Night Shade

by Bianca D’Arc

  Matt fired four more shots and then paused to reload. It appeared he had spare clips in his pockets. She wondered how many he had on him, when two more creatures stepped out from the tree line. She could see more working their way through the tree trunks at their steady, unrelenting pace.

  “Where are you, guys?” Matt talked into the small radio clipped to his ear.

  She didn’t hear the answer, but the curse he bit off under his breath spoke volumes.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Equipment malfunction.” He turned to fire more darts as he pushed her over the short hedge and into the grass strip between the building and the paved walkway. “They’ll be here in five. We just have to hold these guys off until the cavalry arrives.”

  “I hope we can last that long,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Son of a—” Matt cursed as a full half dozen zombies converged on them. One had a broken arm that dangled at a nauseating angle as it walked. All sported the obvious signs of zombie attack. At least three had missing fingers that looked, even from this distance, as if they’d been gnawed off. Two had parts of their noses missing in different configurations that turned Eileen’s stomach when she chanced a look. Then she noticed that more than a few ears had gone missing as well, and all had dried bloodstains down their mouths and over their clawed hands.

  There wasn’t much room to maneuver in the area between the building and the path. For all their plodding, the creatures actually moved pretty fast. The steady pace was deceptive. They covered a lot of ground in their rhythmic way. A brick wall at her back and a semicircle of zombies in front, only Matt stood between Eileen and a painful death at the hands—make that claws—of the undead platoon heading their way.

  “To the right, Eileen,” Matt urged as he kept firing at the advancing enemy.

  There was one bit of good news. The first one had finally disintegrated. The bad news was that the others were all still standing and heading in their direction—even the ones with darts sticking out of their bodies. The toxin in the darts hadn’t done its job yet, but it would. Given enough time. It was up to Matt and Eileen to stick it out and keep themselves out of range long enough to let the toxin do its thing.

  Eileen felt along the brick wall behind her, edging to the right as instructed. Her hands scratched along the old, worn brick until they encountered something smooth and cold.

  Glass.

  There was a big window in the side of the building. Hallelujah.

  She shrugged out of her jacket, moving quickly, and wrapped it around her hand a few times before punching through the glass with all her might. It hurt her knuckles, but the fabric did a good job of protecting her skin from the broken glass. Thankfully this was an old building and it had regular old glass panes, not tempered glass or Plexiglas or safety glass of any kind. It broke easily into jagged spears that tinkled and crunched as they fell to the floor below. She used her cloth-wrapped hand to break away the bigger shards that stuck out, making a big enough hole for them to step through.

  “We’re in,” she told Matt.

  Looking over her shoulder toward him, she realized they had nowhere to run except into the building. The creatures had effectively cut them off. On the bright side, two more zombies had disintegrated into piles of slimy goo. Still, the toxin wasn’t working fast enough. They had to buy more time.

  “Go,” Matt ordered.

  Eileen didn’t waste any time jumping through the hole she’d made in the window, into an empty room. High ceilinged and bare of furnishings, her footsteps echoed around the room, bouncing off the brick walls and concrete flooring. The room was large with a chalkboard along one wall, like a classroom or some kind of old-fashioned conference room.

  Matt followed her in, two of the zombies fast on his heels. They bottlenecked outside the window for a few seconds while they jockeyed for position, each seeming to want to go in first and neither giving way to the other. Mostly mindless as they were, they didn’t seem to grasp the idea of cooperation or courtesy.

  Eileen would have laughed if the situation wasn’t so critical.

  “Try the door.” Matt pushed her toward the room’s only door while the duo at the window finally figured out how to get in.

  They did it without regard for the jagged edges of glass sticking out all around the neat hole Eileen had made. They didn’t bleed much, she noticed absently, though the glass made long, deep gouges into their skin. It looked like the majority of blood they’d possessed when living had already drained out of their previous grievous injuries.

  Eileen made it to the door and turned the handle. The hardware was a little loose in its mooring, but it wasn’t locked. The knob turned and the door opened into a darkened hall. She looked both ways, surprised to see the shadowed hall looked like it ran most of the length of the building, with doors opening off it at regular intervals.

  Matt backed toward her and the open door, keeping himself between the advancing creatures and Eileen. She was appalled to see even more zombies finding their way in through the window. They were multiplying faster than she’d have believed if she wasn’t there experiencing it.

  “The team is on its way. They’ll come in from behind. As long as we can stay ahead of these guys, we should be okay.”

  “The hallway is clear,” she reported.

  “Good. Go!” He shooed her toward the open door and she went without further comment. Matt followed, closing the door and looking around—probably for something to block it with. “We have to contain them.” His tone was grim.

  “Can’t we just stay here in the hall and pick them off as they try to follow us?”

  “The toxin takes too long to take them down, but it’s as good an idea as any. We’ll retreat only when we have to. Go up to the end of the hall and make sure our exit is clear. The last thing I want to do is get boxed in here.”

  Eileen ran up to the end of the dark hall and pushed open the door.

  Only to come face to face with the business end of a gun barrel.

  “Not so fast, doctor.”

