by Radke, K. E.
“Then you better learn how to eat slowly or you’ll choke to death,” Lincoln said watching him slurp down his third cup of Jell-O.
“Life’s too short not to enjoy Jell-O, and I’ll probably never see it again. Bottoms up,” Noah said cheerfully and brought up the cup for a solo toast.
“Where’s your pack? You left it?” Lincoln asked incredulously.
“Like I said, life’s too short. Plus, I figured I was either going to find you or die. You’re welcome,” Noah said with a wink.
All four carts were rolled out from behind the metal counters. Jule felt like a baby learning how to walk again but she managed to push a cart if someone gave it a little momentum first.
“Are we going back the way we came?” Lincoln asked Jule. The only hall he was worried about was the very first one they trekked through.
“Y’all left a mess near the stairwell, but I didn’t have a choice because the arrows were the only directions I had to follow. Which you stopped marking by the way. Luckily, I just followed the blood trail you left behind,” Noah revealed.
“What if we call for reinforcements when we get close?” Lincoln asked and held up the walkie-talkie.
Noah nodded and then glanced at the giant ovens holding their hostages, “What about them?”
“We can’t risk them following us,” Jule said in an anxious voice.
“We can cut the saran wrap enough to give them a fighting chance. They have no idea where we’re headed and I’m pretty sure the only weapons they have are in this kitchen,” Lincoln stated calmly.
“How do you know?” Noah questioned.
“Because if they had any firepower, they would have used it. And the knife the dead guy had was a kitchen knife,” Lincoln answered.
“How the hell did they end up here? And how are they keeping the cannibals away? Did you notice no one has even stopped by since we’ve been here?” Noah asked gesturing around the empty room with his hands.
Jule stared at the giant ovens and said, “Only one way to find out.”
They pulled the men out of the ovens and watched them squirm around like inchworms.
Noah aimed at one and Lincoln the other.
“How’d you clear the place out and keep them out?” Lincoln’s voice rumbled with authority.
“He killed them,” one answered hastily. “There was a group of us and he killed them all while they were sleeping. Used their bodies as a barrier.”
“Why didn’t he kill you?” Noah inquired harshly.
Neither of them answered.
“Because you helped him,” Jule whispered horrified and disgusted at the same time.
Lincoln sighed heavily and made eye contact with Noah. The silent communication was confirmed when Noah nodded.
“Jule, let’s get you ready to go. Lincoln can finish up here,” Noah said sidling up next to her so she could lean on him.
Lincoln’s eyes bounced between the two men as they begged for mercy. Excuses and apologies filtered through the quiet space. He finally squatted between the two and asked quietly, “Did you help kill all those people?”
“You don’t understand!” one man wailed. “He would have killed us too! I didn’t want to do it. He made us do it!”
Lincoln nodded his head solemnly at the man who answered.
“Why aren’t the flesh eaters invading this space? That wall of corpses can’t be keeping them out,” Lincoln said incredulously.
“We don’t know,” the other man answered.
“Take a wild guess,” Lincoln pushed.
After a few seconds of silence, Lincoln shifted his weight but one of the men took it as a threat and blurted out, “The smell! There was a doctor in our group forced to do research. She said they couldn’t see very well, but their sense of smell is similar to a dog’s.”
“Did she mention the ones with red eyes?” Lincoln inquired since they were willing to give out information.
They both shook their heads.
He shot the first man in the head before he could beg for mercy. The second man’s yelp was cut short after he pulled the trigger a second time. He would not free two desperate murderers in the hospital.
Noah joined him while he was attaching his pack and asked lowly, “How much time do you think we have before they free themselves?”
“Who?”
“Whatchu’ mean who?!” Noah twisted his expression staring at Lincoln like he was an idiot. “Those guys back there.”
“They’re dead.”
“How the fuck did they die?”
“I killed them.”
Noah blinked a few times and then said, “No, seriously.”
