Chas chuckled, but the next moment, she spotted the soldier from earlier who’d looked so familiar. This time, he was facing her, and across the floor, their eyes met.
Chas gasped. “It’s him.”
“Who?” Vanessa asked.
“The soldier who shot Andrew!”
“What? Where?” Vanessa cried.
Chas pointed him out, and Justin’s face turned the color of curdled milk. After a second, he turned away, unable to look any of them in the eyes.
“Chas, what are you on about?” her grandmother asked.
Chas explained in low tones, finishing with, “It’s really him, Lala. I swear. He’s called Justin.”
“Mm. I believe you, hun, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“But—” Chas protested.
“You said yourself it was an accident, Chasity. He didn’t mean to do it, and I imagine he must feel awful, the poor boy. There’s no point in making it worse now,” Lala pointed out. “Remember why we’re here.”
Chas thought about it and sighed. “I guess so, Lala. It was an accident.”
“Right. So, leave the boy alone. He’ll have to learn to live with his own conscience, and I dare say it won’t be easy,” Lala said.
Realizing her grandmother was right, Chas turned away and left Justin in peace, though it wasn’t easy. Andrew’s death had been hard on all of them. Vanessa and Dean did the same, and the trio stood talking quietly while waiting for their next orders from Alvarez.
They didn’t have to wait long.
“Mrs. Ensign. Can you explain to me the quickest route to the cafeteria, please,” Alvarez asked.
“Yes, of course. Down the hallway, up the stairs to the second floor, turn right, around the corner, fourth door on the left, if I remember correctly.”
Alvarez whistled. “Excellent memory, Mrs. Ensign.”
“It’s not a very big place, Mr. Alvarez, and I used to visit my daughter quite often,” Lala replied. “The main problem is the stairs. The staff on the second floor blocked them with furniture.”
“What about the lifts? They should run on emergency power, shouldn’t they?” Alvarez asked.
Lala opened and closed her mouth. “I never thought of that, to be honest. I just assumed they’d be out of order.”
“Well, it’s worth a try. I don’t relish the thought of spending the next hour clearing the stairs, especially since the front doors are wide open and an invitation to all passing zombies.”
As if to prove him right, a cry rose from the entrance, followed by several gunshots. “We’ve got company, Sir.”
Alvarez immediately became all business, turning from a man to a commander in front of Chas’ very eyes. “How many?”
“Hundreds, Sir.”
Alvarez swore. “They must’ve been drawn by the grenade blasts. Get to the lifts, now. Mrs. Ensign, lead the way, please.”
Lala nodded. “Come, children. Stick close behind me.” With those words, she ran for the bank of lifts not far from the stairs and pushed each one’s button, muttering under her breath. “Come on, come on, hurry up.”
Chas watched it all with bated breath, her heart banging a frightful beat. From behind, came the sounds of battle. Soldiers shouted to each other, guns blazed, and infected shrieked. The fight was coming closer, and closer, and still they waited and waited.
A zombie came hurtling around the corner, its arms and legs pumping as it headed straight for them. Lala shoved Chas aside and fired at the infected with her shotgun. The force of the blast sent the zombie flying backward to crash to the floor where it twitched once before lying still.
A few soldiers appeared, one of them Alvarez, and they beat a steady retreat toward the lifts while keeping the infected at bay. They were almost on Chas and her group when the nearest lift doors opened with a ding.
The interior was empty, and Lala herded the kids inside while holding the door for the soldiers. “Come on, Alvarez!”
He glanced over his shoulder just as another set of doors opened. “Smith, Jennings, get your asses inside and lay down cover fire.”
The two soldiers obeyed, crouching inside the door of the second lift and providing back-up while the rest of their team inched back. Chas watched it all from her corner behind Lala, praying everyone would make it out alive and unharmed. One by one, the lifts filled, until at last, all the soldiers were crammed inside.
“Second floor. Get to the second floor,” Alvarez bellowed.
