The Zombie Chronicles - Book 6 - Revelation (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (35 page)

Cocking a brow, she glared up at me. “You’re bleeding.”

“
I’m fine.” I wiped my sleeve over my eye. It was really just a flesh wound, nothing compared to what was coming if we didn’t get out of there in a hurry.

Her voice wavered. “Were you scratched or bitten?”

“
No,” I said. “It got me with my pipe.” I let out a long breath, and my lips trembled as I stared down at more dead, deformed bodies ripped to shreds. I fought the urge to throw up, and I knew the nightmarish carnage would be forever burned into my mind.
Stephen King
might have been the so-called “Master of Horror,” but nothing he’d ever written nor anything he could would have been as horrific as what I was witnessing with my very own eyes, ears, and nose. It simply couldn’t be captured in words on a page.

Kate desperately gazed into my eyes. “I’ve had enough of this gruesome little house party. I’d rather face the zombies out there than the smart ones down here. We’ve gotta get to that elevator.”

“
There are too many hybrids,” I said, and the realization was one of the most unsettling in my lifetime. “How long can we really keep bashing their heads in and outwitting them? Sooner or later, they’re gonna—”

“
Keep it together, Dean,” Asia scolded, stepping around the twisted bodies.

Meeting her gaze, I nodded, but the sweat rolling down her face wasn’t lost on me; she was just as terrified as I was about our descent into madness.

“
Just remember,” she said, looking at me and then Kate, “we’re tough as nails.”

After a deep breath and taking a moment to calm down and console each other, we started creeping down the corridor again. My eyes widened at the haunting moans of death that were far too close for comfort. In that environment of uncertainty and fear, I broke out in a cold sweat. Kate pulled me along, though, and we soon broke into a run. Like me, the girls just wanted out of the nightmare once and for all.

Another shriek was followed by a moaning howl. Asia’s eyes widened, and my knees began to tremble like they were made of spaghetti. I was completely and utterly terrified, and she could tell, because she grabbed my arm and gently nudged me along. I waved the flashlight beam back in forth in front of us, trying to keep an eye out for anything that might be dangerous or try to ambush us. More human screams amplified in the hollow halls, so we picked up speed and sprinted down that corridor, our shoes echoing on the floor as we ran.

When we turned the corner, Asia stopped mid-step. “Hold on. I know where we are,” she said. “Turn left.”

Loud chattering filled the air, and I shot Kate and Asia a look. “It’s those lab monkeys!” I said.

“
They ripped that woman’s neck out!” Asia said.

“
You’re right,” Kate said. “We’d better hide.” She started to walk to a door, but Asia suddenly pushed her back.

“
Any door but that one,” she said, pointing down.

Kate gasped, and I shuddered at the pool of crimson liquid running from under the door. I wasn’t sure what was on the other side, but I had no desire to find out. I hurried down the hall and chose a random room on the left, holding my pipe back, ready to whack anything that came at me. When I flicked the lights on, my jaw dropped.

A patient was lying on a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. There was a sheet over his or her head, and blood was splashed on it. The torso had been gutted, and three rotting, dried-out corpses were feasting on the person. Nausea swept over me as the hybrids began pulling organs from the patient’s gut, leaving intestines and tissue and cartilage hanging from the table in gruesome strands.

One of the monsters looked at me but then returned its focus to its meal.

Another hybrid glanced up and sneered. “We’re full,” it said in a raspy voice. “This is our fourth kill. But you better run before I change my mind and decide I want dessert.”

“
Isn’t she nice?” the other hybrid asked with a twisted laugh. “She’s not really letting you go. She just wants to share with our hungry friends.”

“
We’ve given you another hour to live. Enjoy it.”

Another hybrid that looked more skeletal than zombie held out its putrid hands. Its revealed heart made me want to throw up.

I backed up slowly, so as not to spook or anger the decaying freaks.

“
See?” it said, meeting my gaze. “I
do
have a heart.”

Kate grabbed my shoulder. “C’mon! We’re safe. The monkeys changed directions!” she yelled.

But I knew we were definitely not safe. There was nothing we could do to help the dead person on the table, and we didn’t want to take on the hybrids without suitable weapons. With my own heart pounding in my chest, I charged down the hall.

When we were far enough away, we heard strange, chattering sounds. I froze and motioned for the girls to stop. Kate stared up at me, her eyes wide and terrified, and I motioned for us to try a different way.

As we walked, I heard more muffled screams in the distance. Grunts and heavy breathing alerted me to the dangers lurking ahead. Kate bit her knuckles to stifle a scream, as if she knew something dark and sinister was waiting for us. Shambling footsteps moved toward us, and I gripped my weapon tightly. My heart started to pound, drowning out the rest of the noise. I bit my lip hard, my nerves running into overdrive.

Something thumped and banged down one of the halls. A piercing shriek was followed by a bloodcurdling scream. My breathing became ragged, and I was struggling to keep it together.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. Once I had a grip on my fear, I swiftly walked down the corridor.

The next bloodcurdling scream was followed by more banging.

Again I froze and motioned for us to try a different way, hoping to avoid running into whatever was banging on the walls.