“What do you mean ‘no seriously’? We both agreed to kill them!” Lincoln whispered hastily and glanced at Jule to make sure she was out of earshot.
“We agreed to slit the saran wrap! Not kill them!”
“But you nodded after they said they killed everyone.”
Noah ran his hands down his face in defeat, “No point in arguing about it now. They’re already dead. But for future reference every time I nod does not mean kill someone.”
Lincoln rolled his eyes in agitation and said, “They would have tried to follow us.”
“Hey grim reaper, maybe next time, you shouldn’t leave your baby behind,” Noah said seriously and cracked a smile unable to keep a straight face.
“I knew you’d come for him, and thought you two should be reunited,” Lincoln shot back and chuckled when Noah’s mouth fell open.
Jule interrupted the quips by saying, “Are y’all done yet? I’m pretty sure we’re on a limited timeframe here.” Her eyes flickered to where they’d left the two men tied up. Noah cleared his throat and Lincoln muttered unintelligibly under his breath.
A few minutes later Lincoln pushed one cart in front of him and pulled one behind him. Noah helped pushed the cart Lincoln was pulling and hauled his behind him. Jule brought up the rear, allowing the cart’s momentum to tug her forward.
They halted behind the pile of dead bodies and whispered curse words under their breath.
“Forgot about that,” Lincoln murmured and began heaving bodies off the pile. Between him and Noah it took a half an hour to make a space big enough to haul the carts to the other side of the barrier. They set Jule near the intersection to keep a look out, but the corridor stayed empty.
The rolling wheels set off an echo of groans from both directions. Noah and Lincoln took turns shoving the carts into the small lobby for the maternity ward. Safe inside the waiting room, Lincoln asked Noah, “You didn’t leave any office doors open did you?” They both pulled flashlights off their belts and illuminated the room.
“No, I made sure everything shut behind me.”
Small thumps had everyone holding their breath. Lincoln’s grip tightened around his Glock and he slowly surveyed the room. Noah nodded toward the hall that led to the exit. Carefully, as quietly as possible, they both headed in that direction.
Noah was closer and only had a few more steps until he reached the entryway when he suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs. The high-pitched shriek was followed by several high jumps in the air until he stomped down hard on something on the ground.
With his hand on his chest Noah said every curse word known to man in English and Spanish. Lincoln peered around the half circle desk and peeked at the bloody mess of tissue and bones. A tiny hand with splayed fingers twitched at him. His gaze left the maimed demon child and flickered to Noah.
“That is no way to treat your child,” Lincoln said in a serious tone with a straight face.
Ignoring Lincoln, Noah said loudly to no one, “I swear I killed it! On accident, but it was dead.” He burst into the corridor and searched it frantically. Muttering to himself like a lunatic he found the remains of the first baby and ran back to the second. With a crazed expression he pinned his gaze on Lincoln. “Two?! Two demon babies?!”
“Two moms, two babies,” Lincoln said and shrugged off Noah’s revel
ation. “I thought you could count.”
They shoved the ghouls to one side of the hall and rolled the carts into the examination room. Noah made sure to shut the door behind him, his eyes constantly surveying the floor. Lincoln checked the office and grumbled with annoyance. They were going to have to do some heavy duty lifting in order to maneuver the big carts around the filing cabinets.
He unmuted the walkie-talkie and asked, “Anyone there?”
“Everything OK? Did Noah find you?” Heath replied anxiously.
“Everyone’s alive. But we need help.”
“The people here aren’t very happy with you Lincoln,” Heath’s voice was lower.
“If they don’t help they don’t eat. So gather the hungry volunteers and everyone needs a weapon. Let me know when you’re ready,” Lincoln said before clipping the device back on his belt.
Noah and Lincoln started moving around the file cabinets as quietly as possible. In the middle of it, Heath radioed that he had five volunteers with an array of weapons including Wyatt’s H&K, Heath’s Glocks, and the two AK-47s.
