by Evans, Mike
“It’s orders; we get them, we follow them. We can at least not shoot the group, right? I don’t want to talk about this anymore, and I damn well suggest you don’t bring it up anymore, soldier. You understand the words coming out of my mouth?”
Aslin nodded and they started their walk up to the building. Clary saw this and yelled, “You want the kids to come, or what?”
Phelps motioned to bring them, and everyone hustled to catch up. They made their way up the parking lot, eyes trained on the building and everything around it. There were cars and ambulances in the lot. The ambulance appeared to have been exited in a hurry, as it still had open doors. “So they went in and they didn’t come back out? That doesn’t seem like a good thing.”
Phelps asked, “I don't think I need to ask this, but does anyone have any questions of what you should do if you see one of those things in there?”
Shaun elbowed Greg, motioning to his gun. “You got your safety on that rifle?”
Greg shook his head no, remembering the five-minute gun lesson that he had given the other three and said, “Okay, go ahead and flick the safeties off on your guns. Oh, and squeeze the trigger lightly; don’t jerk it. Patrick, make sure you pump that thing after each time you shoot and make sure the bead is on what you want to hit.”
McClellan overheard this and added, “I can’t tell you how much more comfortable I feel that you guys just learned how to use those things today. Just make sure you don't shoot me in the back of the head, all right?”
Ellie said, “We don't like making promises that we don't know we’re able to keep, McClellan.”
McClellan looked around the lobby and pulled on the door; it didn’t give. “It’s locked.”
“So unlock the damn thing,” Phelps said.
McClellan said, “You think that someone maybe locked it for a reason?”
Phelps shrugged. “Ask me if I give two shits. You got something on your belt you can open it with, don’t you?”
McClellan shouldered his rifle, brought out an extending baton, and snapped it open with a practiced flick of his wrist. He brought it back and slammed it into the glass, shattering it. He swiped it around the edge, clearing all of it, and leaving only the metal push bar to crawl under. The five SEALs went under it and swept through the lobby like the practiced experts that they were. Aslin asked, “So since all those vehicles are still outside, we know that they are either trapped in here, dead, or one of those things.”
Patrick said, “Couldn’t they have just left with the person who locked it?”
Tina said, “Nope, they’re in here… they have to be, because that’s the kind of day that we are having.”
Clare walked over to the computer terminal at the guards’ desk and started typing at impossible speeds. “Shaun, show me where your dad worked. Did he work out of different labs or different offices?”
“No, just look for his lab. He has an office somewhere, but I’ve never been to it. He never stepped foot in there; he didn't need to.”
Clare said, “What? Your dad was too smart to have to do research? He must have been, right? I mean, we are here, the world’s burning and—”
That was all Shaun needed to hear. He ducked to start running full force toward Clare for a second time, but Greg could see it coming; the rage in Shaun’s eyes was hard to miss when it was fully ignited. He gripped him around the shoulders, picking him up, and whispering, “No reason to get your ass handed to you two times in one day now is there, Shaun? Come on, be the bigger man. Don’t let this D bag get under your skin, man. You need to be able to deal with assholes like this. He’s not the first and he won’t be the last, all right?”
Clare stood up, trying to puff out what chest he had. “You want to say that again, Greg?”
Greg put down Shaun, patting him on the shoulder. “Yeah, sure I do. You are a giant asshole, Clare, and if you get exposed, don’t worry; I’ll make sure and double tap you in the damn head.”
Clare came around the desk, determined not to take any more shit from these kids, who he felt were beneath him. McClellan put up a hand that he tried to smack away. He reached with his right hand, gripping Clare’s uniform tightly and pushing backwards. “You don’t need to start anything. If you’ve got extra energy then maybe you ought to conserve it. You have no idea what you are going to be dealing with today.”
“Did you hear what he called me?”
“Yeah, he called you an asshole because you are being a asshole instead of asking questions that might get us what we need, so we can get the fuck out of here.” He released Clare, pushing him back a few feet for good measure. He turned around to see a heaving Shaun. “So, Shaun, can you tell me why your dad didn’t need his office?”
