He stopped and then slowly extended the mirror again, angled down the hall to their left. Jim saw that what he thought was a female in purple scrubs had stopped at the intersecting hall. The infected woman just stood there with frothy drool dangling from her chin. She swayed slightly and periodically a random extremity twitched. Jim slowly moved the mirror to look to the right. He saw nothing had appeared in that direction. He checked on the location of the one with purple scrubs. She was still there.
Jim turned and looked down the ladder and made eye contact with George and his sons as they looked up. Jim pressed his index finger to his lips to signal what they already knew, be quiet. He signaled that he had seen one infected and to stay put. Jim pried the doors open as quietly as he could. He checked the hall again. The opening was big enough to stick his head out, but he used the mirror to be safe. The thing in purple scrubs was still at the end of the hall. He pulled apart the doors more until he made enough room for them to exit the shaft.
Jim looked down and nodded to the three men below, and received nods in response that indicted they were ready. His sense of smell was assaulted by the stink of decay. Jim turned back to the elevator doors and was met by a pair of purple scrub-clad legs. His eyes quickly followed the legs up to the head. She simultaneously bent her knees to squat and reached out her hands toward his face. Her movement was accompanied by the faint sound of stiff cracking joints.
The infected woman reached for Jim’s head without expression. As her knees hit the floor her yellowish slavering mouth opened and was bending toward him. Jim realized the weight of the Halligan tool in his right hand. He leaned back to avoid her grasp and swung the tool overhanded into her head.
Chris, Jeremy, and George heard the crack of bone when the pike end of the tool penetrated the front of the infected woman’s skull. Jim held the Halligan tool and pushed the infected woman away, against the wall opposite of the elevator. He checked in both directions of the hall as he also pulled himself up and out of the elevator shaft. He got his rifle to the ready position and checked both directions. Satisfied it was still clear, he signaled for the other three to exit the elevator shaft.
After Chris and Jeremy climbed from the elevator shaft and took up positions to cover them, Jim removed the Halligan tool from the woman’s head. He put on a latex glove and used Clorox wipes to clean the pike of blood before he returned the Halligan tool to the holder on his back.
With the stench of the scrub-clad dead-again infected, Jim, Chris, and Jeremy did well to keep the contents of their stomachs in place.
George did not. He gagged several times and then bent into the elevator shaft. Before he could vomit, Jeremy grabbed him and shoved him toward a dead potted plant. “Upchuck in there, man. I don’t want to climb back down slipping and sliding in your puke,” Jeremy said.
George couldn’t hold back any longer. He continued to vomit as infected from open doorways along the hall made their way toward them. Two had approached from the left and four from the right. Like the one that had the Halligan tool driven through her head, these six were slow and spastic in their movements.
“These are the dead ones,” George said as he stood and wiped regurgitated stomach contents from his mouth and chin.
“Head shots,” Jim said.
After several rounds all but one of the infected remained standing. Jim fired two rounds into the chest of the infected man wearing a hospital gown. He continued toward them, dragging an overturned IV stand on the floor behind him. Jim fired two more shots and then three. All of the rounds impacted the man’s chest. The man continued unfazed. The only effect seemed to be the infected slightly lost and then regained his balance as though punched in the chest.
“Dad?” Chris said. Jeremy and Chris had turned to look behind them at their father.
As the infected man got within five feet, Jim fired two quick shots into his right eye. The infected man dropped to his knees and then fell forward onto his face with a smack. “Just checking,” Jim said.
George bent over and vomited in the potted plant again.
Jim was staring, fixated on the man that he had just shot seven times in or near the heart without a noticeable effect before killing him, again, with two shots to the head. Jim looked around and saw no more infected approaching. He noticed his sons and George were as fixated on the gown-wearing corpse as he had been. “Change mags,” Jim said as he replaced the magazine in his own M4. Chris and Jeremy did the same.
