I’ll admit that in my life I have never felt claustrophobic, but being in that dark hallway was making me so. Each doorway except for the last had a locked door. The last was another hatch and this time had a set of stairs heading only upwards. I arrived on the next landing to find it opened out into a small area half the size of a basketball court. It had a few couches, chairs and a few tables scattered around the room. At the far end was another hatchway, but between myself and the hatchway were about a dozen infected.
I stepped back out into the stairwell and stood trying to think of what to do, when a low moan seemed to come from inside of the room. They must have caught my scent, either that or their eyesight was much better than my night vision. Risking a quick glance, I could see them bumping into each other and the furniture. So that ruled out the better vision. Lifting my MP5, I checked to make sure it was on single shot. I slipped into the room and headed off to the left and into a corner. This way I could cover the room pretty well and still have options if I needed to move. Sighting on a man in some waterproofs, I fired a single shot which snapped his head back exploding his skull behind him. He crumpled to the ground and I moved on to the next. It looked like a young lad in some coveralls of some sort. They had dark patches all over them and I was glad that I couldn’t tell what the patches were. Firing, I caught him under his nose but my shot must have hit bone because a huge hole appeared in the side of his neck. Re-aiming, I fired again and this time caught him above his right eye. There was no exit wound, but he still fell to the floor like his wires had been cut.
Moving, I headed back toward the hatchway and tried to circle around the infected. I moved after every two infected with the light strobe every time I fired. The light was followed by the muted clang of my rifle cycling the next shot. I kept moving and firing till the last of the infected fell down spilling what was left of its brain onto the floor. Looking around, I didn’t see any of the downed infected moving.
Heading to the hatch, I stopped just short and listened for any movement. I heard the scrapping of footsteps just outside of the room and ducked back. I turned to watch as a large man stumbled into the room. He would have put the two women that Chris and I killed at Thirsk to shame. He was huge and I was surprised that he could fit through the small hatchways. I raised my rifle to shoot when he lifted his head looked straight at me and roared. Moving faster than any infected I had seen up till now, he charged toward me. He caught me with an outstretched arm and spun me around. I bounced off a table and landed on the floor. My head was spinning as I sat on the floor. My goggles had been knocked off at the same time, plunging me into darkness. I heard him moving back toward me and rolled toward the dim green light given off by the goggles. I felt the air move behind me and knew he had charged passed me again. Grasping the goggles, I pulled them on and saw the infected turning toward me again. Dropping my rifle onto its harness, I grabbed my pistol and aimed at its knees and fired. He just roared again and charged. I managed to get out of his way just in time. He couldn’t moved at a full run, what with his ruined knee. I still had to roll out of its way.
He slammed into the wall at the back of the room and whilst he was still stunned from hitting the wall I fired the rest of my mag into the back of his head, which had the effect of pulping it like someone hitting a watermelon with a hammer. His huge body hit the wall and the infected ended up sliding down the wall to the floor, leaving a huge dark streak.
Taking a few breaths I keyed the mic on my radio.
“Marc to Chris and Amy. Come in.” I said, sitting on the edge of a table.
“Chris here.”
“Amy here.”
“This is more for Amy than you Chris, but might as well keep you in the loop. Keep an eye out for the infected. There seems to be a new type.” I said.
“New type?” Amy asked.
I told them about the huge infected and the way he behaved.
“Shit, if there are new versions you two are going to have to be careful in there.” Chris said.
“The other infected seemed to be the same as usual. He was the only one. Amy, have you ran into any infected yet?” I asked.
“Only three of them.” She answered.
“Okay. Just be careful.” Chris said.
“Okay, Marc out.” I said, heading for the hatchway.
“Amy out.”
I risked a quick look round the corner and saw nothing but a short corridor and two hatchways opposite each other. Taking my time, I headed toward the nearest and quickly looked through the opening. In front of me was a pile of what looked like tables and dressing lockers. It looked like I had found one of the barricades that Jane and her group had set up. I tried to see if there was a way that I might have been able to get by without having to move anything. From what I could see, there was no way I could squeeze past or climb over. I headed back into the corridor and looked through the next hatchway. This one did have a clear set of stairs leading upwards.
Being careful, I headed up taking my time and trying to be as quiet as I could. The landing I arrived on had one hatchway and it was closed. Grabbing the handle, I gently turned it. Pushing slowly on the hatch, I waited until there was enough room to squeeze through it and step on through. No sooner was my head through when I felt something push on the back of my neck.
“Drop it.” A male voice said.
“Like fuck he will.” Came a female reply.
I risked a glance and saw Amy hanging halfway out of an air duct. I stepped forward and turned around to see who had managed to get the drop on me.
“Alright, Fuckton.” I said sarcastically.
“Marc?” He said, looking shocked in the green light from my night vision.
“One and the same. If you don’t mind lowering the pistol my ex-girlfriend will be pretty pissed off if you kill me before she does.” I said, smiling at Amy.
Foxton lowered his pistol and pushed it into his belt. Amy dropped the rest of the way out of the air duct and landed on the floor.
