Dead Tropics (5 page)

"How are we going?!" Biggs yelled as he blew a hole through the head of another zombie. Around his feet lay a growing circle of bodies. It felt like we'd been struggling with these zombies for hours but it must have only been a couple of minutes.

Mike coolly responded. "Almost clear on this side."

A few feet away, B1 and B2 surged forward, blasting zombies with gusto, as Ken followed closely behind, supporting the injured boy with one arm.

Glancing back, I saw the first of the zombie horde coming around the corner. A young woman in shorts, most of her left thigh and chest missing, ambled towards us.
Oh God
. A toddler moved unsteadily on little legs beside her, both arms chewed off. A woman in a nurse's uniform, her face so messed up that I couldn't tell if I knew her or not, followed. In another thirty seconds or so, the horde of hungry corpses would be upon us.

"Guys!" My heart was thumping so hard that I fleetingly wondered if there was a limit to how much terror a heart could bear.

"Out of bullets!" B2 called out as he flipped his gun around and viciously pistol-whipped a zombie away from him.

"Move it!" Biggs yelled.

I scrambled to my feet and saw the way ahead was clear. A few zombies continued to stagger out of the wards towards us but we could make it past, if we were quick.

Grabbing Emma's hand, I raced down the hall towards the stairwell, dodging the outstretched arms of the remaining zombies. Ken and B1 carried the injured boy alongside us. I could hear Emma's laboured breathing as we ran towards our only chance of freedom. Finally, the stairs beckoned just a few feet away. A quick look over my shoulder showed the boys close behind - and immediately behind them, the pressing horde.

Emma and I reached the stairs and paused to let Ken and B1 through first with the injured man. As we turned to follow them up, a scream rent the air. I jerked around to see B2 being dragged into the horde. Teeth descended upon him and started tearing chunks of flesh from his body. He screamed again in agony and terror. Blood poured from his neck and arms.

"Do something!" Emma shouted desperately. Wordlessly, Mike turned around and took careful aim. A shot rang out and B2's cries abruptly stopped. As Emma stared at Mike, aghast, he shoved her up the stairs. "Go."

We turned and ran up the stairs as the monsters reached for us. To our relief, the stairs slowed the horde's implacable onslaught, allowing us time to reach the next floor safely.

"Which way now?" B1 puffed. Jack was looking pale and spaced out as he hung limply between Ken and B1.

I nodded to the right. We hurried quickly but cautiously down the hallway. There was no sign of violence but the heavy silence was forbidding. As we reached a corner, I pointed to the right and whispered. "There it is."

Midway down the hallway, the stairwell to the roof beckoned invitingly. As we quietly moved off, I suddenly noted where we were and stopped in my tracks. The others paused and looked at me quizzically.

I felt sick to my stomach as I realised what I was going to do. "I'm sorry, guys. I have to check on the children's ward. If there's a chance that any of them are still alive..." I tried to swallow the lump of fear in my throat. "I'll catch up with you as soon as I can."

Trembling, I clutched my stake hard and headed down the left hallway. My brain screamed at me to turn around and I wanted to, God knows, but how could I live with myself if I left helpless children to the mercy of those monsters making their way up the stairs?

"Shit." Biggs said quietly behind me. I turned to see Mike and Biggs and then Emma hurrying after me.

"Let's make this quick." Biggs ordered.

B1 looked at us incredulously. "Are you kidding me?"

He tried to whisper harshly. "We haven't got time for this! Those freaking zombies will be here any moment."

I nodded. "I know."

Turning, I trotted quickly down the hall without waiting to see who was following. This was my mission and I could not blame any of them for not coming.

As I neared the entrance to the children's ward, I slowed and strained my ears for any sign of movement within. Nothing. I felt Mike's breath in my ear. He nodded at Biggs who swung past with his weapon at ready.

My heart sank as he sucked in his breath quickly. I followed him as he slowly entered the ward. To my surprise, the whole group was still with me, even though B1 was glaring at me furiously.

My heart broke. Bed sheets lay bloody and tangled on the beds and strewn across the floor. A sob escaped my lips at the sight of a broken, torn body lying in a cot. Its head had been ripped off its little body. Ten beds and not one living soul in the room.

"Okay, can we go now?" B1 whispered loudly. I nodded wordlessly. As I turned to go, I heard something. A rustle. I held my hand up abruptly as I strained to hear it again. There! In the bathroom.

"It's one of them!" B1 said, raising his gun. The men lined up their weapons as I ran forward and pulled at the door. It was locked but there is always a reverse lock for staff access. I flicked it and pulled open the door. There, huddled in the bathtub, was a girl, maybe 8 years old. Her eyes flew up to mine in terror as she scrabbled back against the smooth edge of the bath.

I bent forward hurriedly to soothe her. "It's okay! See, I'm normal, like you."

Sticking my stake in my belt, I grabbed her hand and pressed it against my warm cheek. "See?"

The fear dissipated from her eyes as she searched my face. Then, she flung herself at me and buried her face in my neck.

"Can we go
now
?" B1 demanded edgily. I picked the girl up in my arms and we headed for the doors.

"Too late." Mike murmured, flinging up a hand to halt us. He peered around the corner and pulled back quickly. "They're here."

8

"Shit, shit shit!" B1 glowered malevolently at me and unceremoniously shook the now unconscious lad off him.

Ken carefully laid Jack down on the floor. "Maybe the doors will be strong enough to withstand them."

Biggs shrugged. "Not much choice at this point." B1 turned to glare at me pointedly.

"We have to hide." The little girl suddenly spoke up, her voice shaky. "If they can't see us, they can't find us."