Shaun pushed free of Greg, who was still keeping himself between the two men. “I was trying to say that he didn’t need to because he was that damn smart. He wouldn’t have given something like this to his fiancé if he thought it wasn’t one hundred percent safe. He was smarter than all of you guys put together. He didn’t need to have help. He needed to have answers and he didn’t ever stop until he had them. He could process so much shit at once that it would make your guys’ heads spin.”
Phelps cleared his throat, ready to move on. “So can you show us where we need to go once we get a look at the security camera?”
Phelps pointed to Clare, motioning to the camera console. “Show us, would you?”
Clare nodded, straightened his fatigues, and picked up the security chair before taking a seat. He pulled up the floor Frank worked on and brought up the hallway. “Oh my god. Would you look at this?” He looked up, seeing that he had everyone's undivided attention and brought up the hallway on the main monitor, showing the gore on a 32-inch television. “Would you look at that, for god’s sake? There was something that happened in that hallway.”
Kristy said, “Was it the three bodies, or the blood and guts splattering the walls and floors that gave it away?”
Shaun peered at the screen, pointing. “You see that fat guy who has an axe handle sticking out of his skull? That looks like my dad’s lab assistant, Rogers, who was probably helping him with the formula they were modifying.”
Phelps looked, seeing this and said, “You think he and your dad had a fall out?”
Shaun pointed and said, “Can you zoom in on that, please?”
Clare hit the plus button focusing in on Rogers. Shaun said, “Check out the arm on him. You see that patch of skin missing from it? They all have that. If you see it, shoot the person in the head. They have blood that comes lightly from their eyes too, but you can't do any good with this guy.”
Clare said, without thinking before he spoke, “Yeah? Why’s that?”
“Well, it would seem that, quite possibly, the giant axe handle coming out of the top of the guy’s head would be the answer for that, don’t you think, Clare?” Greg said. He looked at the rest of the guys. “Isn’t really the smartest guy you all have, right? Like, he is just the computer specialist and can… I don’t know… tie his shoes really well or something.”
Clare looked at the head more closely, thinking that there was no shortage of blood on the man’s head. He looked back at Greg, who was sitting back with a grin. “Yes, thank you for pointing out the obvious, Greg.”
Phelps said, “It looks like we are clear, though. There isn’t anything else wandering around up there that we need to worry about. At least it doesn’t look like it from here. Clare, you stay down here. You radio us or hit an alarm if you see something that looks like it’s going to kill us, all right?”
“Roger that; keep your radios on five.”
Greg was looking at Patrick, who still was looking pale. “Can Patrick stay down here with you? He still doesn’t look too hot.”
“Wow. Thanks, Greg. You are quite the flatterer, you know that?”
Greg shrugged. “Well, if you want me to say something flattering, I can always think of something sweet to say to Kristy.”
�
��Stay on task here, Greg,” she said.
“I am always on task, Kristy.”
Phelps thought of the number of people and realized there was no way all these kids needed to come upstairs with them. The more that were there, the more of a liability each of them was going to be. Phelps said, “There are too many of you kids out here to go up with us. Shaun, Greg, you can come with us. You are the only ones who are able to shoot. The rest of you can wait in the lobby; it seems, overall, the safest thing.”
Clare held up a hand. “Sir, sorry, but I’m not a damn baby sitter. Can’t you just send them home?”
“We don’t have a home, ” Ellie said.
Clare opened his mouth and Phelps yelled, “Just keep it shut, Clare, you aren’t going to say anything intelligent. I’m not sending these kids to a home they have not found yet, unless you think that we are done with the truck, which leaves Shaun and Greg here without a ride. I’m sure there is a semi or two lying around here, but I have issues believing either one of these kids can drive one of those eighteen wheelers outside.”
Ellie said, “Sorry, but I’m not staying down here waiting while the people I care about are walking around some part of the building where there may or may not be zombies, with the only protection being a SEAL team that doesn’t actually seem to care if we live or die.”
