Contaminated: A Zombie Survival Novel (23 page)

Arthur read over a few more pages before the screen crapped out and he closed it. The tests were outlined in horrific detail. Bodies stolen from morgues and put in freezers so their organs could be tested. Other people at death’s door signed over their lives in the hopes a cure would be found at the zero hour. The worst being what they started last week with the samples from Arthur’s probe.

A secondary unknown element was discovered. They harvested bits of it and tested it on a multitude of diseases and individuals. No progress had been made, but results “were promising,” according to one research assistant.

They lauded this new element and awaited the arrival of Dr. Covington to see if he could crack the code. What did he bring to Earth? The only things in his reports were based on speculation. He thought Pluto would be a good place to search for answers, because it was so far out. In addition, since it wasn’t a planet, but large enough to have an atmosphere, it was like a giant ball of dust collecting things from all over the galaxy for eons.

Sunset Inc. must have assumed, or hoped, he would discover something and bet on him, and they were right.

“Doc, get a move on, the door’s open. Must’ve warped or something,” Frank yelled.

Arthur packed everything up and in seconds he was trailing behind Smith who’d been strangely quiet since Ryan joined their group. He wondered if she was the other traitor, or if it could be Selena. Everyone was a possibility.

***

Frank raced up the stairs with Ryan in his sights and within moments, they reached Level 1.

“Alright, people, grab any magazines left and get ready for a real fight.” Frank slipped a new magazine into place and smiled.

“Hey, are these night vision goggles?” Arthur asked.

“Yep, but we can’t use them with the masks,” Frank replied instantly.

Arthur nodded sadly, as he put a pair down.

Frank watched as Ryan forced his crusty hands around the handle of a weapon, tears evident in his eyes. The man was determined.

Within moments, all of them were ready. “Ryan and I will take the front, Smith you’re next, Doc and Selena take up the rear. Try ato keep your heads down, I have no idea how many people they sent in, but these guys are going to be firing back, which is a whole lot different than what you’ve been dealing with.”

Frank led the way, Ryan close, and the hesitant sounds of the others footsteps behind them. Frank held the handle of the door to Level 1. “Get ready, these are real people you’re going to be fighting, if you can’t handle it, hang back here.”

The room was dark, but Frank didn’t dare turn on his flashlight. He knew the layout well enough, there were few places to hide. Ryan whispered at his side, “Why aren’t they firing?”

Frank didn’t respond, because he had no idea. Maybe there wasn’t anyone on the floor? Perhaps Ryan, Benson, or whoever else was in on this had lied to them all. Then the telltale moaning started. Frank sighed as he flipped the switch on his flashlight, but cupped it with his hand. Enough illumination escaped to let him see at least twenty armor wearing Sunset Inc. security guards in night goggles. The idiots didn’t put on the masks. They must have thought the ventilation system took care of any airborne threats or that it dissipated with time.

“Dammit, change of plans. We have a lot of nasties walking around and they’re suited up. Aim for the face, bullets won’t penetrate the helmets.”

“Frank, how did this happen? Why would they send your own people down here to kill you?” Selena asked.

  The answer died on Frank’s lips. He was now considered a loose end to tie up in case the press got wind of this mess.

Arthur chimed in. “We don’t know when they were sent in or why. They might be backup when the powers that be realized the gravity of the situation. Plus, not all of them are wearing the same uniform.”

Frank glanced around with a more critical eye and realized the doc was right. At least a dozen were mercenaries, like him. Two different people sent in teams. Both of them were now infected with something in the air. When he got out of here, not if, then he was going to figure out what the hell was going on.

The doc fired the first bullet into the neck of one of the things only two feet away from Frank. Black blood and bits of shredded flesh splattered everything, but it kept coming. Another shot, this time through the mouth, took it down.

Another flashlight went on, Ryan’s. Frank didn’t question Selena, but was curious about Smith, she liked hunting them. Putting all other thoughts out of his mind, Frank took aim, put a bullet into the left eye of one, and saw the shadows of the brain as it flew out the back of its head.