We turned to look at her for a long moment and then we all moved quickly. Mike quietly shut and locked the doors while Ken dragged Jack out of sight. Although I knew that the bathroom would make a better hiding spot, I baulked at not being able to see what was going on. Instead, I pressed myself and the young girl against the wall beside the door, as did the others.

I held my breath as the moans and shuffling neared us. A little hand slipped into mine. I glanced down to see the little girl's eyes were shut tightly as she gripped my hand. Squeezing back lightly, I tried to calm my breathing.

Go by, go by, go by.
I begged silently. A body banged against the door. Emma gasped audibly. Biggs' instinctively reached up and covered her mouth. I held my breath, waiting to see if she had been heard. Endless seconds passed. There was no change in the intensity of the noises in the hall. Slowly, I released my breath, daring to hope that we might make it.

"Aaahh!" A yell erupted from
within the room
. Frantically, I searched for the source. B1 was struggling to kick Jack away from him. Blood poured from his calf and I realised, with dread, that the young man was ... gone. In his place knelt a vacant-eyed, slack-jawed monster with blood dripping down his chin.

B1 shot us a desperate look, half apology and half horror. "Get him off me or I swear to God...!" As everyone froze, I strode over and, placing a foot in the young man's chest, pushed him over. As he reared up, teeth bared like an animal, I pulled out my stake and drove it through his eye with deliberation. Gunk shot up and splattered across my cheek.

"Shit!" B1 exclaimed, staring at me. I shot him a miserable, defiant look as I wiped the mess off my face.

"He'd turned. He was one of them. I had to do it."

Before he could reply, a flurry of bangs commenced against the doors. They bulged open and through the gap between the doors, we could hear the undulating moans and eager growls of the zombies as they gathered around our room.

"Guess that means our cover's blown." Mike commented drily, removing the gum from his mouth and tossing it in a nearby bin.

"What are we going to do?" Emma said, her face ashen as her eyes darted to the slowly widening gap between the doors.

"I'm thinking." Biggs snapped, his grey eyes searching the room.

"Maybe we can lock ourselves in the bathroom." The little girl whispered as she made her way to my side again. I knelt down so I could meet her brown eyes. "What's your name?"

"Jessie." She said it so quietly, I could barely hear her.

"Jessie, it's a good idea but we would probably be safe in there but we'd also be trapped with no way out. We won't be able to get food or help." She nodded unhappily.

As I looked around for a way out, my eyes fell on a cursing B1 as he tried to wipe blood from his leg with the corner of a sheet.

"We can make a sheet rope and climb down the side of the building!" I offered.

The others looked at me and then at each other. Biggs permitted himself a grim smile. "Unless anyone else has a better idea...?"

Swiftly, we gathered all the sheets in the room, bloody or not. As we knotted the sheets together, we kept an anxious eye on the doors which already seemed to be at bursting point.

"Hurry." Biggs muttered through gritted teeth. No one responded to the self-evident statement. Within minutes, we tied on the last of the sheets.

"I think it should be long enough." Emma declared. "We're only three floors up."

"Only." Grumbled B1 as he limped over to the window and pushed it open. We gathered the thick rope of sheets and carried it to the window.

For the first time since this disaster began, I had the chance to see what was happening in the outside world and it devastated me in a way nothing else had today.

Up to now, I had managed to convince myself that this crisis was isolated to this hospital, that we would get out and be able to establish a quarantine. Above all, I had managed to persuade myself that my family was still safe. That belief was shattered with a single glimpse through the window.

Across the road, I could see people running. Not the usual joggers and young people playing ball which were a normal sight on the esplanade, but desperate people running for their lives as a hundred or more zombie creatures poured into the picturesque park.

Mothers ran with toddlers in their arms. Backpackers batted at arms that grabbed at them. Children, chubby faced babes, stood in the middle of the beautiful lawn and cried miserably as pitiless figures encircled them. I sobbed in despair and fell back from the window. Those poor people.
Michele
.
My babies
.

B1 glanced at me inquiringly as he threw the rope through the window. Biggs tied the other end off to a bedpost and then dipped his head at Mike. "You'd better go first. Try to keep the area clear."

Mike nodded and swung his leg over the sill. Emma touched my arm sympathetically. "Are you okay, Lori?"

She rolled her eyes, acknowledging the stupidity of the question in our present situation.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, nodding. I had to stay focused if I wanted to get out of here and find my children. Nothing else mattered. The press of a small body against mine reminded me of another responsibility I had taken on, and I resolved fiercely to keep Jessie safe, too.

The sound of a nail hitting the floor brought our eyes jerking back to the doors.

"Shit, shit, shit!" B1 yelled. "I'm getting out of here! He grabbed the rope and clambered out.

As another nail flew out, Biggs grimaced. "He's an idiot but I think he has the right idea, folks."

He waved his hand. "Women and children first, of course."

Another place, another time, I might have argued with him but not today. After Emma tentatively swung herself over the windowsill, I grabbed Jessie and sat her on the ledge. She squealed and clung to me.

"No, Jessie." I said firmly. "This is no different than climbing the rope at the playground. Just climb down as if you were showing off to your friends at the gym or something."

She swallowed, and turning around, started clambering down the rope as if it were a beanstalk. I stifled an involuntary laugh and followed her, although with a lot less agility. My arms immediately started screaming in complaint as my legs scrabbled to get a grip on the rope.

Glancing below, I saw Mike had reached the pavement safely. His descent did not seem to have attracted any unwanted attention, thankfully, allowing him to pull out his weapon and stand guard in the alley. Above me, Ken paused on the windowsill; I guess he was worried that the rope wouldn't bear the weight of more than three people at a time.

Thump!
My eyes met Ken's aghast eyes as the doors finally burst open under the pressure of the horde. From within the room, Biggs cursed loudly and start firing wildly. Pulling out his gun, Ken began shooting shakily into the crowd.