Phelps said, “I’ll bring them back; don’t worry, kid.”
“If I lose him, then I don’t have anything left to worry about.”
Shaun looked at Ellie; her eyes were saying don’t go. He knew that he needed to go—that his life wasn’t nearly as important as the world’s. “I’ll be okay, Ellie. We will be back down in like twenty minutes. Christ, I got four guys, and they all smoke. You don’t think we can get away?”
Ellie laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. McClellan said, “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Shaun smiled, giving her a quick, tight hug. “No, it’s supposed to make her feel better though.”
Clary asked, “Sir, do we want anything just in case they come while we are up in the top of the building?”
Phelps looked at Clary and at Aslin, thinking about their special skill sets. “Clary, you set up something in case they make it out here. Aslin, go play God for a while up on the roof. If it looks like it wants to eat us, put a bullet through its head.”
As Aslin and Clary headed for the door, Shaun yelled, “Hey! Check out their arms and eyes, don’t forget.”
Phelps said, “We take the stairs. Clare, we’ll radio down before we go. You make damn sure that if you see anything, and I mean anything, you get your ass on and let us know. I want to be in and out as quick as possible.”
Clare said, “Sir, what do you want me to do if we need something off of his hard drive? I mean, there is more than likely something on there. There is no way he did everything he worked on in longhand, is there? It doesn’t make sense.”
Kristy yelled, “Let us watch the video. We can let you know. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist.”
Phelps nodded and said, “Clare, give her your radio. We need to get this show on the road.” He looked at Shaun and Greg. “Safeties off, boys. Make sure you got full magazines.”
The two boys lowered the guns and both pulled back the charging handles, making sure they had one ready to go. They nodded to each other, both realizing that they were going in and were now two men less than before. Greg laughed. “You know, I’ve never missed school so much in my entire life.”
Shaun punched him on the shoulder. “Hey, we’ll be okay. The only positive thing is that this happened on Sunday and there weren’t many cars in the parking lot, so we ought to be okay. Shouldn’t be more than a couple of those things walking around, wanting to rip our heads off.”
Phelps and McClellan both snapped their heads back at Shaun. Phelps said, “Jesus Christ, is that supposed to make him feel better? You guys kind of have a dark side.”
Greg said, “No, I actually do feel better. Yeah, we aren’t dark; we’re just teenagers, what do you expect? Let’s get going. I’m ready to end this shitty party of my day.”
Clare opened the door and let the four pass, taking the rear. All four of them ran to the monitors, hovering behind Kristy, who was watching intently.
*****
Phelps went in the stairway first, feeling tight. His heart was pounding harder than it ever had in time of battle. He was used to having an enemy who was worried about dying, staring back at him. He was a SEAL and was the better trained of the two when in battle, something that helped him and his confidence when going to war. He looked at the edge of the stairwell, feeling better about one thing for sure; there were no downstairs signs, so there should be very little chance of a zombie coming up from the dark of the stairwell. Phelps held the rifle tight and had it up to his shoulder, peering down the sights. He walked the stairwell slowly, taking the concrete steps as quietly as he could.
Phelps led the men up the stairs. Shaun and Greg were in the rear of the line. McClellan whispered over his shoulder, “You guys watch our six. Don’t let anything sneak up on us.”
Greg said, “Yeah, we don’t speak SEAL talk, dude.”
Shaun scooted past Greg. “He wants us to make sure nothing comes from behind. I don’t know where they are going to come from; the door down there is shut, and there is no basement access from these stairs. So if something does come from behind, we are really screwed, because I really don't care for the idea of those things being able to work doorknobs.”
Greg shivered a little at the thought and fell in behind Shaun, rifle ready. They continued up the long sets of concrete steps until they reached the giant, steel fire door that led to Frank’s lab floor. Phelps looked down, not surprised to see dried, sticky blood at his feet.
He tapped the mic button to communicate to Kristy as his final set of eyes and to let him know if he could pass safely… or at least start out that way. “Kristy, how does my entryway look?”
