The Demented Z (Book 3): Contagion (8 page)

Everything was happening fast.
  April began screaming when Bear fell to the
floor in front of the couch. Axel dove
to the floor just as the closest window exploded inward.
  Gunfire ripped into the floor and wall,
sending chips of tile flying. Hank was lying
prone next to the pool table, continuing to fire down the hallway.

Tom shouted, “We gotta move!”
  He looked to Bear.
  “I need cover.”

Hannah shouted, “Covering!”  
She spun sideways, still down on one knee, and began firing out the
recently shattered window.

“I got the hall.”  
Hank said between shots.

Tom ducked low and crouch-ran over to Bear’s motionless
body. Gunfire erupted from somewhere straight
ahead. The bullets kicked up chunks of
cement and tile, stinging his exposed flesh.

“Axel, help us out. I
need cover fire out the front.” Tom
shouted. He didn’t know how far out the
shooters were, but Axel’s shotgun might at least get them to duck down.
  Tom hunched down next to Bear.
  He pulled one of his MAC9s and began firing
blindly out the front window.

Axel finally pulled himself together.
  The loud boom of his shotgun joined the cacophony
of noises. Hoping this would be
enough, Tom holstered his gun and checked on Bear.
  At a glance he knew Bear was gone.
  He lay on his back, lifeless eyes staring at
the ceiling, a ragged hole punched through his throat.
  Tom took his Kabar
to Bear’s skull, making sure he wouldn’t be coming back.

“Loading.”
  Hank shouted from the floor.

Hannah twisted her head to check the hall.
  Seeing only a couple of walkers slowly plodding
along, she continued to provide cover fire for the others.

Tom stripped the AR15 off of Bear and pulled a pair of
mags from the front of his tactical vest.
  “Moving.”
  He shouted while scooting across the floor
toward the double doors. Searing pain shot
along his arm as a round caught him above the wrist.
  Ignoring the pain, he continued along the
floor until reaching the cover of a large bookshelf.

Hannah dropped back to the edge of the hallway and fired
several rapid shots. “Hall’s
clear.” She shouted.

Tom looked down and was panicked to see his hand covered in
blood. The red stream flowed freely from
a ragged wound just above the wrist.   Blood
began dripping to the floor. Knowing it
wasn’t mortal…yet, he raised his rifle and shouted, “Everyone move!
  Get to the hall.
  Covering!”
  He twisted away from the bookshelf and began
firing rapidly out the windows.

“Covering.”
  Hannah shouted.
  She began firing out the windows as
well. “Hank, grab April.”

Axel turned and sprinted across the short space, running for
the hall.

Hank army crawled over to the couch and got up to his knees.
  He started talking into April’s ear, but
nobody else could hear what was said.  
She seemed oblivious to his presence, her head still tucked into her
arms and knees. When several shots hit
right next to Hank’s exposed legs he threw his rifle over his shoulder and
lifted April’s small body off the couch.  
Holding her like a medicine ball he sprinted across the room toward the
hallway. Debris kicked into the air all
around him as bullets continued to rain down from outside.

Hannah was slamming a fresh magazine into her rifle as Hank
rushed past. “Go, go, get
to the stairs.” She shouted.
  After charging her AR she looked over at
Tom. “Move your butt, I got this.”

Needing no further encouragement, Tom turned and rushed past
Hannah, slapping a hand on her shoulder as he rushed past.
  She started pounding away with her rifle as
he made for the stairs. Axel was just
turning the corner for the stairs, Hank trailing about halfway down the hall,
struggling with the weight of April in his arms.

Once Tom reached midway he turned and yelled to Hannah,
“Move…get to the stairs!” He stayed in
place and made sure she stopped her cover fire and turned to race after
them. Even as she ran he continued to
watch the rec room, making sure nobody rushed in behind her.