When the carts could easily be moved inside the office Lincoln spoke into the walkie-talkie, “Listen, I have four carts filled with food and drinks. I need the hall from the stairwell to the office we’re in cleared of chompers. The immediate threats should be killed and then we have to clear a path for the carts to roll down the halls. The easiest way to do it is to use the AKs. But the noise is going to bring the flesh eaters right to us, so we have to work fast.”
“How do we know which office you’re in?” Heath asked.
“Follow the arrows written on the wall. We marked the door with an ‘x’.”
“We should wait an hour or two. All the noise we made moving around might have brought more,” Noah chimed in. “Maybe if we’re quiet some of them will find something else to chase.”
“Did you hear him?” Lincoln asked Heath.
“Roger that.”
Lying on the floor for two hours felt like a vacation. Only one cart would fit inside the office comfortably, so they left the other three in the examination room. When the walkie crackled with Heath’s voice Noah groaned, “One more hour.”
“We could just hang out for a few days,” Lincoln’s voice sailed in the dark. They’d turned off all the flashlights to conserve battery power.
“If they weren’t starving upstairs,” Jule noted bleakly.
“We’re getting up,” Noah said lazily.
“She really knows how to kill the moment,” Lincoln grunted and sat up.
“That’s my specialty,” Jule snorted. A beam of light cut through the darkness and Lincoln left it upended on the desk.
“You ready for this?” Noah asked Jule pointing to her legs.
“They’re better, I can walk now with less help,” she admitted.
“Let’s get the carts lined up. I’ll go out first. Jule you’re second and Noah you’re last,” Lincoln reiterated the plan. He placed his pack on top of the food on the cart so it wouldn’t interfere with the task at hand. All the extra ammo was removed and stuffed into his pockets. “Abandon the cart if you need to, there’s no point in sacrificing yourself for food if you’re already dead.”
Heath’s voice cut in, “We’re on the first floor. Are you ready?”
“Ready,” the word sucked all the nervous energy out of the room and replaced it with fear and adrenaline.
Fingers drummed against the cart, Lincoln’s eyes fastened on the door ready to charge the moment it opened. Shots fired continuously, the drone of the AK comforting Lincoln as he shifted his stance. The sound thundered down the corridor.
EIGHTEEN
H eath stared out the little window in the door from inside the safety of the stairwell. Automatically he closed his eyes and said the prayer he always did before he went to fight a fire—only this time it was man-eating monsters that took down people bigger than him with one bite.
Five people were fidgeting behind him. People he just met, names he learned only a few hours ago and forgotten. Tension ached through his entire body unable to trust any of the strangers. They were starving. The only motivation they had to keep him alive was his promise of food.
The first person who jumped at the opportunity was the baseball mom, she’d been at the hospital when all hell broke loose and decided to stay behind when they started evacuating patients. She’d called home to tell everyone to stay put and ride out the mayhem. No one was allowed to leave the house until she got home with their brother—the reason she was at the hospital. She lived for her four boys and held her child while he turned. Even after he tried to eat her, nothing convinced her to leave him until someone killed him to save her life.
Heath heard the story from the man behind him, a retired Vietnam vet, and the one who killed her son. The guilt was eating him alive, he’d been pacing the entire fourth floor trying to stay busy. He volunteered second, only because he’d been in another room when Heath made the announcement.
A ghoul crept by the window and everyone ducked out of the way. Heath slid away from the door automatically bumping into the person next to him. She whimpered, leaning against the man next to her and pushing him into the corner.
“There’s at least twenty out there, if you can’t handle it stay here,” Heath said quietly, unsure if he wanted the couple to chicken out or grow some balls and follow him out. The Vietnam vet had the other AK and the woman whimpering had Wyatt’s H&K. The baseball mom had a long silver pole with a jagged edge, and the last fellow stuck in the corner had one identical to hers. They also all had scalpels or knives for safety measures.
