Contamination: Dead Instinct (Contamination Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Series) (9 page)

"I'm going out there," he said.
 

He eyed the other men as he walked by them, half-hoping someone would offer to join him, but the men averted their eyes.

He walked over to the fridge and began pushing it. The thing was heavy, and he steeled himself against the ground. He was still straining to move it when another pair of hands slapped against the side.

"I'll help with that," Jimmy said.
 

The two of them slid the appliance across the floor, revealing the back entrance.

"Thanks," Isaac said.

Jimmy opened the door and held up his gun. Was he going with him?

"After you."

Isaac gave him a grateful glance. "Thanks."

"Fuck it," Spencer said from somewhere behind them. "I'll come, too."

Isaac, Jimmy, and Spencer crept around the back of the strip and made their way to the front of the building. Several creatures were still heading in the opposite direction, as if they were scouts in some communal mission, intent on leading the way.
 

Isaac glanced nervously at the rifle in his hand as he walked.

"You ever fire one of those?" Jimmy asked, giving him a perturbed look.

"No," he admitted.
 

"Do you even know where the trigger is?"

Jimmy and Spencer laughed under their breaths. Jimmy gave him a quick tutorial. Afterward, Isaac fell in line behind them, following them across the parking lot and then across the street.
 

Isaac kept a quick pace, mindful of his surroundings, but careful not to move too fast. If there was one thing he'd learned, it was that visibility was key. Though he might not have weapons training, he knew that much.

Since they'd left the building, the screaming had quieted, but Isaac could hear it picking up again in the distance. The sound should have filled him with dread, but it gave him a sense of relief instead.

It meant the girl was still alive.
 

Having traversed the parking lot, they transitioned to the road, closing on the handful of infected ahead of them. The creatures were cutting through an alley, presumably taking the quickest route to their victim.

Several tall commercial buildings lined the street.

"Let's cut around that way," Jimmy hissed, motioning to the intersection just past them. "We don't want to get trapped in the alley."

Isaac and Spencer concurred, and the three of them changed course. They'd lost sight of the infected, but they could still hear the din of hungry groans from the next street over. When their path was clear, they increased speed, running along the debris-ridden road.

Isaac took a last glance behind him, catching sight of the tattoo shop in the distance. The building already seemed miles away. Would he ever make it back? He swallowed and ran faster.

They bounded beneath a pair of unlit traffic lights, staring up the adjacent street. A stream of infected was headed the other way. Isaac watched as they appeared from various corners and doorways, converging on a building halfway down the next block.
 

It took him a second to see what they were heading toward.

The girl was standing on the roof of a covered entranceway, about fifteen feet off the ground. By the looks of it, she'd scrambled up a set of railings, and she was fending off a herd of creatures with a metal pipe. She fought to keep from slipping. One by one, the creatures on the street flocked to her location.

There were about twenty of the things so far.
 

"God dammit..." Jimmy muttered.

Isaac increased speed, overtaking his companions. The girl was about to fall, and if he didn't get to her quick, it might be too late. Before he could make headway, Jimmy tugged on his shirt, holding him back.
 

"Wait," he said tersely.

The three of them halted in the street. They watched as more creatures joined the first group. The horde was a hundred yards away.
 

"If we start firing on them," Jimmy said, "we're going to alert every damn thing in the city."

"If that girl hasn't already," Spencer mumbled.

Isaac felt a surge of anger. "We can't just leave her!"

The groans increased in volume. When he looked back, he saw that they'd drawn the attention of both the girl and the creatures.
 

"Help!" the girl shrieked at them, almost losing her balance.
 

She swiped her long, dark hair from her eyes, revealing a dirt-stained face. Distracted, she lost her grip on the pole, and one of the creatures yanked it from her hands.
 

The object clattered to the ground.

Isaac bolted forward. He covered half the distance, then he drew a bead on the creatures. He wasn't sure how much damage he could do—he'd never fired a weapon in his life, but he had to do
something
.

He squeezed the trigger on his automatic rifle, filling the air with gunfire.

Several of the creatures broke away from the pack. Before they could advance, they were hit with bullets. A creature with a shaved head plummeted to the ground, its knee disabled. Another tripped over its freshly wounded foot. Although Isaac's aim wasn't the greatest, it looked like some of his bullets were connecting.

"You fucking moron!" Jimmy yelled. "What are you doing?"
 

The bulk of the creatures had broken formation, and they were now sprinting toward Isaac, Jimmy, and Spencer. Isaac continued to fire. His companions joined the effort, yelling and swearing. Several more creatures dropped onto the road, incapacitated by the gunshots. Several more were still emerging.

The girl had backed up on the roof, steadying herself against the building. She covered her head with her hands, as if hoping to erase the situation before her.

After a few more seconds of shooting, Isaac heard a break in the noise. He stopped firing and looked back at Jimmy. Jimmy had lowered his automatic rifle. He took a few steps back. Spencer was retreating, as well.

"Where are you going?" Isaac yelled.
 

They didn't answer. Before Isaac could press the issue, a group of four creatures darted at him. Distracted, he fired the rifle, and the creatures ahead of him flailed and shook.

A few seconds later, the street went artificially quiet. He'd managed to rid the streets of the majority of the creatures, but he could still hear the groans of things approaching from blocks away. When he looked behind him, Jimmy and Spencer were fleeing in the other direction.

"Wait!" he screamed, but neither appeared to be listening.

The girl had uncovered her face, and she stared at the fleeing men with a look of terror.
 