Kelly went in to check on Sam again.
  He had a terrible night, coughing and
wheezing almost constantly. The little
guy had been sick before, but never quite like this.
  The labored breathing was really worrying
her. Rapid short breaths; his lungs were
likely filling with fluid, the onset of pneumonia.
  In the days of hospitals and immediate
medical care this would have been easily taken care of, but now it could be a
death sentence and she knew it.

Sam laid propped up on a set of pillows in the tiny
bedroom. His face was pale and lips were
beginning to blue from lack of oxygen in his blood.
  When he saw his mom enter he started
coughing. His cough had gotten much
worse just in the last half day. The
greenish mucus he hacked up had no end.  
With his symptoms getting worse and worse she knew he needed antibiotics
and breathing treatments with a nebulizer.  
His violent coughing continued as his lungs tried desperately to clear
themselves.

“We’re going to get you some help honey.”
  Kelly said while rubbing her hand through his
hair.

She headed back into the kitchen area and started digging
through the cupboards. On the table sat
her bug-out bag, full of everything she would need to survive a couple
days. Next to it sat her hunting rifle
and a box of ammo.

After adding several final items to the backpack she stood
thinking of how to get the equipment and Sam down the mountain.
  The map Hannah drew showed the compound was a
good thirty miles away, too far to walk with a sick kid.
  Under a tarp out back was an old snowmobile
that Tom had parked in the fall. The
engine ran before parking it, but that was months ago.

Cold wind smacked her in the face as she made her way out
the front door. It blew in the hopeful
smell of spring, yet its bite remained harsh and painful.
  She made her way past a long stack of split
wood. The snow on top still towered over
her head.
Spring isn’t coming soon enough
, she thought to herself.

Just beyond the firewood stood a massive
mound of snow, hiding the buried snowmobile.
  With a shovel and a mom’s determination she
began chipping away at the mountain. The
snow was a layered mix of powder and rock solid ice. After an hour of digging
she had her coat and stocking cap off, sweat dripping from her face, nearly
there.

Enough of the tarp was revealed that she set her shovel to
the side and began pulling on the corners to shift the remaining snow off to
the sides. With a final heave she got
the tarp up and over the handlebars. In
front of her sat a 1970s yellow snowmobile with a torn and cracked vinyl seat.
  If it had ever seen better days, they were a
long time ago.

It took nearly an hour of pulling, praying, and kicking, but
finally she gave the pull handle a swift tug and the engine rumbled to
life. A thick white and black cloud of
exhaust poured out, the engine sputtered several times, and then caught,
issuing a steady
purr
.
  The gas tank was full, so she left it running
and headed back inside to get final preparations in order.

******

Tom climbed over the mass of bodies that lay at the bottom
of the stairwell. He could just see
Hannah ahead of him, making the turn half way up the stairs.
  Everything had turned eerily quiet.
  The attackers noticed their targets’ retreat,
and stopped shooting.

Tom hesitated at the stairs’ entrance.
  He glanced back to the rec room and stood
listening. White sheetrock dust floated
in the air, obscuring the view out the front.  
The sounds of voices and boots could be heard from above.
  He focused, tuning out the noises of his own
group. Voices…he was almost sure he
could hear voices; more than one, but difficult to tell anything more than
that.

When he could hear nothing more, Tom turned and made his way
up the stairs. At the top, the others huddled
in a small group partway down the hall.

“They’re using the infected.”
  Hannah said.

“No way, that’s crazy.”  
Axel responded.

“Crazy…it’s not crazy.  
You saw what happened. And I
guarantee the ones after you last night were released as well.”

Tom stepped up to the group.  
“Hannah’s right. We know there
are no breaches in the fence other than the small one we made.
  We watched the base for a long time before
coming in and there were no infected meandering around.”
  He looked back to the stairs and then back to
the group. “These were contained and
released.”

The group stood in silence, letting the words sink in.
  It was unimaginable that someone would ever
want to keep these things contained, let alone try to use them as a
weapon. They all had the same question
in their minds – why would anyone keep them alive…in the middle of nowhere?