They approached open doorways with extreme caution. Infected close to doors or runners that charged the doorways were shot and the door closed. Whenever it was safe to do, they just closed doors as they crept by. The infectious disease department area was in slight disarray but unoccupied by infected. George read over notes and printouts for anything regarding the SCAR virus. Jim and his sons grew impatient with George’s slow progress and urged him to move with more urgency.
“Come on. This isn’t a fucking trip to the library, George,” Chris said.
They collected whatever files and equipment George said might be of any use if they could carry it and still fight. They made their way back to the elevator. With the weight and bulk of the lab equipment on their backs, descending the elevator shaft was precarious. All four were tired by time they reached the roof of the elevator where they had first started.
Jim extended the mirror and lowered it through the roof of the elevator and as far out of the doors as he could. Jim checked both directions and it looked clear. Jim and then Jeremy lowered themselves into the elevator. Jeremy received the duffle bags and packs Chris and George passed down while Jim kept watch in the hall off of the lobby. They avoided the reach of the infected inside the other elevator as they moved toward the lobby.
Jim led as they approached the end of the hall; he looked to the right and signaled with his left hand for them to ‘freeze’. George kept walking and walked into Jim’s back.
“Wha . . .” George started to speak but was cut off when Chris spun around and placed his hand over George’s mouth.
Jeremy pulled George backwards as Chris made the ’shush’ sign with his finger to his lips while the other hand still covered George’s mouth.
George’s eyes grew large and he nodded slowly before Chris removed his hand. Jim looked to the left and then signaled for them all to back up. Jeremy, the last in line, began to back up. He pulled on George’s shirt when he noticed he wasn’t moving. George turned his head back toward Jeremy and Jeremy impatiently motioned for him to back up.
Once back near the elevators, Jim whispered to the others what he’d seen. Since their ascent to the second floor, infected had gotten through the doors from the emergency room.
“I thought they couldn’t open doors,” George said, too loud for the current situation.
Jeremy shushed George again, “Maybe they bumped into the push bar. It doesn’t freaking matter right now, George,” Jeremy said.
Jim explained that he had seen the doors were in the open position, held open by the infected in the doorway. He estimated a hundred or more infected milled about the lobby and more were outside of the main entrance.
“What are we going to do?" George repeated three times before Chris quieted him by clasping his gloved hand over his mouth again.
Jim kept his eyes toward the lobby as he motioned for the others to get closer.
“George, you’ve got to keep your shit together. Understand?” Jim asked. He received several rapid nods from George as a reply.
Jim then explained his idea. Since the infected were drawn by noise, he would toss a flash-bang at the entrance. He hoped it would draw the infected away from them. Then he planned on using the fragmentation grenades to try and thin out their numbers. After that, rifle fire to make their way outside.
Chapter 17
Arzu occupied her mind playing with Berk and Kayra, and working on designs for the perimeter fence, guard towers and other fortifications. She tried to keep from worrying about her husband and step
sons, but that proved impossible. Like the last time she and Jim had been separated during the outbreak, he was going into another hospital, this time with Chris and Jeremy. It didn’t make her feel any better that her sons, although not of her flesh and blood, accompanied her husband in this instance. If anything, she felt three times the worry.
How had the world turned into such a terrible place? She wished for the time before the infection. A time when the everyday stresses were paying bills, getting the kids ready for school, grocery shopping and worrying about what was going to be for dinner. She knew she had to resign herself to the fact that those simple times were now gone. Life was now a nightmare, with some parts less terrifying than others. She buried those thoughts and focused on the security of the Yates’ farm. Right now that was their home and it had to be defended.
Janice Cutler approached Arzu and offered to take Berk and Kayra to play with the other children on the swing set and slide behind the Yates’ home. “This way they can’t see the gate,” Janice said.
Arzu needed to go to the gate and take measurements for her plans on upgrades. She had been putting it off. Going near the fence where the infected could see you had usually drawn the attention of any nearby. Although Berk and Kayra had been happy to see the other kids again, they had become more and more inseparable from there mother.