The doors closed, cutting off the noise the infected made and plunging the interior into a grim silence until a silly tune began to play over the speakers. It was such a mundane thing to occur after all the horror preceding it, that Chas grinned despite herself. Even now, life goes on.
Chapter 20
The doors slid open far too soon for Chas’ liking, and she braced herself for the worst. Who knew what lay on the other side, and judging by Alvarez’ stiff posture, he felt the same. At least, Lala was there with her shotgun, but she shuddered to think what damage the blast could do in such a small space. Suddenly, the weapon didn’t look like such a good idea.
With the lift standing wide open, she peered out from behind her grandmother’s back, but the hallway outside was empty. Alvarez motioned his men forward, and they inched through the door with their guns at the ready. With a man on either side of the opening and another in the middle, the lift was secured.
“The area is clear, Sir,” one soldier reported.
“All clear on this side too, Sir,” said another.
“Stay here, for now, Mrs. Ensign,” Alvarez said, joining the rest of his squad. “Spread out and keep your eyes peeled for trouble.”
“Yes, Sir!”
The other lift next to theirs also opened and those soldiers joined the rest. Alvarez took a few minutes to inspect everyone, making sure no bites or scratches were hitching a ride with any of his men. “If you’re infected, you’d better own up to it now. That includes you lot, Mrs. Ensign.”
“Of course, Mr. Alvarez. Do what you must,” Lala replied to his brisk command.
After giving them a rough once over, Alvarez blew out a relieved breath. “It seems we’re all in the green. Please, Mrs. Ensign. Lead the way to the cafeteria.”
“All right,” Lala replied, ushering Chas and the rest out of the lift.
Chas noted that the hallways were clean, with no signs of the infection. None of the usual debris, blood spatter, or stains marred the pristine walls and floor. The smell of disinfectant hung heavy in the air. “How come it’s so…shiny?”
Lala shook her head. “My guess is the staff figured out pretty quickly what was going on. Maybe because of the news reports and so on. They probably moved anyone infected with the virus to the ground floor. They have two wards plus the emergency center down there. Then they blocked the stairs and wiped down this level to ensure no further contamination.”
“Smart,” Alvarez said with a grunt.
“Yes, and barricading themselves into the cafeteria was even smarter. They could last for weeks in there, and the doors are strong enough to withstand just about anything,” Lala added.
“Well, which way is the cafeteria?” Alvarez asked.
“This way, but wait…” Lala paused to look up and down, cocking her head to the side.
“Is something wrong?” Alvarez asked.
“No, it’s just…do you hear that? It’s very faint, but it sounds like furniture scraping across the floor,” Lala said.
Alvarez fell silent, tilting his head sideways as he listened. The rest of his men became quiet too, everybody trying to hear what Lala had, including Chas. At first, there was nothing, and she thought her grandmother was simply being paranoid, but suddenly, Chas caught a hint of the noise. She froze, her mind scrambling to place it until it dawned on her. “The stairs!”
Alvarez frowned. “Stairs?”
“My mom and the others barricaded the stairs with furniture. Won’t the infected try to break through?
” Chas said, pointing to the opening next to the lift bank that led to the stairwell.
Alvarez swore. “Damn it, you’re right, kid. Marks, Miller, Smith, check it out. Report asap. The rest of you, huddle up with the civilians in the middle.”
“Yes, Sir,” came the various replies as the squad scrambled to obey.
Chas and her group waited as the minutes ticked by, growing more nervous by the second. Several times, she caught herself looking at Justin, and a few times their eyes met only for both to quickly look away again. It was an uncomfortable situation at best, and Chas hoped it wouldn’t last too long. Even though Andrew’s death had been an accident, she still blamed him for it and would be happy if she never saw him again.
Finally, the three soldiers returned from their recon. “The infected are trying to break through, Sir, just as you suspected.”
“How long do we have?” Alvarez asked.
“There are hundreds of the things, Sir. We have a few minutes, at most.”
Alvarez paled. “We need more time. A few minutes is not enough.” He turned toward Chas’ grandmother. “Which way to the roof?”
