The Zombie Principle

by David R Vosburgh

  The room was now in almost complete darkness. Moonlight provided the only illumination. Gunner was concerned about the hallways that did not have windows. It would be too dark to see where they were going to say nothing of additional zombies. The trip up was relatively free of trouble but he could not be certain about the trip down.

  Gunner realized at that moment that he really did not have an exit strategy. When Mr. Worthington handed him this assignment he barely had enough time to gather weapons and the restraining gear. After getting his team together he met him at the plane and then they were in the air.

  He handed Mikael the pole as he took point leaving the HVAC room. He grabbed the black bag and slung it over his shoulder. Just as he was about to open the door he noticed something in the corner of the room that had been behind the door when they originally entered. He moved closer and discovered a flashlight standing lens down on top of a small step stool.

  He reached down and grabbed it. Flipping the switch and hoping for the best he was pleased to see the room light up. He instructed Ludvig to follow behind Mikael and the zombie as he reached again for the door handle.

  Major Bradley clicked off his comm link and turned to his men.

  “The convoy is under attack. Captain Morris said they are currently holding their own and reported no casualties,” he said.

  “As soon as Gunner comes out of the hospital with your patient, we’re needed back with my unit ASAP,” Major Bradley said to Dr. Sanderson.

  “Understood,” the Doctor replied; adding, “I appreciate your help.”

  The Major turned his attention back to the horde of zombies that had now reached the back side of the hospital. They had originally made their way to the trees that he and his men previously occupied. Finding nothing of interest there, they now were heading toward the emergency room entrance.

  Major Bradley estimated the enemy number to be at about seventy-five. A quick mental inventory put their ammunition count at several hundred rounds and they still had to get back to the convoy. Gunner had better show himself soon or things were going to get interesting.

  Gunner and what was now left of his team had reached the door to the stairs with no problems. The third floor still seemed to be empty. He reached for the handle and pulled it open directing Mikael to go through first who shoved the prisoner out in front just in case.

  As before, the stairwell was clear except for the blood stained gurney containing the dead male with the rather large hole in its head courtesy of Gunner. He shone the flashlight down the stairs. There was nothing to see.

  The stairwell echoed with their footsteps as they passed the second floor and ended up on the first floor landing again. Gunner looked through the rectangular window out into the hallway. Shining the flashlight did not help much as he could see very little.

  He opened the door, held it with his foot as he reached for his sidearm. Mikael again was first with Number 5 out in front. With everyone through the door, they turned left and headed down the dark hallway toward the labs.

  Gunner stopped suddenly as he saw a glare bounce back at him like a deer’s eyes in headlights. He saw another pair of eyes and then another. Moving the flashlight back and forth he saw four pair of eyes staring back at him. They were coming out of the labs. He became more aware of the shuffling feet and low moans of the infected. Number 5 became more agitated.

  It actually sounded like more than four but that was all he could see at the moment. He leveled his pistol at the nearest zombie and pulled the trigger. The muzzle flash further illuminated the area for a split second. Long enough for Gunner to see that his suspicions were correct; there was more than four infected here. He could not be sure how many but he knew they had to get out of there immediately.

  Taking the lead, he moved quickly past the labs with Mikael and Number 5 in the middle and Ludvig covering the rear. Ludvig began to open fire as well and took down several zombies of his own. Gunner fired once more clearing a path to the small double doors that led to triage.

  He pushed through the doors with the flashlight in his left hand, gun in his right. Once in triage, the flashlight revealed a man in hospital scrubs staring back at him. Only he was no longer a man and was no longer lying on the floor where Gunner had left him twenty minutes ago.

  He cursed himself for being sloppy. He had been so distracted earlier by the female zombie that lunged at him that he ignored the threat lying on the floor in front of him. He was not about to make the same mistake twice. Leveling the gun at the zombie’s head he put a bullet in its left eye. He stepped over the body as he headed for the larger double doors.

  The zombies in the lab were following them into triage. Gunner looked briefly behind him to ensure Mikael and Ludvig were with him. They were.

  The large double doors were still open from when they had come through earlier. He moved into the reception area where it was not quite as dark. He could see well enough without the aid of the flashlight. Mikael followed with Number 5.

  “Stänga dessa dörrar!” Gunner screamed at Ludvig.

  Ludvig slung his semi-automatic over his shoulder as he reached out and began pulling the doors closed. The first of the infected had already pushed their way through the small double doors and were in the connecting hallway.