Kate’s lips trembled, and she started to speak, but Asia hissed at her, telling her to be quiet. She knew we couldn’t risk them hearing us and tracking us down. We had to remain inconspicuous, silent, and out of sight. It was essential to keep moving, but we also had to stay hidden in the shadows. Every instinct in me told me I was a dead man, but I refused to cave in to that conclusion. I’d fight to my very last breath and somehow escape my presumed fate. I refused to be defenseless prey.

I lost count of how many times we changed directions, but we had to; taking on a horde of those things without a weapon was beyond dangerous. If we fought with the animals or the zombies, we risked being scratched or bitten. Shining my flashlight into the gloom, I focused on every single step we took.

“
All those extra turns got us lost,” Kate said.

I could hear my own breathing, which I tried to steady.

“
We need to get back to the main corridors,” Asia whispered.

I agreed, because we were just going deeper and deeper into the labyrinth.

“
Are the elevators our only option?” Kate asked. “Maybe we should have a Plan B.”

Asia shook her head. “Those doors aren’t gonna pry open. They’re sealed shut.”

“
It’s gotta be the elevators,” I said.

“
What if we can’t find them?” Kate asked.

“
We have to,” I said. “I swear to you, we’ll get out of her—all three of us and all in one piece.”

“
Whatever you say, Dean,” she said, then let out a trembling breath.

As we made our way down to the end of the corridor, I glanced up at a sign and read it out loud: “High Restriction.”

“
Screw that,” Asia said.

Ignoring the warning, I bolted through the double-doors, only to be assaulted by a zombie I didn’t expect to bump into.

“
Food!” it screamed in a low, raspy voice. “Food at last!”

My heart drummed into my ribs. Swinging my hands back for momentum, I slammed its head so hard that its entire body jerked, and it crashed into the wall. The zombie let out a long curse, and I pounded it even harder as it thrashed wildly.

Chapter 34

The hybrid snapped at me like a ravenous wild animal, baring its blood-drenched teeth just inches from my face. I wondered how many of the hellions had been unleashed on us.

Another hybrid with missing patches of hair and a huge, gaping hole in its chest reached for Asia. “Die!” the hybrid muttered.

She swung her frying pan and broke its neck, and it slumped to the ground.

“
They might be smarter,” I said, “but they die just as easy as the others.”

Another one fell to the ground as Kate pounded it. Asia swung on yet another corpse, knocking it to its knees. She then kicked it, and it fell flat on its stomach and released a pained groan. She harshly brought her boot heel down against the back of its brittle skull, and a stomach-turning cracking sound filling the corridor.

Another zombie approached, this one with red, gooey blood running down its face and its skin peeling off in layers. I could only assume it had had a run-in with one of the other survivors. It opened its mouth, and I saw that its sharp teeth were covered in fresh blood. Whoever had tried to take down the corpse had obviously lost the fight.

Adrenaline surged, and I swung my pipe with more power than one of Mike Tyson’s uppercuts, fueled by fear and rage. It instantly went limp and dropped to the ground, landing with a
thud
.

A zombie with long blond hair and missing half its jaw stared at me hungrily. I delivered a powerful strike that shattered its jaw. It all seemed so crazy, so farfetched, yet there I was, in an underground lab, fighting hybrids and trying to stay alive.

I was extra careful not to make any sounds, trying to step softly in my boots as we hurried down the dimly lit hall. I took a steadying breath and clenched my hands around my weapon, summoning my courage from within as I focused my attention straight ahead. I looked for any shadow or any shape and listened intently for any moan or grunt. I refused to let anything catch me by surprise, and I wouldn’t fall for any of their clever tricks either. I still remembered how many lives that baby doll trick had cost. I was as ready as I could be for anything that got in my path. With my heart thumping, I looked around frantically. Bloody footprints lined the halls, and bloody handprints were smeared along the walls.

Kate gasped. “There’s blood everywhere!”

“
We shouldn’t go this way,” I said.

“
Ya think, Captain Obvious?” Asia said sarcastically. “Let’s head back!”

When I spun around and made my way back to the double-doors, I noticed they were rattling.

“
There’s something out there,” Asia said, clutching her chest.

“
Ya think, Captain Obvious?” I retorted.

Ignoring my joke, she ordered, “Do
not
open that door!”

I trembled when the banging on the door ensued again, faintly at first, then more pronounced. When I touched the door, a piercing, long
screech
made me stumble back in a panic. The thumping sounds rattled me. We couldn’t go back through the doors, but the hallway also seemed dangerous, considering that someone had given it a nasty crimson paintjob; in essence, the hybrids had taken the time to leave us messages to terrify us. That made me wonder if they were lying in wait or if we were walking straight into a trap. As the shrieks grew louder, the pounding of my heart was deafening in my ears.

Asia headed into one of the rooms.

“
Asia, wait! Where are you going?” Kate yelled.

“
I’m gonna find a chair or something to barricade that door,” she answered. “We don’t want them following us, do we?” She then rushed in and came out a moment later with a wooden chair, which she positioned it under the doorknobs. “That oughtta hold ‘em off for a while.”

Suddenly, there was another
screech
, followed by another. Kate’s eyes widened in fright when the scratching started. It sounded like dozens of long fingernails trying to scratch their way in, and I was certain it wasn’t a hybrid, as one of the intelligent ones would have figured out how to open the door. The thumping and scratching grew in intensity, the high-pitched shrieks growing louder by the second. I prayed to God the door didn’t burst open.