemoth to close with him, just to get it away from her.

Yet while she stared at that massive, gore-smeared hand so close to her face, she found she really couldn't hold it against him. He was being stupid as hell but she could let that slide until later. Assuming there was a later. Right now he was welcome to play hero to his heart's content.

The three of them stared at each other a second longer.

Then the monster made its choice.

Marisa couldn't help but yell a warning as it bolted towards Harley. It closed on the man in a flash, once again showing that astonishing acceleration to full speed in almost no time flat. She knew its momentum had to be enormous, and the man's only hope was to find a way to dodge its charge.

But Harley didn't do that.

Instead he braced himself, and drew back one hand now curled into a two pronged claw. A split second later the giant slammed into him, driving him backwards...but not before Harley lashed out and drove his hooked thumb and fingers into the monster's eyes and buried them up to their last knuckles in its sockets.

The effect wasn't immediate. The monster still plowed forward, now with Harley in its grasp. The pair of them hurtled on and smashed into the cinder brick wall with tremendous force.

Marisa heard Harley grunt from the impact and knew it must have hurt terribly. The memory of being crushed under the titan's weight still loomed fresh in her memory. She knew being smashed against unyielding concrete by the thing had to be far worse. At the same time, she realized what Harley had just done and renewed hope caused her to scramble to her feet.

The monster was now blind.

And that meant it couldn't see her coming.

But it still had Harley against the wall with one of his arms clasped in its huge hand. He had slumped down till he almost hung from its grip, although she couldn't tell if it was because he was hurt or just trying to avoid the monster's other fist as it flailed wildly for a target to smash. Or maybe both. One of those blows impacted against the cinder bricks hard enough to leave cracks, and Marisa realized she needed to do something fast.

"Hey, pendejo!" she shouted, desperately searching for a weapon that would have some hope of hurting the thing. "I'm over here!"

She really didn't expect it to accomplish anything. Hell, she was just yelling while trying to figure out something else to do that might make a difference. So it caught her completely unprepared when the giant corpse turned and lunged in her direction.

Marisa jumped back with a scream as the monster stumbled blindly after her.

She backpedaled towards the car again, her gaze locked on the monster's mutilated face. It looked even more horrific than before. Its eyes were now torn sockets weeping tears of black ichor.

But its ears must have worked fine because it zeroed right in on her. It couldn't move near as fast like this, but the area wasn't very big. She wasn't anywhere near out of trouble yet. Even worse, the thing still held Harley by the arm and dragged him along behind like a forgotten toy.