The Zombie Chronicles - Book 6 - Revelation (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (40 page)

When I heard heavy breathing up ahead, I prepared for the fight of my life. We couldn’t let anything slow us down. Every fight, every battle would threaten to keep us from getting to the finish line, the elevator shaft. Staring into the shadows, I could make out about six or so figures coming toward us.

“
Get ready,” Kate said, holding her frying pan tightly.

Asia ditched her pot and upgraded to my pipe. We might not have had the best weapons in the world, but we had adrenaline and the will to survive on our side. The infected wouldn’t give up without a fight, and neither would we.

A pasty zombie wench came at me, but Asia stepped in and shoved the pipe right through her eye, giving her a bad case of fatal brain damage. The black-haired woman next to me let out ragged grasps, and her hands were covered in black blood as she took one down with a flashlight. Asia whacked away, Kate pounded, and I axed anything that got in my way. Red lights flashed, and the computer countdown continued roaring over the loudspeakers. It was pure chaos as shouts, moans, and cries pierced the air. We fought them with everything we had. I could tell by the way they fought that they weren’t the intelligent breed, and I was thankful for that. We were already sadly outnumbered, and I didn’t like being outsmarted too.

A man’s scream cut through the air. When I turned, two zombies bit into his neck, ripping his throat out. I grunted and swung my axe in a rhythmic motion, taking them out in two quick swings. Taking his last breath, the man collapsed, and three more zombies jumped on top of him. The man’s friends bravely took the zombies out. A man with brown hair made the sign of the cross in the air, and then took off when somebody screamed they’d found the elevator.

“
I see it! The elevator!” Asia said.

Every muscle in my body tensed with excitement.

“
Let’s go!” Frank yelled.

The countdown continued to blast over the speakers, and red lights flashed. I had never been so happy to see an elevator in my life. Choking sobs, shrill screams, and frightened cries rippled all around me. Through the panic, women and men worked to slide the doors open. Others stood to the left, whispering in small clusters as they held one another, wide-eyed. We only had a few minutes left before the place would explode, so every precious second counted.

Finally, the door opened, and I stood guard and walked the tiny perimeter in front of the elevator as men and women climbed up the steel frame. I looked into Kate’s eyes—her terrified, desperate eyes—and touched her shoulder, my heart thumping like a jackhammer. “You and Asia go! I’m right behind you.”

“
No! I’m not leaving you, Dean!” Asia shouted.

“
You have to get Kate outta here,” I coaxed. “Now go!”

Grabbing Asia’s hand, Kate took off toward the open elevator doors.

More sweat rolled down my back when I heard the sound of hobbling feet echoing in the air; I knew it was the hybrid army. There was no way I could take them all on, not in a million years. My body shook as I stared at their rotting, deformed faces, and my legs threatened to buckle. We’d come so close to escaping the laboratory nightmare, but now it looked as if it would never end—at least not the way I’d hoped. “If we don’t get out of this building…” I paused, not wanting to even consider the grim possibility.

Kate glanced over her shoulder. Her shriek turned into a loud scream when she saw how many were coming and what we were up against.

I clenched my teeth as a sick feeling nestled in the pit of my stomach. “Hurry!” I shouted, breathing heavily. “They’re coming!”

“
Go! Go! Go!” Kate yelled.

A woman with greasy blonde hair lowered her head in defeat as tears slipped down her face.

I gripped her shoulders and turned her body to face the elevators.

She froze, her skin drained of color.

“
Don’t you dare give up!” I yelled. “Now start climbing!”

“
But I-I’m scared.”

“
Aren’t you more scared of being eaten?”

“
I guess,” she said, her lip trembling.

“
Then climb!”

One of the men came down and started to help guide her up.

“
Hurry!” I screamed. I gazed up and saw the last few frantically climbing up, but there was not enough room for me to jump on yet. The building was about to blow up, and the hybrid army was closing in. I was either going to either be blown to bits or eaten bit by bit, and neither of those options were appealing.

“
Jump on!” somebody yelled to Kate.

With her eyes wide with fear, she glanced at me.

I gave her a gentle shove. “Just go! I’m right behind you!”

I gripped the axe tightly. Those long, ticking, fear-filled seconds made my heart pound in my throat. The undead shrieks made the hair on my neck stand on end, and my palms began to sweat. When I turned to look behind me, I saw the hybrids moving closer, so close that I could make out their individual dead and gory features. I opened my mouth, but my throat felt choked, and no words came out. The hybrids moaned hungrily as excitement overwhelmed them at the prospect of a fresh meal.

There was no doubt about it: It was the end of the line. My life flashed before my eyes. If I couldn’t make it out on time, I would at least go out in a blaze of glory, fighting all the way. I clenched my fingers around the handle of my axe and readied myself for the battle of my life. Dozens of milky, white eyes converged upon me, and rotting fingers reached for me. Chills shot down my spine, and I dared to glance over my shoulder one last time. There was finally room for me to jump! Still clinging to my axe, I jumped onto the red metal frame. I wrapped my arms around the cable and started frantically climbing up.

“
Food!” a hybrid hissed below me.

Something gripped my foot, and my heart thundered. With one hand, I swung my axe, and the things arm went flying. I bashed it in the head, and it flew off. Two more came to take its place.

