Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #20 November 2015 | Page 93

ramp and her inside front wheel and track hit the
corner of the gatehouse. She could not make the turn
without backing up and that ran the risk of tipping
backwards and going over the side of the ramp. She
had to back onto the ramp again.

while surrounded by clouds of choking dust. The
first pair barely had time to shout a warning before
the walking corpses were upon them. One soldier
was dragged down before he could fire, corpse hands
tearing at his face and neck. The other soldier levelled
his rifle and fired before he was pulled down by the
weight of corpses tugging on his jacket.

General Summerby was watching and he sent
an order for the six pounders to target the gatehouse.
Lieutenant Houseman gave the same order and nearly
simultaneously the gatehouse was hit by shells from
the guns. The entire right end of the gatehouse and the
gate itself disintegrated and Greyhound was able to
drive up and swing round into the newly created gap.

The soldiers behind had seconds to respond
and fire. Heavy bullets slammed into the closest
corpses to no avail and the unlucky pair tried to back
away only to push into the soldiers behind them. One
died screaming for God, the other died cursing the
fools behind him.

With a grinding of gears and a scream of high
pressure steam Greyhound entered the fort and found
itself in the main street leading straight to the fortress
building itself. On its right there was the first of a line
of houses that formed that side of the street, broken by
several alleys. On the left was a narrow gap between
the wall and the first of a line of houses that stretched
across the fort until they reached the open area in front
of the fortress building with only a single alley half
way down.

Further back soldiers had enough warning to
withdraw and by the time the shambling corpses had
make their way past the four now dead soldiers the
narrow alley was empty and the survivors of the squad
had formed up in the street. Every rifle aimed at the
alley mouth.
“FIRE.” A single volley rang out and the first
few corpses to reach the pile of rubble were cut down.
But there were more behind them and they climbed
over the rubble and the newly slain walking corpses,
tumbling over the rubble and down into the street.

The Land Frigate paused for a few seconds in
the wreckage of the gatehouse then slowly began to
advance into the fort. Behind it came the first soldiers
of third platoon.
Lieutenant Fowler gestured his first dozen
men to follow the Land Frigate then waved one of the
sergeants and a few men to cover the alleys on both
sides. He then started forward in the tracks of the Land
Frigate as it ground its way forward.
On the left several men were able to enter
the gap between the wall and the line of houses; they
advanced and found themselves behind the houses in
another street that ran toward the open area in front of
the fortress.
On the right several men were ordered to
check the first alley, part of the closest building had
collapsed from a mortar hit and rubble choked the
entrance to the narrow passageway, the soldiers had
to climb carefully over the loose and shifting bricks

Shouts rang out for help and the next squad
through the shattered gate came to aid them, more
rifles were added to the volume of fire but the walking
corpses still came on, more and more of them blocking
the narrow alley with their own bodies.
Then there came an almighty crash and the
street and alley were engulfed in smoke and dust and
the thundering clanking of Greyhound. The lookout
crouched on her upper deck had seen the crisis behind
the Land Frigate and had shouted down through the
open hatch to Lieutenant Houseman.
Greyhound had been unable to turn around
in the street unless she crushed her way through the
nearest buildings so she had done just that. Then she
had continued through the houses either side of the
corpse-filled alley. Her mighty tracks and hull crushed
scores of the walking corpses and bought precious

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