“It looks like a hallway filled with dead bodies. But none of them are moving; you’re clear to go, guys.”
McClellan elbowed Clare, “Damn, Clare, she’s been on the job five minutes and she already has got you beat at it.”
“Blow me, McClellan.”
Phelps snapped at the two, “Get your fuckin’ heads on straight. We’re going into hell, quite possibly. I’d like to think that maybe I have your undivided attention. Is that something that I can feel safe to say?”
The two men didn’t need to speak; it was a question they were smart enough to know they didn’t need to answer. Phelps pushed the heavy metal door open slowly. He peeked his head around, rifle up, holding the door with his boot, and swinging his rifle left then right. He motioned with a hand for the rest to come through after clearing the hallway. He whistled for everyone to move through the doorway. Shaun looked at the floor as he passed through it, realizing there was no way not to step in the darkened blood that painted the floor.
He thought of what Aslin had said in the truck about it being easier to wipe it off of your boots than your soul. He knew there was a good chance he would be spilling more blood before the day was over. He stepped slowly, watching his boots leave a dark-red trail on the white tiled floor.
Phelps whispered as Shaun passed him, “Where is your dad’s office located at?”
Shaun pointed with his rifle and proceeded to walk that way, taking lead. Phelps gripped him by the shoulder. “I think maybe you want to stay in the back, right? It’s better to have someone who has dealt with something like this take point.”
Greg said, “We have dealt with these things, and a few more times than you. We also had to do it with less men and weaker weapons.”
Phelps watched the two boys moving forward, guns up and at the ready. Phelps was in awe at the bravery and valor such young, untrained men were willing to portray. McClellan looked at Phelps like he was crazy though. “Sir, we can’t let these kids take point. Just because we aren’t taking them back with us, do
esn’t mean we should let them sacrifice themselves. They think they can take on a damn army of these things, but we both know—or at least I do—that they don’t stand much of a chance. If they miss, they die. From what we’ve seen, if they die, they come back.”
Phelps thought about the two young men, who were already probably quicker than him or his team, and then thought of them enraged and thirsty for blood. He had no doubt he’d kill them if he needed to but didn’t want to have to take that chance if it wasn’t necessary. He nodded to McClellan and the two men got in front of Shaun and Greg. Clare let the door shut slowly, making sure that it did not slam shut.
They walked the hallway as slowly and quietly as possible, stepping over Rogers; the look of anger was embedded in his facial features. The nurse who was on the ground had bullet holes in her chest. Greg said, “It looks like something else went on here once your dad left. I wonder who shot them. I bet it was whoever locked those front doors.”
Shaun nodded. “Yeah, I could see that happening for sure. Makes sense.”
Phelps looked at his soldiers, pointing at the room, and for them to go in and sweep it. Phelps went in first, then McClellan and Clare. They swung their rifles to clear the room. Everything in there was dead quiet… until they heard the faintest of sounds.
McClellan said, “What the hell is that?”
Phelps said, “It sounds like sniffing. Where the hell is it coming from?”
Clare walked around and saw a room with a sign on the door that said, “Live Specimens.” He sighed, thinking that of course it had to be in something like that. He pushed in first with the other two following him. What they saw about made them vomit. This was an animal research facility; animals were strewn across the floor and hanging halfway out of cages. The intestines of rabbits, dogs, and cats littered the floor and hung off from every surface and blood painted the walls. A man dressed in a medic’s uniform was standing and swaying behind the cages, sniffing.
Clare raised his rifle to fire and looked over his shoulder to see Phelps’ “okay.” When he turned back, the man was staring dead at him. Blood was wet and thick on the front of his shirt and pants. A label saying Gonzalez on it was barely visible on his uniform. His nostrils were flaring in and out. It opened its mouth, screaming at the men. Phelps and McClellan walked back a step, almost tripping and falling on their asses. Clare took a long, deep breath and steadied his already raised rifle. He sighted in on the thing’s head and it started screaming at him. Clare fired off a shot, missing its skull, and exploding the side of its neck open. Clare went to fire again, but it was already on the move.