With three guns firing in different directions, and multiple beams of light continually changing direction, it appeared as if they were putting on the worlds most demented shadow puppet show. Frank ignored what he could, firing shot after shot. Each one required a few tries, because his arm ached and his aim was deteriorating.

Arthur held his own, but Ryan was all over the place. Frank shook his head at the trembling man. Nerves were getting the better of him. He needed Smith or they’d be overtaken. “Smith, get your ass in here.”

Frank put three bullets into the gaping maw of one of the things and watched as rotten flesh and spittle dotted the air. Movement to his side alerted him that Smith decided to show up. Then he felt the pain. He glanced over to see one of the nasties chowing down on his bandaged arm; it wasn’t Smith after all.

“Christ, Smith, where are you?” Frank yelled, as he put the FNP into the mouth of the thing and squeezed the trigger.

“I don’t see her anywhere,” Arthur said.

Frank fired several more shots as he thought about what might have happened. Terror gripped his heart as he thought about Selena. With renewed energy, he pulled out the FMG, ignoring the pain in his arm, and fired at the knees of the oncoming horde in an effort to slow them down. Only minutes left before they’d be overtaken and Ryan was useless. He sat there pulling the trigger on an empty gun with tears in his eyes.

“Doc, get Ryan the hell out of here and find the girls.” Frank cut the majority of them down, but they scratched and clawed their way toward them. A few stragglers in the corner caught his eye when he scanned the room with his flashlight, but he made quick work of them.

As he waited to hear about the Selena and Smith, he wandered through the room and put a bullet in the heads of those still moving. A gunshot followed by a female scream stopped him in his tracks and he ran to the entryway.

Ryan’s corpse was still sliding down the wall when he arrived. “What the hell happened?” Frank asked.

“He was mumbling and made no sense. He aimed the gun at us saying we were one of them,” Smith explained, “I had no choice but to defend myself.”

“His gun was empty! Do you know you’ve just killed our only way out of here? And where were you, by the way?” Frank demanded.

Smith took a defensive stance. “I was here with Selena, who if you would take two seconds to look at, isn’t doing well.”

Frank glanced at the woman in question and noticed she was pale and shaky. He should thank Smith, but didn’t want to come off as soft, not now. Moreover, she’d killed a defenceless man who was their ticket out.

“Whatever; get her taken care of. Doc, you and I have to make sure this floor is clear. The last thing I want to worry about is one of these bastards taking a chunk out of one of us.” Frank returned to the room and finished what he’d started. Toward the end, he felt a swell of anger well up inside him and he started stomping on the heads of the creatures as they moaned and crawled around his legs.

These things killed his entire team, and they would likely take his life as well. His skin crawled at the thought of being like them. Pathetic husks of human beings craving flesh with no thought process other than eating. No way would he go down like that, not a chance. He’d blow his brains out like Carson did before he’d let that happen.

When the section he stood in was clear, he made sure Arthur was doing what he’d been told. He examined his bandaged arm. The teeth didn’t sink through, and the wetness he felt was warm, his own blood. Frank crossed his fingers and hoped they didn’t get him.

With forced bravado, he continued his campaign of stomping heads. Some of them popped like grapes, exposing rotten brain matter. Others cracked open and liquefied remains poured out. He didn’t care about the differences, all he wanted was to kill them all. Eyes skittered out from beneath his boots and cartilage made a horrible grinding noise.

The moans became sparse and he clamped down on the anger surging through his veins. He went back to where Smith and Selena stood, and noticed Smith staring at Ryan. He glanced at the body and realized, she’d shot him in the chest.

“What the hell are you doing? Head shots, remember?” Frank told her.

Ryan chose that moment to let out a groan, as he lunged for Frank’s leg. He stepped out of the way and landed in something slick. His hands reached out for something to balance him, but found nothing to get purchase on. He watched helplessly as he fell backwards and Ryan moved toward Smith, who grabbed Selena and used her as a shield to put in Ryan’s path.

Frank hit the ground as a bang erupted from behind. Nothing was left of Ryan’s head, just a shredded neck with the tip of a spinal column jutting out.