“I knew Jane had put out a radio message and some old man had said that he might be able to get in contact, but I didn’t hold my breath.” He said, before walking forward and holding out his hand.
I reached out and took it.
“I’ve never been so happy to be wrong.” He said.
“Okay, enough of the bromance! Where is the rest of your group?” Amy asked, lifting her goggles off.
Foxton headed off down the corridor and we followed, and as I did, I pulled off my goggles and holstered my pistol. At the end of the corridor was a hatch which Foxton stopped at and knocked on. Someone on the other side unlocked the hatch and we stepped onto the ship's bridge. I saw Jane standing looking out the windows.
“Hi, Jane, you asked for a taxi?” I said.
She turned round and smiled before running over to hug me.
“I never thought I would see you again.” She said, tears running from her eyes.
I stepped away and held her at arm's length.
“Well, we couldn’t leave any group of survivors needing help.” I said.
I turned to look around the bridge and saw two other people standing at the other end. A young man and woman watched us talking.
“Who’s your friends?” I asked.
Jane walked over to the couple and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
“This is Max and this is Kathy. They were my assistants until Dr Jackson and the others left.” Jane said.
Max was of medium build with dark brown, almost black hair and a deeply tanned complexion. Kathy, on the other hand, had long blonde hair, fair skin and a willowy shape. I saw Foxton walk over to stand beside her and she seemed to lean toward him. This gave me the impression that Foxton and Kathy were an item of some sort.
“Jane, what happened here?” Amy asked.
Jane turned around to look at Amy like it was the first time that she had seen her.
“Who are you?” Jane asked, looking puzzled.
I stood there w
atching them and thought ‘This is about to get interesting!’
“I’m Marc’s partner.” She said.
Chapter Eight
Now, I could have taken that either of two ways, but from the look of relief that passed over Jane’s face she had taken it the one way that was wrong. I looked over at Amy and I could see she had noticed it as well.
“There was a breach in protocol and an infected sailor managed to get on board. He quickly infected most of the ship. So Dr. Jackson and the management flew out in the only helicopter we had. They said that they would send it back for the rest of us, but it never did return. The infected quickly managed to overrun the lower levels and the deck area. We managed to barricade ourselves up here.” She said, sitting down on a chair.
“Jane, can I ask what you were doing on here?” I asked.
She raised her head “We were trying to find a vaccine or cure. I thought that might have been self-explanatory.”
I stood to look out of the window in the direction of our boat and said “The reason I ask is because I ran into an infected that was very different than the others.”
Foxton looked up and said “What do you mean, different?”
I told them of my fight on the floor below this one with the large infected.
“I think Dr. Jackson might have had something to do with that infected.” Max said, walking forward.
Jane spun around to look at Max and said “What do you mean?”
“Dr. Jackson was working on a way to make the infection into a weapon. He was trying to make it so the infected had a small amount of intelligence and make them harder to kill.” He said.
“Why the hell would he want to do that?” I shouted.
Max backed up and said “I heard him talking with management. They were saying something about the original infection only having a short life of a few years. And when the infected finally died, then they would be able to sweep in and take over with their army of engineered infected.”
“As if it wasn’t bad enough that this thing got out by accident in the first place.” Amy said.
“Sorry to burst your bubble, darling, but they were going to release it soon anyway. It was just an accident that it got released when it did.” Max said, smiling.
“Why are you looking so fucking happy?” Foxton asked.
Max edged further toward the hatch before saying “Well, the reason Dr. Jackson did a runner so quickly was because this whole ship is an experiment with the infected.”
“Why the fuck has that got you so happy then?” Amy asked, slowly lifting her rifle.
“Because he wanted to see how his new infected dealt with the other infected and the uninfected. I was left behind to keep an eye on the experiment. Now that it’s been ruined by your friends, I’ll have to go.” With saying that, Max quickly darted through the hatch and slammed it shut behind him.
I ran across the room and tried to pull the door open but Max had managed to lock it somehow. I slammed my hands on the hatch making it boom.
I heard a hiss in my ear and then Amy’s voice “Amy to Chris. Come in, Chris.”
“Chris here.” Came his reply.
“This was a trap, but not the type that we thought.” She continued to inform him what had happened since we had reached the bridge.
“What is it with you and traps, Marc?” Chris asked over the radio.
“Fuck you.” I said, laughing.
Amy just sighed and said “Look, just keep an eye out for a man with dark hair and a tan.”
“Will do. Chris out.” He said.
“If we can get the door open, we should be able to take my route back down to the deck.” I said.
Foxton walked over and both of us strained against the hatch locks. Grudgingly, they squealed open and the hatch flew open with a clang. I raised my rifle and pointed it into the darkness expecting Max to come flying into the room or for a stream of infected to attack us. When nothing came through straight away, I pulled on my goggles and looked into the dark hallway. Max was nowhere to be seen and no infected seemed to be moving about.
“Might be an idea that we get out of here. I’ll take point, Amy can bring up the rear and we have weapons for the rest of you.” I said, pulling the two shotguns from off my back.
I handed one to Foxton and the other to Kathy whilst Amy gave hers to Jane.