"It's OK!" Isaac shouted. "I'm coming!"

Isaac darted forward, skirting the dead bodies of the infected, barreling for the girl on the roof. When he reached the foot of the railing, he lowered his weapon.
 

"Can you get down?" he called.
 

The girl inched to the edge of the balcony.

"I'm not sure!" she yelled, holding out her arms for balance.

"Hold on! I'll help you!"

Isaac boosted himself up onto the railing, then reached for her hands. The girl took hold of him and then leapt down, falling into a crouch as she hit the pavement.

"Thank you," she whispered. Her eyes darted in all directions. "I'm—"
 

"Not now! Let's get the fuck out of here!" Isaac interrupted.
 

He grabbed hold of the girl's arm and they took off at a jog. A few of the infected they'd shot were still moving. As they passed, one of the things reached out for the girl's leg, taking hold of her ankle, and she kicked it off with a scream.

"What's your name?" Isaac huffed as they ran.
 

"Kate," she said.
 

"I'm Isaac."

They forewent additional conversation, concentrating on keeping a safe distance from the infected. Whether the bullet-ridden things were dead or not, Isaac wasn't sure, but it was best not to take any chances. The groans had increased in volume from around them.
 

He focused on following the two men in front of him. Jimmy and Spencer were already a hundred yards away, rounding a distant corner. Isaac called out to them, but they showed no signs of slowing down, and they didn't look back.

"Hurry, Kate!"

"Where are we going?"

"Someplace safe!"

They cleared the block and rounded the corner, following the path Isaac had taken earlier. They ran for the parking lot. Isaac bounded up a curb, barreling through a pile of fresh mulch and carrying some of it with him onto the asphalt. He tripped over his own feet as he struggled to keep up with the two men in front of him. Although he and Kate were running at a good clip, they were still way behind.

The patter of feet broke his attention, and Isaac glanced over his shoulder. A group of creatures had spilled from the mouth of an alley and were fanning out across the parking lot.

"Shit!" he yelled.

They darted around the side of the shopping center, approaching the back alley. As they cleared the building, Isaac studied the row of doors, trying to recall the one he'd gone through a few hours earlier. All the doors were now closed. Jimmy and Spencer were nowhere in sight.
 

He ran from one door to the next in a panic, trying all the handles. None of them would open. The girl was breathing frantically beside him. He finally recognized the door he'd gone through earlier, and he stopped in front of it.

"This one!" he yelled.

Isaac tugged the handle, ignoring the groans of the horde behind them. They'd made it just in time. If they'd been a few seconds later...

But there was a problem. The door wouldn't budge. He rammed it with his fist, screaming for his companions.
 

"Jimmy! Spencer!"

He tugged the handle again, but the door held firm. From inside, he heard a scraping noise. Were they unlocking the door? Getting ready to let them in? It took him a second to realize what was happening. The men inside weren't letting them in, but reapplying the barricade.

Isaac and Kate had been locked outside.

By the time Ken had finished changing the tire, his shirt was soaked in sweat and his body was sore.
 
He wiped his face with his shirt and stood.
 

For the past few days, Ken had only slept a few hours, and the sheer exhaustion was catching up to him. But he was so close to Phoenix. He couldn't stop now.

He looked down at his arm. It was still throbbing. Thankfully, the wound had stopped bleeding.

The interstate shimmered from the desert heat, creating a twisted mirage of downed cars and debris. He stared into the horizon, hoping to discern what lay ahead. The interstate was still and calm.

And then it wasn't.

Ken squinted, thinking he was imagining things, but his vision was clear. A car was heading in his direction, maneuvering between the wreckage, weaving in and out of view. At its rate of speed, it would be upon him in a minute or less.

There was no time to drive off—at least not without being seen.
 

His only choice was to hide.

Ken caught a glimpse of the dead infected, and it sparked an idea. Ducking low, he slid the tire iron and the jack underneath the station wagon. Then he sucked in a breath, dropped to the ground, and crawled in after them.
 

The vehicle was barely high enough to wedge himself under, and Ken kicked and squirmed until his body was covered. He'd seen people try and hide in their cars before, and the result was never good. Hopefully the person wouldn't think to look underneath the car.
 

With any luck the driver wouldn't stop at all.

Ken withdrew his pistol from his waistband. He peered out from his hiding place, taking in the undercarriages of the surrounding cars. In his limited line of sight, he had no idea of the approaching vehicle's whereabouts. His only clue was the distant murmur of the engine.
 

He tried to control his breathing as he listened to the crunch of tires. Although he couldn't be certain, it sounded like the vehicle was a hundred yards away now. Maybe closer.

All at once, the noises subsided. It sounded like the vehicle had stopped.

Shit,
Ken thought.

Was the driver at an impasse? Had the person seen something that had drawn their attention? He could only guess at what was happening. In any case, he knew better than to move, and he knew better than to make noise.
     

A car door creaked. Feet hit the pavement.

The person walked several steps and then stopped, as if listening for something. Listening for
him
. Ken's eyes flicked from left to right, trying to determine an escape route if he needed one. Getting out from underneath the car would be difficult, and it definitely wouldn't be fast.

He hoped he hadn't made a mistake.
 

He clenched his teeth, trying to quell the pinpricks of fear that ran through his body. The desert air was quiet, but he could hear the soft purr of the car engine idling just a few car lengths away. He stared at the adjacent vehicles, trying to get a glimpse of the driver, but his view was blocked by rubble and car tires. The dead body stared at him from across the pavement.