“We will find the answers, but for now we need a plan.
  Right now they have the advantage and we need
to change things…turn the tables on them.”  
Tom said.

“What do you propose?”  
Hannah asked.

“I was hoping you or Hank would have some thoughts.”
  Tom said while looking over at Hank.
  When both Hank and Hannah shrugged their
shoulders and said nothing, he added, “So far they have set the stage,
initiated things, let’s change that.  
They know the buildings, the layout, but if we can keep them from
knowing our location, we can use that.”

Hannah nodded in agreement. “This building is big…
make ‘em work to find us.”

“That’s right, and hopefully gather some
intel…go after them.”
  Tom said.

“Where do we start boss?”  
Hank asked.

“First off, we need to split into groups.”
  Tom answered.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?
  We are stronger as a group.”
  Hannah said.

Tom nodded his head.  
“We are, but by dividing, if one group engages the ghosts, then the
others can maneuver and attack unseen…at an advantage.”

Hank nodded his head.  
“There aren’t many of ‘em.”

“And how would you know that Sherlock?”
  Axel said.

“Other than a couple tours in Vietnam and a sensitive
gut?” Hank said.
  When Axel said nothing he went on, “If there
were a bunch they would have pressed things early on and why bother with the
dangers of using infected. If they had a
numbers advantage we would already be dead.”

Hannah nodded her head in agreement.
  “How do we split up?”

“We make three groups.”  
Tom said. He looked at Axel.
  “You and April find a location up here…maybe
the empty office. Hunker down, keep your
senses high, and defend the room if anyone tries to enter.
  If there are shots the rest of us will
come help…just buy time.”  
Tom then looked over at Hank.  
“Any issue going it alone?”

Hank shook his head.  
“No sir, I can be a bucket kickin’ fly on the
wall.”

“That leaves me and you.”  
Tom said while pointing to Hannah.  
“We can work together, keep moving, and stay out of sight.”

She nodded her head in agreement.

“Okay then, let’s do this.  
Everyone remember, if you make contact, help will be on the way.
  Defend, retreat, whatever it takes.
  Buy time.”

“How do I know you aren’t going to just ditch us?”
  Axel said.

“You don’t.” He said
with a shrug. “We’re in this
together. That’s the only assurance I’ve
got for you.”

“Fair enough.”

Hank lifted his rifle.  
“I’m movin’ out.
  Gonna
see if I can get higher.”

Tom liked the idea of having Hank at the top of the
building, looking down on the base like an angel of death.
  “Sounds good.”
  Tom stood watching him make his way down the
hall. The old timer was surprisingly
light on his feet. He was constantly
surprised by his uncanny ability to adapt and evolve with every situation.
  Hank slowly faded into the grey darkness as
he moved further down the long hall.

“Okay, where do you want to hole up?”
  Tom asked while looking at Axel.

He looked around nervously.  
“I guess the room there, without the dead guy.”
  Axel grumbled while nodding to the half open door
near the stairs.

Hannah had her backpack off and began digging through the
contents. After a few moments she had a
couple full mags in her hands that she slipped into a
pair of pouches on her vest. She popped
the magazine out of her AR15, hefted it a couple times, and then shoved it back
into the mag well with a stiff slap.  
“Where we headed?” She asked
looking at Tom.

“Let’s move back down.  
Work our way further back in. The
infected came from somewhere back there…somebody let them loose.”

“You sure know how to treat a lady.”
  Hannah said with a grin.

“You’re crazy.”

“I know.” She said
while throwing her backpack on her shoulders.

Tom led the way down the stairs, creeping as slowly and
quietly as possible. At the bottom, he
carefully leaned his head out into the hall, peeking in both directions.
  Everything was still.
  Bodies remained piled in clusters along the
hall. He could see part of Bear’s hand
just in view by the rec room couch. Most
of the dust in the air had settled, but the better visibility revealed nothing
more than empty white snow and the edge of an outbuilding.
  In the other direction stood the dark, gaping
entrance between the propped open double doors.