“I don’t know how to use this!” Jane said, holding the shotgun like it had been dunked in shit.
“Kathy, do you know how to use it?” I asked.
She racked a shot and grinned at me before saying “Watched too many action films.”
Grinning, I said “Foxton, make sure she has the safety on and how to take it off if she needs it. One other thing, don’t point it in my direction.”
“Okay.” Kathy said.
We waited whilst Foxton showed Kathy what she needed to know. All the while I watched the hallway outside of the hatch. The whole ship seemed to be waiting for something to happen and I could feel it.
“Ready.” Foxton said.
“Okay, like I said, I’ll take point and Amy will take the rear. Foxton take the right, Kathy the left and Jane, just try not to get in anyone’s way.” I said, stepping through the hatchway and heading toward the stairwell.
I stopped just short of the hatchway and peered around the frame and into the stairwell. There came a clang from somewhere below us. Taking our time, we headed down the stairs and came out in the hallway. Looking toward the room I had encountered the large infected I heard something.
“Wait here.” I whispered.
Without waiting for their confirmation I headed toward the hatchway leading into the room. The nearer I got, the more the noise. It sounded like the dragging feet of the large infected. Standing next to the door, I heard heavy breathing coming from inside. Risking a quick look inside, I saw three large infected lurching backward and forward across the room. What pissed me off was that I saw Max stood in the other doorway. The little shit had managed to get a hold of a few large infected and place them in our way. I stood with my back to the wall in the hallway and tried to think of a way to get past them. It was then that I noticed how narrow the hallway was. This would probably save us. The large infected were so big, they wouldn’t be able to come at us more than one at a time. I headed back to where the others were standing.
“There are three of the large infected in that room and that little shit Max.” I whispered.
“How are we going to get past them?” Jane said, getting upset.
“I have an idea…” I said.
Amy groaned.
Grinning, I continued “…the idea is, the large infected will only be able to attack us one at a time if we lure them into the hallway. If Amy and I use our rifles, we should be able to put them all down before they get to us. If we can’t, we’ll fall back to the stairwell and take them out from there.”
“Marc, that actually sounds like a good plan for once.” Amy said.
I grinned into the darkness knowing that Amy was the only one that would be able to see it.
“Okay, Foxton, take Kathy and Jane back to the stairway hatch. Amy will set up here. I’ll head on up to the room the infected are in and try and get them to follow me. I’ll fall back to here, and if we can’t get them all down by the time they get here, we’ll fall back to the stairwell and try to finish them off there.” I said.
Foxton lead Kathy and Jane back to the hatchway and stood waiting. In the green light of the goggles I could see them stumble along the hallway with one hand on the wall.
“Ready?” I asked Amy.
“Yeah!” She replied.
I turned to walk back down the hallway when Amy grabbed me and pulled me into a passionate kiss.
When she finally let go, I whispered “What the fuck?”
“Look, you piss me off all the time when you take risks, but I do love you and staying angry at you takes too much energy.” She said in a quiet voice.
I was slightly dumbstruck b
y the fact that she had just said she loved me to hear anything else that she might have said.
Smiling the biggest smile I ever had, I leaned in and whispered into her ear “I love you, too.”
Before she could reply, I headed off down the hallway to the hatch. Looking back, I saw Amy go down to one knee with her rifle raised. Taking that as my queue, I stepped out from the wall and in front of the opening.
“Good evening, gentlemen.” I said out loud.
The three large infected spun round to look in my direction. As they did, I threw one of the flash bangs into the room and moved out of sight. There was a huge bang and flash of light followed by the infected howling. Taking a quick look around the frame, I saw them staggering around the room. This was definitely something new. Max had his hands to his ears and his eyes screwed closed. Whilst the lumbering infected were occupied, I raised my rifle and fired three shots at the nearest of them. Because it was stumbling around, my shots caught it in the shoulder. It roared and turned in my direction. Firing another three shot burst, I managed to hit his face, obliterating its eyes and nose. The shots sprayed what was left of its skull backward toward Max. I watched as the spray of bone and mashed brain coated his face and chest.
Screaming, he said “Kill him! Kill all of them.”
Backing down the hallway toward Amy, I pulled another flash bang loose and threw it into the room. This time I just turned and ran back to her.
Breathing hard, I said “Managed to take one of them down. Oh, one other thing, they don’t like flash bangs.”
Standing beside her, aiming back down the hallway at the hatchway, soon a large head appeared and first looked up the hallway and then back toward us. I could see its piggy little eyes widen when it finally saw us. Roaring a deafening roar, it pulled itself out of the room and into the hallway. As it lurched toward us, the other infected came through behind him. Amy fired first filling the hallway in light. Her shots started right where its sternum would be and marched in a slow line straight up its body and over its face spraying brain and black blood all over the hallway. Amy continued to fire trying to aim past the falling infected toward the one looming behind. I joined in and our shots slowly carved out the centre mass of the infected at the rear. Amy once again shifted her aim and decimated the face of the infected. The little battle in the hallway ended quickly with the two infected slamming into the floor nearly a heartbeat apart.
The Infected (Book 4): Wrecked Page 6