“We either get the food or starve,” the vet said refusing to sugar coat the issue. He raised the AK and said reassuringly, “We’re taking care of most of them. Everyone’s going to be fine.”
Everyone nodded mechanically, and Heath checked the window again, “After this next one passes, I’m going right and you go left. Shout when you see an arrow.” Heath closed his eyes and said a short pray before he counted down from ten.
His heart leaped out of his chest the moment the door swung open and he pulled the trigger standing in the doorway. The gun arced from left to right and bodies fell to the ground giving the walls a new sheen of ruby red paint. Aiming higher than normal for their heads, Heath focused and took measured breaths moving forward to send another wave of bullets. Behind him the corridor vibrated with noise when the vet pulled the trigger and covered his back.
Paving the way with dead bodies, Heath started to follow the arrows on the wall. He carefully stepped away from fallen ghouls just in case he didn’t hit them in the head and kept the AK tucked against his shoulder. Still in earshot of the others, he heard the vet doling out commands in his absence.
“Come on let’s move and get these bodies out of the way!” the vet shouted pushing his AK to the side and pulling a cannibal by its legs. The baseball mother peeked at the carnage from the entryway with wide eyes. She froze until she saw a chomper’s hand move. It tried to pull itself across the floor toward the vet and she snapped with a ferocious battle cry.
She hurled the metal stick like a baseball bat and the ghoul’s head flew off smacking against the wall with a crunching snap. It was lodged upside down in the wall and the jaws were still moving.
It motivated the couple behind her to start moving bodies. All of them with sharp objects in hand to stab the stragglers unable to stand up.
Heath reloaded once before finding the door with a giant ‘x’ on it. He had two full magazines left and cleared the hall teeming with chompers. Near the door he inhaled deeply and pushed it open.
It screeched open and he stared inside the dark office. The light from the hallway spreading over a cart and then Lincoln’s face.
“I guess we have to share now,” Lincoln said pushing the cart forward. Heath quickly checked the area before he started kicking bodies out of the way. More flesh eaters were already headed straight for them, and he stopped
to shoot.
“We need help to clear a path over here,” Heath yelled. To his surprise, the baseball mom came to the rescue and leapt over mangled bodies on the ground. She ran straight for the incoming ghouls. Bones splintered and crunched with every swing. Heath continued to haul bodies out of the way and Lincoln joined him after pushing his cart as far as it could go.
Jule was barely out of the office before her cart hit Lincoln’s. As hard as she tried, she could not push both in her weakened state. She leaned on the cart and maneuvered around hers to get behind the first one and forced it forward allowing Lincoln to focus on clearing the path. It rolled as far as it could and when she had to wait for more bodies to be cleared, she treaded back to hers and pushed it until it hit the first one.
Noah abandoned his cart right outside the office and helped the baseball mom guard Lincoln and Heath. He sliced through a head and the top half flew like a Frisbee flinging blood across the hall.
Heath sprinted back to the others near the stairwell when the sound of gunfire became sporadic. He rounded the corner for a moment with only his heavy breath pounding in his ears. A hoard filling the entire corridor was on its way. The vet and couple had a routine. The woman was stabbing every head that twitched and the vet and other man were pulling bodies to one side of the hall.
Every few seconds, the vet would check the herd’s distance and shoot the rotters closest to them yelling duck if someone was in the way. Heath joined them not wasting a second. They needed to be out of the hall before the onslaught of chompers reached them—or ran out of ammo.
Baseball mom left Noah to defend the hall himself. The carts were moving too slow and she started flinging bodies out of the way, sometimes using them to knock a parasite down that got too close.
Heath and Lincoln bumped into each other, both aiming at one another before they realized they were on the same side. Breathing raggedly they pulled the last body out of the way and Jule passed them with the first cart. Lincoln gave it an extra push to give her more momentum. “Move that other cart now!” he shouted to the baseball mom as he passed her for the third cart abandoned near the office door.