“It’s past the cafeteria, up a flight of stairs and through a door opening onto the roof of the building,” Lala said.
“All right,” Alvarez said before looking at his squad. “I need four volunteers to hold the stairs for as long as possible. We need time to evacuate the civilians caught inside the building.”
A brief moment of silence reigned as the soldiers digested his words. They all knew what it meant. Death.
One by one, three men and a woman stepped forward with grim nods, holding their guns to their chests.
“I’ll do it, Sir.”
“Me too.”
“I’m in.”
“Might as well, Sir.”
Chas held her breath as she watched the four walk toward the stairs, her heart swelling with pride. They were the bravest people she’d ever seen, and she hoped one day she could be like them.
Alvarez watched them go with sadness in his gaze before shaking it off and assuming a brisk mien. “Move out. We don’t have much time. Mrs. Ensign, show the way.”
Chas’ grandmother stepped out at a light jog, leading the squad down the hallway and around a corner. They passed three more rooms before she stopped in front of a set of double swing doors marked as the cafeteria. They were made of steel with small windows set up high. Those windows were currently blocked by something. “Over here.”
Alvarez stepped forward and banged his fists on the metal. “Open up in there. It’s the National Guard. We’re evacuating survivors.”
For a moment nothing happened, and then the sound of heavy furniture being dragged aside sounded. The entrance swung open to reveal a doctor and two nurses, one of them being Chas’ mother.
Vivienne gasped when she spotted Lala. “Mom, you came.”
“Of course, I did, hun,” Lala said, stepping in for a quick hug.
Vivienne’s eyes fell on Chas. “You brought her too? It’s not safe. She should be far away from here by now.”
“She brought herself, hun. Chas is a lot tougher than she looks,” Lala replied, but Vivienne brushed past her with a fierce look.
“I can’t believe you disobeyed me,” Vivienne said, grabbing Chasity by the shoulders. “What were you thinking? Why didn’t you go to the evacuation center as I told you to?”
“I couldn’t. I had to come to get you.”
“And your friends? Did you risk their lives for me? For yourself? How could you, Chas?” Vivienne cried, her dark eyes blazing underneath her red hair. “Are you that selfish?”
Bitter tears burned Chas’ eyes at her mother’s accusations, but she was saved from answering when Alvarez interrupted.
“Look, ma’am, we don’t have time for this. The infected are breaking through your makeshift barricades at the stairs. We need to get all of you to the rooftop now,” he said with brisk tones. “Gather everyone. We’re leaving within one minute tops.”
Vivienne straightened up. “What about the sick and the old?” She pointed at several people sitting about in wheelchairs and one in a hospital bed complete with a drip. “We can’t move them.”
Alvarez pinned her with a cold look. “If you can’t move them within the next few seconds, they’re staying behind.”
“But—”
“My men are out there dying while trying to buy us more time,” Alvarez bellowed, losing his calm demeanor in an instant. “Move them now, or stay here with them and die.”
With that, he turned his back on her and flung about commands, gathering his team into formation once more while herding staff and patients into the middle. To Chas, it almost resembled a giant, moving turtle.
Vivienne stared after Alvarez for a second, her mouth hanging open until the other nurse tugged at her arms. “Do as he says, Vivienne. Or, we’ll all be dead, including your mother and daughter.”
“Fine,” Vivienne spat, “but if I lose a patient because of his pigheadedness…”
She left the rest of the sentence unspoken and hurried toward the man in the bed sporting a drip. With the other nurse’s help, she maneuvered him into a chair and tied the drip to the handle, looping the tubes around his neck. Other doctors and nurses were doing the same, getting everyone mobile and ready to leave.
Suddenly, gunshots sounded down the passage, their harsh barks causing everyone to jump and a few of the patients to scream. Chas could imagine the scene. The infected clawing at the barrier, pushing their way through while the soldiers tried to pick them off only to realize there were far too many to kill.
“We have to go now,” Alvarez screamed. “Move, move, move!”
