Categories > Movies > Shaun of the Dead > The Fourth Promise
/Chapter 5:/
The fourth floor looked empty.
"/Chris!" /Lynn half-shouted.
A young man-moderately tall with short dark hair and glasses-came careening around the corner with a wooden baseball bat in hand. "Lynn, what the fuck took you so long?"
Scowling, Lynn reached in her duffle bag and yanked out a handful of illegal fireworks. "I had to drive back to my neighborhood to find them, you ungrateful asshole," she threw them at Chris's head.
Amazingly he caught them. "Who are they?" he asked, pointing one stick at Lynn's two tagalongs.
"Shaun and Liz-guys, this is Chris."
"Hey, mate," Shaun greeted.
"That's great," Chris breezed past and started setting up the explosives. "Either of you know how to fire a shotgun? 'Cause we've got incoming and I'll need someone to pick off the stragglers while I get the fireworks set up."
Shaun raised his hand. "Where the hell did you get a shotgun?" he asked.
Lynn pointed her tire iron down the hallway behind him. "Prof. had one. But we lost him in the lobby this morning," she abruptly swiped one hand across her nose and stifled a sniffle. "Um, I'll... I'll go get it for you," she added.
She was gone for about three seconds before she returned with a clean pump-action shotgun and a box of shells. "I hope you know how to load this thing, too," she added.
Wiping his suddenly sweating palms on his pants, Shaun loaded the shotgun with as many shells as it could handle, then racked a shell into the chamber. "Just tell me where to shoot," he said and brought the stock of the shotgun up to his shoulder.
Someone new pushed his way through the girls and offered up a grim smile. "Name's Ben," he indicated himself, "always nice to hear a familiar accent," he added. He grabbed Shaun's forearm and dragged him over to the first landing on the fourth floor stairwell. "Anything comes in view from here, shoot it. I'll be here to help you reload."
"Got it," Shaun nodded.
He took up a post behind Chris and aimed down the four flights of stairs. His palms were sweating already and he was getting that uncomfortable sensation of perspiration gathering at the waistline of his shorts.
The elevator dinged two floors down.
"Oh shit," Lynn intoned. "Jessica!" she shouted down the hallway. A pierced girl with dyed black hair came running around the corner. "Where's the pry bar? We need to break the elevator cables before the zombies get up here!"
Jessica waved the pry bar in question and attacked the elevator doors. Liz jumped in and helped the girl push the makeshift lever and used her feet to keep the doors apart.
"How are we going to break this?!" Jessica asked once they could see the moving cords. The top of the elevator was just half a floor down.
"Shaun!" Liz shouted.
Her boyfriend came running to their aid. He jerked the stock against his shoulder, aimed, and fired one shell up at the pulley system. The metal cords frayed but didn't break.
"Shit," Shaun pumped another shell into the chamber and took careful aim at the same frayed point. By some kind of miracle, his shot slammed home and the entire elevator below them dropped three and a half floors-it's moaning occupants suddenly crushed beneath a heavy metal elevator. Severed limbs and debris exploded in the trio's faces.
They all took a few calming breaths and just stared at the carnage.
Lynn let out a low whistle. "Nice shootin', Tex," she chuckled and then slapped Shaun heartily on the back.
Shaun blinked in confusion and found himself dragged back over to the stairwell by Ben. Chris was screaming bloody murder and kicking at the oncoming undead with his ineffectual flip-flopped feet.
"Shoot it! For God's sake, shoot the motherfucker!"
Without hesitating, Shaun blew the zombie's arm off at the shoulder, racked another shell in the chamber, and shot the former geriatric in the forehead. Ben grabbed Chris' hand and pulled him further into the hallway.
"Did you get bit?" Liz asked the younger man.
He was shaking uncontrollably. "N-no. No. He didn't bite me."
Everyone looked back at Shaun as the report of the shotgun blasted out again. "Are the explosives set up? How does it get set off?"
"Shoot it!" Chris shouted.
Lynn grabbed Shaun's T-shirt sleeve. "Get as far away from it before you shoot and meet us back in room 434."
With that, everyone sprinted to that back corner, save Liz and Shaun.
"You should go back there," he said.
She offered up that grim smile that she perfected so many months ago. "Nah. I'll watch your back, Flash."
He swallowed and cleared his throat. "Thanks, babe."
Liz dragged him further away from the stairwell-swarmed with the undead-and kissed him once quickly. "Okay, love. Fire away."