  He struggled at first but it soon became easier as he pulled them shut. He managed to get the doors closed just as the zombies were about an arm’s length from Ludvig. He felt them barrel into the door pushing hard. Fortunately, the zombies were not intelligent enough to try and pull the doors open.

  Gunner stood in the middle of the reception area and turned around.

  “Hålla dem utanför här!” he said to Ludvig.

  Ludvig turned and braced himself against the door removing his weapon and holding it in front of him. He was pushing back with his lower body as his feet tried to gain traction. He could feel their numbers growing on the other side.

  Gunner had to think and think fast. He needed to get his team out of there and Number 5 to the plane. An idea formed rapidly in his head. He charged forward heading to the sliding glass doors. He put his fingers between them and with a heave tried to pull them apart. He managed to separate them an inch and then two. Once he had them apart about two and a half feet he wedged his massive frame between the doors. With his back against one door and his feet against the other, he pushed. A few seconds later he had the doors open wide enough for his purposes and ran out into the night.

  Gunner turned right and ran to the ambulance. He tried opening the driver’s side door and to his surprise it opened. He felt for the ignition and found it empty. He flipped the visor down only to have several folded pieces of paper fall onto the driver’s seat. Using the flashlight he searched the floor and the console but found no keys.

  He ran around to the back of the ambulance but before he got there he noticed the dark shadows crossing the field in front of him heading in his direction. Infected; lots of them. He looked in the direction where he had left the Doctor and did not see him or the Major. It was dark so they may have been hiding behind the trees. He would deal with that later.

  He opened the back of the ambulance and saw what it was he needed; the collapsible gurney. He grabbed it and lowered it onto the pavement extending the legs. He got behind one end and started pushing it into the reception area. It was then he noticed the Doctor along with the Major and his men. They were crouched behind some trees on the other side of the entrance. The Major and his men had their weapons trained on the approaching zombies. He nodded at the Doctor who responded the same.

  Gunner pushed the gurney inside. He saw that Ludvig had managed to keep the zombies from coming through so far. Mikael had Number 5 under control. He stopped just in front of Mikael and lifted the zombie’s feet up as Mikael grabbed it by the shoulders. Lifting up, they placed him on the gurney.

  “Spänn fast honom i och ta sedan bort selen,” Gunner said.

  Before waiting for a response he went around the recepti
on counter and began looking for a small box likely attached to the wall. He started searching at eye level and was unable to find what he was looking for. Lowering his sight line, he spotted a small square box tucked in the corner under the reception counter.

  He reached for it and tried to open pull it open. It was locked by a small luggage style lock. He pulled his gun and fired shattering the lock and sending shards of plaster flying. He opened the box and saw a dozen or more keys. None of them were labeled. There was, however, a legend on the door. He scanned down the list until he reached key number seven which read Ambulance. He grabbed it but also looked to make sure there was not another ambulance key. There was another one labeled number eleven but it was missing. It must have been out on a job when all this shit went down.

  Moving back around to lobby, he saw that Mikael had finished strapping Number 5 onto the gurney and was removing the noose. Gunner ran back outside. Hopping into the ambulance’s driver’s seat and shutting the door, he put the key into the ignition and turned. He could hotwire the ambulance if necessary but was fighting the clock. The engine roared to life.

  Gunner put it in reverse and backed up to the sliding glass doors leaving enough room to close the doors in the back of the ambulance. He shifted into park and flew out of the driver’s seat. As he ran in the building, he yelled over to the Doctor.

  “Doctor, please get in the back with your patient!”

  Dr. Sanderson stood up but was confused as he had not yet seen his patient being loaded into the ambulance but did as he was told again thanking the Major and his men and reminding him that he still might need his help. He moved from behind the trees and made his way to the rear of the vehicle.

  Gunner grabbed the front of the gurney and lifted it up at the same time collapsing the wheels. Mikael lifted up from behind as they shoved the gurney into the back of the ambulance. Dr. Sanderson squeezed between the open ambulance door and the sliding glass door.

  “We need to hurry, there’s infected on the way,” Dr. Sanderson stated.

  Ignoring him, Gunner turned to Mikael and told him to get in the passenger’s side. The Doctor climbed into the patient compartment as Gunner slammed the doors behind him. He made sure the latch was secure as he turned around just in time to see the large double doors Ludvig was pressed up against give way. The doors fell on top of him as dozens or more zombies poured into the reception area.

  There was nothing Gunner could do. Ludvig was as good as dead. The infected headed straight for the ambulance.