In a trickle, the hospital staff filed out of the cafeteria supporting the sick and the elderly as they went. Flanking them were Alvarez and his men, egging them on each step of the way. Chas fell in behind her mother and the guy in the wheelchair, followed by Vanessa, Dean, and finally, Lala.
Once they were all outside, Lala pushed her way to the front and cried, “This way. Over here!”
The group began to move, slowly at first, then faster as the sounds of conflict from behind grew louder and more intense. The shrieks of infected could now be heard even above the nonstop gunfire, their enraged voices a symphony of horror. A grenade blast shook the passage, rumbling down the hall and pushing a cloud of dust ahead of it.
People screamed, and the crowd sped up as the urge to survive overcame anything else, including the most debilitating of injuries or illnesses. Even the guy in the wheelchair was using his arms to help Vivienne go faster, rolling the tires as fast as he could.
“We’re almost there,” Lala cried, pointing to a flight of stairs with an emergency exit sign above it.
She stood to the side, waving people up the steps one by one. It was slow going with the wheelchairs and those on crutches, and Chas thought it would take forever. A forever which they didn’t have.
Alvarez and his men took up a defensive position, the front rank on their knees and the rest standing behind them. The hallway was still obscured with dust from the blast, but the gunshots from earlier had stopped, petering out until a grim silence took its place.
The soldiers are gone, Chas realized. They died protecting us.
The thought made her knees go weak, but even worse was the knowledge of what was to come. Zombies.
She didn’t have to wait long.
As Chas squinted into the murk, the first howling figure came barreling through, brought down by a quick shot from Alvarez. More showed up to take its place, and within seconds, it was an all-out battle as the soldiers sought to give the civilians time to get to the rooftop. One of the infected wore a uniform, and Chas recognized her as the woman who’d volunteered to guard the stairs earlier.
Chas’ mouth dried up with fear as she watched, her feet inching backward. More and more infected showed up, each more terrifying than the last, their bloodied teeth bared in vicious grins. We’re not
going to make it.
“Chas, come on,” Vanessa cried, pulling Chas away from the scene. “We have to go.”
Chas looked around and was surprised to see that Lala was the only one still at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for Chas and the others.
“Come on, Chas. Run,” Lala said.
Chas dashed past her grandmother and up to the top, followed first by Vanessa, then Lala, and finally, Alvarez and his men.
The soldiers had to fight tooth and nail for every single step, booting the screaming infected away with their feet and clubbing them with their rifle stocks. At last, they reached the door at the top and slammed it shut, clicking the lock in place. Just like that, the zombies were gone, their horrid faces and bitter howling cut off by the thick metal door.
Alvarez slumped against the nearest wall, his expression one of intense relief. He shook his head and said to a smattering of dull cheers, “Smith, you can radio for that evac now.”
“Yes, Sir!”
Chapter 21
While Smith retired to a corner of the roof to call in the evac, Alvarez took charge of the rest. He moved all the civilians to the side of the roof furthest from the door and closest to the helipad. Next, he stationed his men in a half-moon formation around the exit with their guns primed and ready for action.
Chas watched him arrange all this with unspoken fear, her eyes flitting from his commanding form to the thin steel contraption that was the only thing preventing hundreds of crazed zombies from flooding the rooftop and eating them all.
The door.
Surely, it would hold. The infected couldn’t possibly break through. Could they?
Chas wasn’t so sure. Even though they could no longer see their howling faces or hear their shrieks, dull thuds rang out nonstop, evidence that the zombies had not given up yet, and were trying to break down the door.
Vanessa tugged at Chas’ arm. “Are you okay?”
Chas blinked, drawn from her morbid thoughts. “I don’t know, honestly. I feel numb, like everything has just become too much, you know?”
Vanessa nodded, sitting down beside Chas and drawing her knees to her chest. Her black hair was stringy, and she sported raccoon eyes, her eyeliner bleeding onto her cheeks. “I know exactly what you mean. I should be grieving for James, my foster father right now. He was good to me, and I loved him. Instead, I feel kind of cold inside.”
Gen Z Boxed Set Page 11