After hesitating for several minutes, listening and
watching, Tom slowly moved out into the hall, staying tight to the wall.
  He eyed the infected bodies with trepidation
as he carefully stepped between arms and legs to keep moving.
    All of them lay face down.
  Some of their lifeless eyes were turned in
his direction, their cold black orbs peering at his feet.
  His mind pictured them suddenly moving,
locking on him, and then reaching for his legs.  
He shook the thoughts away, knowing it was paranoia.
  Hannah began nudging him from behind, pulling
him from his macabre thoughts.

“Out of the hall.”
  She whispered from behind.

Tom couldn’t’ argue with that, he very badly wanted out of
this hall. It was as he neared the
double doors that he realized all of the infected wore civilian clothing.
  Whether they were at the base after the infection
hit or the military picked them up somewhere he didn’t’ know.
  There were quite a few, so it seemed more
likely they were gathered. The thought
made him shudder.

As they moved beyond the double doors the floor was clear of
bodies. The large room was dark, lit
only by soft light spilling in from shuttered windows along the walls.
  Tables and benches dotted the lunch room.
  Likely once in nice, neat rows, they were now
scattered in haphazard heaps.

Tom led them over to one of the tipped over tables, and they
both hunched down next to it. He used
the break to both listen for anything unusual and give his eyes some time to
adjust to the darkness.

“Hear that?” Hannah
whispered.

Tom sat still, trying to focus and pick up on anything.
  He thought he could hear a faint hum, but
maybe it was just ringing in his head.  
“Not sure.” He whispered.

She didn’t answer for a bit.  
“Gone now.  
Motor or fan or something.”

Tom wasn’t sure there was anything.
  Dark creepy buildings created a lot of
noises. Not wanting to take things to
fast, he remained in place and carefully scanned the large cafeteria.
  At the far end of the room stood another set
of double doors.   Along one of the side
walls stretched a long lunch counter with a kitchen tucked in the gloom.

“Let’s move to the kitchen…check it out.”
  Tom whispered.

“You move, I’ll cover, then you
cover.”

Tom nodded his head and turned for the kitchen.
  He stayed low and covered the space slowly
and quietly. Bits of food dotted the
floor. Small bugs scattered as Tom’s
boots hit close to the mini-buffets. As
he neared the kitchen entrance he dropped to a knee under the serving counter
and scanned the room. Nothing.
  He signaled to Hannah and began watching the
doors.

She moved in a low crouch across the short span and hunched
down next to Tom. “All
clear.”

“Let’s sweep the kitchen and then hunch down back
here.” Tom said while pointing a thumb
over his shoulder. “See if we can wait ‘em out.”

Hannah stood with her rifle raised.
  Tom kept an eye on the doors while she spun
around the counter and entered the kitchen area.
  After a few seconds he followed through the
narrow opening. Despite the dimly lit
kitchen, he was still able to see Hannah’s shadowed form working its way
between an open cooking grill and a giant stainless refrigerator with its door
cracked open. She moved right, circling
what appeared to be a giant central island of storage and food preparation
equipment.

Tom decided to continue straight and meet her on the other
side. Sinks, drying racks, and dishes
lined the sides of a small space lit by a windowed door on the far side.
  As he approached the door, Hannah stepped
into view at the other end. She had her
rifle tight to her shoulder and scanned over until she caught sight of Tom.

“Clear.” She whispered.

Tom nodded and moved toward the door.
  When Hannah started toward it as well he
whispered, “Hold up.” She hesitated
several feet back from the door. “If
anyone’s out there they’ll spot movement inside.
  Help me over here.”
  He said pointing to a large prep table.

The two of them used one corner of the heavy table to block
the edge of the door, keeping it from being able to swing inward.

“I like it.” She
whispered.

“Yeah, me too.
  Let’s move out front and hunker down.”