Arzu knew that Berk and Kayra, and the rest of the children, had been exposed to things that even adults should never have had to see. But she and the others in the group tried to protect the children from as much as they could. “Thank you, Janice. That would be very helpful,” Arzu said. She hugged and kissed Berk and Kayra and sent them on their way with Janice and the other children.
Chelsea was on her shift on gate watch and greeted Arzu as she approached. Like her, Chelsea’s mind had been on the absence of Jim, Chris, and Jeremy. Mostly Chris, since the two were now in a relationship.
“I hate those things,” Chelsea said, and pointed to the three infected gathered near the gate. Arzu and Chelsea stared at the two men and one woman for a few seconds.
“It’s not their fault. I don’t think we should hate them, but we do have to defend ourselves,” Arzu said. As she finished speaking she un-holstered her revolver and walked to the fence. Arzu took steady aim and shot each of the infected once in the head. “Will you come and help me take some measurements outside, please?” Arzu asked as she replaced the three spent cartridges and holstered her revolver.
Chelsea and Arzu quickly took the measurements Arzu needed while they constantly kept looking around for approaching infected. The bodies of the infected she had killed and the numerous others around the perimeter would be collected in a few hours. Prior to dusk, a couple of residents of the farm would come and collect the corpses from the day. The bodies were taken to a pit about a mile away. The corpses of the infected were dumped in the pit with the dump truck and, depending on wind direction, were burned. If the wind blew toward the farm, burning waited.
Arzu and Chelsea could see the group in the distance working at setting posts for fencing. “They’re making good progress, right?” Chelsea asked Arzu.
“Yes. They’re moving quicker than we had thought,” Arzu answered. “Okay, Chelsea. I think that’s all I need right now,” she said as she finished some notes.
On her walk back Arzu checked on Berk and Kayra and then went into Jen’s home to work on plans for shoring up the gate. Marlene was at her post at the radio desk when Arzu entered the home.
Marlene spent most of her time in front of the Ham and CB radios. She had arthritis and the tasks requiring manual labor caused her considerable pain. The others relieved Marlene for meals, showers and naps. The radios needed to be monitored and she took on most of that burden. Someone almost always sat in front of the radios. That someone was almost always Marlene.
“Any news from Jim or Kathy?” Arzu asked Marlene.
“No. Nothing yet,” Marlene answered, and attempted a reassuring smile.
Jen and Linda arrived a few moments later. The two had been marking out the area for the greenhouse. After brief greetings, the three women discussed both the plans for the greenhouse and the gate. Their discussion was interrupted by a gasp from Marlene.
Arzu, Linda, and Jen looked over to the small desk and saw Marlene holding the headphones tightly to her ears. “I don’t know if we can help you, but we will if we can,” Marlene said, and signed off. She quickly scribbled some notes and turned to the other three women and told them of her brief radio conversation.
One of Marlene’s routine calls on the radio had been answered by of a group of survivors near Spring Hill, Florida. Spring Hill was south of the Yates’ compound by about eighty miles. Marlene told the other women that the group she spoke with was holding out in a hotel and close to being overrun by infected. They reported that they were almost out of supplies of food and water. “I hope it’s okay. What I said, I mean. I didn’t want to promise help that we can’t give,” Marlene said.
“We can’t do anything until Jim and the boys get back,” Arzu said.
“Yeah, I don’t see how we can help them for a day or two. We’ll have to see what Jim thinks,” Jen added.
No one spoke for a while; their thoughts were on the other group of survivors they all wanted to help, but they knew nothing could be done for at least a day or more. And that would probably be too late. They turned their attention back to what they could do something about, plans for the security of their location.
Encouraged by reaching other survivors over the Ham radio, Marlene continued her calls on other frequencies. She did make contact with a woman and her family that was headed north. They had just crossed into Georgia from Florida after leaving Crystal River, Florida. The woman spoke to Marlene as her husband drove. She, her husband, and three children were attempting to locate relatives that lived in western Georgia.