  She knew that voice. Far from being the rescue she’d hoped for, this was something much worse. It was the guy who’d attacked her in the lab. The man who worked for Rodriguez.

  She squeaked. It was embarrassing, really. She couldn’t get a word out for the fear that rose to choke her.

  “I was going to let the monsters finish you off, but now I’m not so sure.” The goon motioned with his gun, shooing her back the way she’d come.

  A quick glance told her Matt was still at the other end of the hall, trying his best to contain the zombies in the classroom. But even as she glanced toward him a second time, Matt backed away from the opening and a zombie stepped through the door and into the hall. He was followed by another and another until Matt was in full retreat up the hall, directly toward her and the man with the gun.

  Of course, Matt had a pistol in his hand, but it contained lethal toxic darts.

  Matt turned to face her and took in the situation with one bright-eyed glance. The hallway was dark, but she could see his face as he moved closer. He walked right up to her, ignoring the slow but steady advance of the zombies behind him in the hall.

  “You don’t want to do this,” Matt said to the man behind her.

  “Why’s that? All I have to do is keep you both here long enough for my little friends to get close enough to infect you. Then my troubles with you both will be over at last. Of course, I could shoot you both now, but that would feel sort of anticlimactic. I really want you to join the rest of the creepy crawlies and turn you back on your friends. There’s a kind of poetry in that, I think. And I want you to suffer.”

  “Why?” Eileen asked, feeling the butt of the gun prodding her forward to meet Matt.

  “Because you’ve both managed to piss me off.”

  The man stopped walking. Eileen followed suit. Matt continued to advance until he stood only a few feet from her.

  “This could’ve been so much
easier if you’d just accepted Rodriguez’s offer, doctor. You could’ve had it all. But no. You’re a stubborn bitch.” He pulled her hair and she gasped at the sudden pain as her head snapped back.

  “There’s no need for that.” Matt’s tone was both placating and disapproving.

  “Drop the weapon,” the man instructed Matt.

  Pausing only a second, Matt lifted his hands in a placating motion, pointing the pistol toward the ceiling before he dropped it to the floor. It made a clattering sound that echoed down the hall.

  “Now back up. I want you to be the first to get bit.” He sneered his words, clearly relishing the idea of watching Matt die a horrible death.

  But this guy was sorely mistaken if he thought a scratch or even a bite would kill Matt. Obviously their attacker didn’t realize Matt was immune. Or that Eileen had been immune longer than anyone.

  Sure, they were still in danger from physical attack by the creatures, but the contagion wouldn’t kill them. Really, the only person at risk from the contagion here was their attacker. He was behind the eight ball and didn’t even know it.

  “Let her go.” Matt’s tone was unequivocal.

  “Sure. Why not?” The man pushed her toward Matt, using her hair as a handle.

  She crashed into Matt’s chest, free of her attacker. He’d let her go, but not before pulling out more than a few hanks of her hair. Damn, that hurt.

  Matt clutched her close for just a minute before putting her to the side. He didn’t push her behind him, she noted. The zombies were moving steadily closer, and their assailant continued to threaten them both with his handgun. They were definitely stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place.

  Something had to give, but she didn’t know what. She had to trust that Matt had an ace up his sleeve. He carried himself with enough confidence that she assumed he knew something she didn’t.

  “What’s in this for you?” Matt asked. “You think Rodriguez is going to keep you around once you’ve lost your usefulness? He already offed Tim.”

  “Tim was a wimp. He deserved what he got for lousing up his job.”

  “You’re not far behind. How many times have you failed in your attempts to get to Dr. McCormick?” Matt taunted the man.

  The goon shot Eileen a look filled with both hatred and disgust. “You’ve been a royal pain in the ass, doctor. The commander has that right. But I have the last laugh. This time, you’re going down.”

  “Not quite.”

  A new voice spoke from the side of the hall, from one of the numerous doorways. It had opened silently in the darkness, and only the gleam of his eyes and the dark metal in his hands gave away the presence of Sam Archer.

  “It’s about time, lieutenant.”

  “Sorry, sir. This one tried to delay us, and I’m sad to say it worked. To a point.” The dark line of his assault rifle was leveled at the intruder. “Drop your weapon.”

  It was standoff time. Until hands grabbed their attacker from behind. Pale hands pushing down on his shoulders with great force. The face exposed as the man sank downward in surprise was ashen gray, disfigured, and bloodstained.

  Before they could do anything, the sharp yellow claws drew blood and the gaping maw dropped open, the head bending to allow teeth to sink into the man’s neck. He screamed like a little girl. A little girl in agony.

  After that, everything seemed to happen at once. The man’s weapon discharged wildly toward the ceiling, and Matt pushed Eileen to the floor. Sam and Matt were on top of the guy in a split second, prying the zombie loose and drawing him away. Sam shot the creature point blank several times as more of the combat team began pouring into the corridor from other doorways along the hall.

  Around that time, the zombies Matt had shot began disintegrating one by one as they closed in from behind. Eileen realized Matt had darted them all and was just waiting for them to implode while he’d tried to protect her from the more imminent threat of the man with the gun.