“
Hurry! Climb!” a woman shouted. “This place is gonna blow!”

So far, I’d tuned out the computer voice issuing the warnings, but when I heard, “Two minutes,” I gasped, knowing I had to get out of here.

Another hybrid reached for my leg and pulled on my pants. I swung, nailing it in the head. The axe penetrated the skull so deeply that it was embedded in its brain. There was no time to try and get it back. I had to move! I clambered up the steel shaft, trying to get up as fast as humanly possible. The hybrid hissed and reached for me once again. I kicked it, then moved up faster as adrenaline flooded my veins. When I felt fingers wrap around my ankle, I gasped again.

“
Just give me one bite!” it shouted in that scary, demonic voice, “one bite of your flesh.”

I tried to kick it off me, but it wouldn’t let go. The thought of it wanting a taste made my skin crawl.

“
Aren’t you tired of running from us?”

“
Yes!” I shouted.

“
Then just quit fighting,” it said in a low, deep voice. “I promise it won’t hurt…much.”

I took a quick glance down, and the hybrid bared its sharp teeth. Just as it went to sink then into my leg, I heard a sound.

Bang! Bang!

The hybrid loosened its grip and fell to the bottom of the shaft.

I glanced up and saw Val. She smiled victoriously. I blinked. Yes! It was really Val. A wave of relief washed over me. She was okay. Breathing. Alive. And fighting like a true champion and warrior.

“
Val!” I shouted.

“
Hurry!” she yelled. She continued shooting at all the hybrids that tried to jump onto the cable. And it was no easy feat because no matter how many she shot, more just replaced them. They just kept coming, like in some kind of bad nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.

I climbed over the edge, and some of the men heaved me up. When I glanced around, I realized we were in the sister facility and not the actual lab.

Val grabbed my arm. “Let’s go!”

“
Twenty-two seconds,” the computer announced.

I peered at the others; there was terror written on their faces. Jaws dropped in unison, and eyes bulged. “Just go!” I yelled at them.

Without another word, the group took off, running for the exit.

“
Ten…nine…” the
computerized voice said.

We raced toward the exit, my heart thundering. A gentle, humming
purr
, like that of a kitten, turned into the sound of swarming bees, then changed into a high pitch that echoed from the walls. The lights flickered, then went out. A deep, rolling thunder shook the walls and floor.

“
Eight…seven…six…five…”

We raced into the cold night and took off down the street like a blur. I knew we had to get as far away from the building as we could. I could still hear the computer as she counted down the last few numbers.

“
Four…three…two…one!”

Boom
!

The building exploded behind us. I hit the ground hard and rolled forward, crashing into a parked car. As I gazed back, I found myself staring at a fireball that had been a laboratory only seconds earlier. I drew in choked breaths and peered around me, a sense of dread settling in the pit of my stomach.
Did Nick, Lucas, and Claire make it out? What if they were in there, searching for me? What if I got them killed?
I didn’t know if they were dead or alive, but I tried to think positive.

Val embraced me in a hug.

“
What happened to you?” I asked.

“
I went to help others out. I got about ten of them out of there before the doors locked. Then I couldn’t get back in. So I went to find Nick, Lucas, and Claire.”

“
Did they make it out?” I asked hopefully.

She smiled. “You know as well as I do that our brother is way too stubborn to die.”

“
Dean!”

I spun around to see Nick, Lucas, and Claire running toward me. Tears welled in my eyes. I’d never been happier. My gaze connected with Nick’s, and he threw his arms around me. We laughed and traded fist-bumps. When I turned to face Claire and Lucas, their smiles said it all: Against all odds, we’d survived. We all slapped each other on the back, giving out high-fives.

At this point, I suspected that Charlie was the mastermind of the entire operation, but Val wondered if it really was Jonathon, just putting on a good show for his final act. We definitely planned to investigate it farther. I was most saddened by the fact that I still didn’t know who shot Jackie, and I would never be able to put her to rest. I was sure she was in that lab somewhere, but at least now, she’d never be experimented on. I hoped she was at peace, but wherever she was, Jackie would always be in my heart. Claire and I decided to make her a memorial out back. Max knew someone who could prepare a proper headstone so we would never forget her.

Nick wrapped his arms around Claire and swung her around. They were such an unlikely pair, but I was happy that my brother had found love again. If anyone deserved it, he did.

On the contrary, Lucas and Val had never really hit it off, and I thought that was for the best. But in the long run, they did become fantastic friends.

The hybrids and infected animals were finally destroyed, along with the lab that had created them. They had no more serum to experiment with, so I hoped that was the end of hybrids. The zombies herds surrounding the city began to leave, and we all realized the hybrids had likely summoned them to the city in the first place, as we originally suspected.

Max was overjoyed to have his nephew back, especially after he thought Frank was dead. The gang members who survived were relieved to be reunited with their loved ones. Max was also thrilled to hear that the animal population wasn’t infected.

Larry and Sam decided to stay the winter in Fairport and were each given a house to live in. I wanted them to leave, but I wasn’t so lucky. They tried to make peace with us, but I couldn’t forgive them so easily for ramming me off a bridge and throwing the girls into an icy river to drown.