Marlene spoke with her long enough that she learned their names and their children’s ages. The woman, Shari, was a paralegal. They joked that there seemed to be little use for lawyers or paralegals anymore. Shari’s husband had been a technician at the power plant in Crystal River. As Shari mentioned the power plant, Marlene felt a chill run down her spine. “What about the nuclear power plant? Is it safe?” Marlene asked.
Shari assured her that her husband insisted it wasn’t a threat. The power plant was both coal and nuclear. The nuclear reactor had been offline for two months for repairs before the outbreak had occurred. They had never brought it back online before the outbreak of infection. They spoke for twenty or so minutes longer before signal issues drew their conversation to an end. They wished each other good luck and signed off.
Chapter 18
The sun illuminated most of the interior of the CCTV store, except for the back one-quarter. Kathy, Steve, and Brent were armed with their rifles, and Brent had also retrieved a sledgehammer to break the glass door to make their entry. With no signs outside or inside that the building was occupied by infected or non-infected, they decided to enter the store.
“Okay, you guys stand back,” Brent said as he hefted the sledge on his right shoulder.
Kathy held up one hand as a signal for Brent to halt and grabbed the handle of the door with the other and pulled it open.
Embarrassed, Brent let the hammer slide off his shoulder until it clinked as the steel head tapped the concrete sidewalk.
“Put your toy away,” Kathy said. She and Steve chuckled quietly as they walked inside and Brent followed.
Kathy, Steve, and Brent stopped just inside the entrance of the store. They took in the simple layout of the interior as they looked and listened for signs of infected or other occupants. The store was set up with the register in the front left corner with a few aisles running the depth of the interior. From just inside the entrance they could see down to the end of each aisle and almost to the back of the store. After the aisles ended, the inside was gray and then black from the lack of reach by the sunlight.
Kathy and
the Cutler brothers turned on their flashlights and directed the beams toward the back of the store. With the aid of the artificial light, they could see the closed rear door that led outside and two closed interior doors, one on the left and one directly across on the right.
As they made their way toward the back of the store, the two interior doors came into better view. As they had thought from their view near the entrance, the doors were closed. The door on the left had no signage to tell what lay beyond it. The door on the right had a sign that read RESTROOM NOT FOR PUBLIC USE.
After they cautiously moved through to the rear of the store, Kathy and Brent stood by while Steve checked the doorknob to the unmarked door on their left. It was unlocked. Kathy and Brent raised their rifles and aimed at the door. After getting a nod from Kathy and Brent, Steve turned the knob again and pushed the door open. The room was a small well-kept office and workshop; from the doorway they could see it was empty.
With audible sighs of relief, they turned their attention to the restroom door. Steve placed his hand on the doorknob but unlike before, he neglected to check to see if Kathy and Brent were ready.
Kathy noticed Steve was on the same side as the hinges and would have to reach further to open the door. She remembered their training from her brother. Steve would be more exposed in that position. Kathy opened her mouth to tell Steve to move to the other side. Before Kathy could speak, Steve turned the knob and pushed open the door.
The stink of human excrement and rotted flesh that emanated from the darkened restroom hit Kathy in the face and caused her to gag and her eyes to water. She heard both Steve and Brent gagging as well and then saw movement from inside the restroom.
Steve saw it as well and tried to raise his rifle, but what appeared to be walking bones and sinew with some flesh clinging to it grabbed Steve by the right shoulder and arm.
The infected thing’s body position prevented Steve from raising his rifle; the thing was too close. Neither Kathy nor Brent had a clear shot at the attacker. Kathy reached out and grabbed Steve by his shirt collar and watched as the walking skeleton bit down on Steve’s right bicep before she could pull him away. As she and Brent pulled, Steve shook his arm to free himself.
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