  Chaos ensued. One of the guys tried to push her into an empty room, but she wasn’t going. Everyone here was immune except for the guy who’d orchestrated this entire debacle. He’d escaped answering their questions once already. She wasn’t going to let him die if she could help it. He could lead them to Rodriguez and end this whole mess, but she had to keep him alive to do so. She had to at least try.

  First, though, they had to finish with the zombies. None of the men would let her back into the hall while the zombies still stood. One by one, she watched them collapse in on themselves. Matt had taken care of all the creatures that had followed them in through the window. Sam took out the one that had attacked Rodriguez’s man, and the rest of the team checked all the other rooms, calling the all clear within about five minutes.

  All in all, it went faster than she’d anticipated. Fast enough that she still had time to try to save their attacker’s life.

  “Let me through.” Eileen pushed past the big guys who stood watching over Matt and their former prisoner.

  “Better not to see this, ma’am,” Sam said in a somber tone. “It ain’t pretty.”

  “I might be able to save him.”

  Matt pinned her with his gaze. “You’ve got the serum on you?”

  “I brought it with me. Just in case.” She brandished the small vial in one hand, a disposable syringe in the other. She’d had both in her purse.

  “Give it a try.” Matt backed off to give her room to work.

  Eileen moved fast. She knew if this was going to work, timing was critical. She dropped to her knees at the man’s side and prepared the syringe, estimating dosage based on her visual assessment of his size.

  Positioning the syringe carefully, Eileen stabbed the victim with the long needle, injecting the experimental serum directly into his heart for maximum effect. He screamed at the pain of it, but there was no time for anesthetic or other niceties.

  “You trying to torture me, bitch?” he spat out, breathing hard when she removed the needle.

  “I’m trying to save your life.”

  “Don’t bother. I’d rather go all zombie on your ass and take you out that way.” He looked just ornery enough to do it, too.

  “Won’t work. I’m immune.”

  “Dammit, I told Rodriguez…” Whatever he was going to say was cut off as his body went into convulsions. This reaction was a good sign, but it would be a while before they knew if the new serum would work with this man’s body chemistry.

  “Where is he?” Matt demanded as the man came out of the episode a minute later. Eileen looked up to find Matt kneeling by her side and Simon standing guard over them. “Where’s Rodriguez hiding? Where’s his lab?”

  “Lab?” The man’s eyes narrowed as he focused on Matt. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He gave the ghost of a laugh. This man was as bitter as they came, she thought. “Your pet bitch knows all about labs, doesn’t she? And the zombie Marines she freed that night so many months ago. She started all this. All she had to do was close a door.” His gaze pinned her as her body froze in shock. “Isn’t that right, doctor?” He spat the last word like a curse.

  “I did not—” she tried to protest, but the words died in her throat as she felt Matt stiffen beside her.

  “Come off it, bitch,” the man swore. “You were the one left to watch the experiment that night. You’re the one who ran out of the building and let them loose. You’re the one responsible for all the men those original few killed and all those who came after. You’re killing me right now. How does that make you feel?”

  As far as attacks went, this one cut to the bone—and beyond. It sliced into her soul.

  She didn’t need to look up to know that Matt and Simon had heard every word. The cat was out of the bag. They finally knew the secret she’d been so desperately hiding.

  The man on the floor went into another convulsion, preventing her from saying anything. This was worse than before. Violent and scary. He seized so hard she thought she could hear his bones creak. Then he coll
apsed.

  Eileen administered CPR, trying desperately to revive him, but after a few minutes, she had to give up. He was dead.

  “He’s gone.” She stood and stepped away from the man’s body. “There’s nothing more I can do for him.”

  “That’s it then.” Matt pointed his weapon and fired.

  It was only a few minutes before the man disintegrated before their eyes.

  Eileen stood back, unable to meet Matt’s eyes. She feared what she would see there, now that he knew she’d let those original zombies out into an unprepared world. She’d caused so much havoc—when something as simple as remembering to close the door to the lab might have prevented much of the devastation that followed.

  It was all so pointless. The guilt she’d carried so long threatened to overwhelm her, but she had to face it. The time for hiding had abruptly drawn to an end.

  She looked up not to find Matt standing before her, but a red-faced and scowling Simon.

  “Is it true? Did you let those original zombies out?”

  Mutely, she nodded. Her misery was complete.

  “I hope you realize you’re responsible for the deaths of a lot of good men. Good men who were my friends.” Simon choked up and his eyes went flint hard.

  “That’s enough, Si.” Matt stepped between them, pushing Simon back physically.

  That he would stand up for her—especially knowing what he knew now—gave Eileen some glimmer of hope. She couldn’t see Simon past Matt’s bulk, but she felt the tension in the air as the men faced each other down.

  Because of her. She’d done this. She’d set friends against each other. And so much more.

  She had so much to regret. So much guilt to carry around.

  “Enough.”

  She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until Matt turned slightly to face her. The look on his face was one of incredulity. He was no longer the indulgent lover or the stern commander. A stranger’s face looked back at her. Cold eyes that she couldn’t read.

  That stare struck her like an arrow through the heart. She stumbled one step backward but stopped before she could show any more weakness.