“Sorry about that, but I figured the risk was worth it,” Arthur said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Frank looked from his position on the floor and realized the angle of the shot from behind meant Arthur came within millimeters of hitting Smith. Part of Frank wished he had. He stood and walked toward Selena. She looked worse than before and he had no idea what to do or say to make her feel better.

“Selena--” Frank started, but found her wrapped around him before he could finish. With care, he returned the embrace, wishing they weren’t in suits and masks.

“You almost shot me!” Smith yelled at Arthur.

“And you almost got Selena killed to save your own life. I’d say you got off lucky. If Frank was aiming…”

“Enough talk, let’s get out of here,” Frank said, as he stood with Selena still holding onto him.

Chapter 16 –

Arthur put the Baby Eagle back in the holster and smiled inwardly at the glare Smith shot his way. Something bugged him about the woman, and when he saw her toss Selena in front of herself for protection, he knew who the other traitor was. Arthur wondered if the bit about her being married was even true.

All they had to do now was find a way out of here. The elevator doors were wide open, but the car wasn’t going anywhere. On top, he knew he would find several repelling ropes and wondered what would be waiting for them in the garage.

Frank walked over with his good arm snugly around Selena, with Smith lagging behind. Arthur pointed his flashlight to help them find their way through the mire of dead bodies littering the floor.

“I guess we get up top and climb?” Arthur asked.

Frank nodded and Arthur entered the small space. He helped Smith up, then Frank who wanted to go before Selena in case there was any danger waiting for them. Smith snorted, but kept the commentary to herself. After Selena was safe, Frank reached down for Arthur and offered his good arm to haul him up.

They secured themselves as best they could, Frank giving them a lesson in how to use the belay system so they wouldn’t fall. He showed them how to pull hard in the opposite direction to brake their fall, and make sure they kept an eye on how much slack they had in the rope.

Arthur took this all in with fear and trepidation. He was the one they were after, and that bitch Smith was working with them. Frank checked the straps and harnesses for the two women, paying more attention to Selena, then sent them on their way.

In seconds, Arthur was ready to go, Frank at his side. When the women were about ten feet above them, Arthur grabbed Frank. “I don’t trust Smith and we have no idea what’s waiting for us up there.”

Frank adjusted a knot. “I know, but we have to get out of here. The place is going to collapse and we’re running out of air time. We need to get somewhere safe.”

“That’s the problem. Where’s safe? This stuff has been leaking for two hours, and we have no idea what kind of damage it’s done.”

Frank shoved him toward the wall. “I don’t have time for this, start climbing.”

Arthur climbed with reluctance. He thought about what to do when armed guards or a mob of cannibalistic military corpses met them at the top. They didn’t have enough ammunition to protect themselves, let alone do any damage. He thought of the items in his backpack and didn’t want to lose what little information he had, so he erred on the side of caution and decided to keep it.

Moments later, they caught up to Smith and Selena and passed them. Frank was climbing with determination even though Arthur knew his arm had to be killing him. When a sliver of light could be seen through the opening, Arthur prepared for the worst.

Frank went first and pulled Arthur out. The garage was empty of vehicles and cars, the door wide open. The first thing Frank did was cross the parking space and hit the button to close the door. Arthur didn’t have to ask why, the half dozen things covered in blood and gore were reason enough.

“There’s power up here?” Arthur asked puzzled.

“They used a different power grid for above ground. Stay here and help the girls. I’m going to go and check out the house,” Frank said.

Arthur waited at the top and used the time to slip a few of the flash drives and one of the samples into interior pockets, just in case. A hand grabbed his foot and he almost shrieked in fear until he realized it was Smith.

He grabbed her by the back of her suit and pulled, not really caring if it caused her any discomfort. “Where’s Selena?”

“How the hell should I know?” Smith snapped.

Arthur kept an eye on her as he shined his flashlight and called out, “Selena, you there?”

“Yeah, just give me a second. I’m a bit more out of shape than I realized,” she huffed.

A second later, Arthur helped her over the edge being as gentle as possible. Two gunshots erupted from inside the house and Arthur motioned the women underneath a worktable in the corner.