And fire he did.
/TBC/
The fourth floor looked empty.
"/Chris!" /Lynn half-shouted.
A young man-moderately tall with short dark hair and glasses-came careening around the corner with a wooden baseball bat in hand. "Lynn, what the fuck took you so long?"
Scowling, Lynn reached in her duffle bag and yanked out a handful of illegal fireworks. "I had to drive back to my neighborhood to find them, you ungrateful asshole," she threw them at Chris's head.
Amazingly he caught them. "Who are they?" he asked, pointing one stick at Lynn's two tagalongs.
"Shaun and Liz-guys, this is Chris."
"Hey, mate," Shaun greeted.
"That's great," Chris breezed past and started setting up the explosives. "Either of you know how to fire a shotgun? 'Cause we've got incoming and I'll need someone to pick off the stragglers while I get the fireworks set up."
Shaun raised his hand. "Where the hell did you get a shotgun?" he asked.
Lynn pointed her tire iron down the hallway behind him. "Prof. had one. But we lost him in the lobby this morning," she abruptly swiped one hand across her nose and stifled a sniffle. "Um, I'll... I'll go get it for you," she added.
She was gone for about three seconds before she returned with a clean pump-action shotgun and a box of shells. "I hope you know how to load this thing, too," she added.
Wiping his suddenly sweating palms on his pants, Shaun loaded the shotgun with as many shells as it could handle, then racked a shell into the chamber. "Just tell me where to shoot," he said and brought the stock of the shotgun up to his shoulder.
Someone new pushed his way through the girls and offered up a grim smile. "Name's Ben," he indicated himself, "always nice to hear a familiar accent," he added. He grabbed Shaun's forearm and dragged him over to the first landing on the fourth floor stairwell. "Anything comes in view from here, shoot it. I'll be here to help you reload."
"Got it," Shaun nodded.
He took up a post behind Chris and aimed down the four flights of stairs. His palms were sweating already and he was getting that uncomfortable sensation of perspiration gathering at the waistline of his shorts.
The elevator dinged two floors down.
"Oh shit," Lynn intoned. "Jessica!" she shouted down the hallway. A pierced girl with dyed black hair came running around the corner. "Where's the pry bar? We need to break the elevator cables before the zombies get up here!"
Jessica waved the pry bar in question and attacked the elevator doors. Liz jumped in and helped the girl push the makeshift lever and used her feet to keep the doors apart.
"How are we going to break this?!" Jessica asked once they could see the moving cords. The top of the elevator was just half a floor down.
"Shaun!" Liz shouted.
Her boyfriend came running to their aid. He jerked the stock against his shoulder, aimed, and fired one shell up at the pulley system. The metal cords frayed but didn't break.
"Shit," Shaun pumped another shell into the chamber and took careful aim at the same frayed point. By some kind of miracle, his shot slammed home and the entire elevator below them dropped three and a half floors-it's moaning occupants suddenly crushed beneath a heavy metal elevator. Severed limbs and debris exploded in the trio's faces.
They all took a few calming breaths and just stared at the carnage.
Lynn let out a low whistle. "Nice shootin', Tex," she chuckled and then slapped Shaun heartily on the back.
Shaun blinked in confusion and found himself dragged back over to the stairwell by Ben. Chris was screaming bloody murder and kicking at the oncoming undead with his ineffectual flip-flopped feet.
"Shoot it! For God's sake, shoot the motherfucker!"
Without hesitating, Shaun blew the zombie's arm off at the shoulder, racked another shell in the chamber, and shot the former geriatric in the forehead. Ben grabbed Chris' hand and pulled him further into the hallway.
"Did you get bit?" Liz asked the younger man.
He was shaking uncontrollably. "N-no. No. He didn't bite me."
Everyone looked back at Shaun as the report of the shotgun blasted out again. "Are the explosives set up? How does it get set off?"
"Shoot it!" Chris shouted.
Lynn grabbed Shaun's T-shirt sleeve. "Get as far away from it before you shoot and meet us back in room 434."
With that, everyone sprinted to that back corner, save Liz and Shaun.
"You should go back there," he said.
She offered up that grim smile that she perfected so many months ago. "Nah. I'll watch your back, Flash."
He swallowed and cleared his throat. "Thanks, babe."
Liz dragged him further away from the stairwell-swarmed with the undead-and kissed him once quickly. "Okay, love. Fire away."
And fire he did.
/TBC/
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