  Gunner turned and ran for the driver’s side and jumped in, closing the door tightly. He pulled the gearshift down into drive and hit the accelerator. He peeled out traveling along the service road towards Indiana Avenue. He soon realized the ambulance’s headlights were not on. Finding the knob, he turned them on revealing more clearly the mass of zombies converging on them.

  Most were on either side of the road but a few had ventured onto the pavement. Gunner tried to avoid them but as he was in no mood, he clipped a couple, but was soon turning right onto Indiana Avenue heading back to the plane.

  Major Bradley thought about taking out a few of the zombies in the ambulance’s path until he saw the pack of infected emerging from the emergency room entrance. No sense drawing unwanted attention. He retreated back to the cover of the trees.

  He turned to look behind them and saw they were all clear. They had to get back to the convoy as soon as possible.

  “We are heading back to the convoy double time. Don’t stop for anything. Avoid them if possible; blast your way through if necessary,” he said to his men.

  Major Bradley changed the channel on his comm link.

  “Captain Morris, we’re en-route to your position.”

  Dr. Sanderson sat on one on the cushioned benches that ran along either side of the cab. He looked down at his patient. Test subject Number 5. The last time he was this close to him he looked much different. The former Richard Kimbro’s family had entrusted Dr. Sanderson to help him.

  As he sat there now, contemplating what could have been, he noticed the calm that that had taken over his former patient. He just lay there in a peaceful state. If one did not know better one would assume he was sleeping. That is until he abruptly opened his eyes and stared menacingly at the Doctor.

  Chapter 35

  Next

  Major Bradley led his men down a stone pathway that ended at the southeast side of the building. They were now on the other side of the same group of trees they had cleared of infected nearly a half an hour ago. Just ahead was the main parking lot on the east side of the building.

  There was a few infected roaming the mostly empty lot but they would be able to avoid them easily enough. They traversed the parking lot and crossed the eastern spike of Joel Drive. Running across a small grass partition they ended up on Bastogne Ave.

  It was now dark and their only light source was the moon and the few stars poking through the increasing clouds. The Major was not exactly sure the fastest way back but he knew they were close. The sound of gunfire was getting louder. They had definitely taken a shorter path back.

  He decided to take a left and then a right cutting through a large asphalt lot that until recently held older Blackhawk helicopters used for training. The pads were currently empty. Moving quickly, they came to South Carolina Avenue. Looking to his left the Major could make out the rear of the army training center. His convoy was on the other side.

  “We’re going to head north along this road,” the Major said to his men.

  “Try not to cross over to the other side. When we get past the training center, we don’t want to be in way of possible friendly fire,” he added.

  His men nodded and they took off down the avenue. The gunfire had become louder but also less frequent. That meant that Captain Morris had either eliminated the threat or they were running out of ammo. It was, however, the explosion they heard coming from that direction that quickened their pace even more.

  Captain Morris had emptied the big gun and concluded his efforts had mixed results. The fifty-caliber had ripped through most of the remaining zombies but many were still crawling around because he did not hit them in the head. The infected that remained standing were nearly upon the convoy.

  His men had retreated to the trucks as ordered and were now standing on top of the vehicles or the running boards to gain a tactical advantage. Some had run out of ammo; those that still were packing used what they had left sparingly.

  He climbed down out of the gunner’s cupola and moved to the backside of the convoy just in time to see Corporal Levine and Stephen run up alongside the Humvee. They both stopped in front the Captain. The first thing Morris noticed was that Stephen was drenched in sweat, his shirt and jeans were covered in what he assumed was zombie blood. The axe, hanging limply by his side, was dripping with blood and zombie parts.

  “The lodge is clear for the moment Captain,” Corporal Levine said.

  “Well done Corporal … and you as well young man,” Morris replied.

  “Get yourselves on top of that Humvee and if you have any ammo left, take out the rest of these bastards. Major Bradley is en-route.”

  Their attention was suddenly shifted to the eastern end of Screaming Eagle Boulevard as a large explosion lit up the night sky. Stephen noticed two people running as fast as they could heading west up the road toward the convoy. He immediately recognized his good friend Nick but had trouble making out the other person.

  Captain Morris had no such problem.

  “Looks like we’ve located Mr. Boone,” Morris said adding, “why is it every time I see this man something blows up?”

  Stephen thought about heading to the cargo truck and see about Dave but decided to head toward Nick and Chester while Corporal Levine followed the Captain’s orders and began climbing onto the Humvee. As Stephen closed the distance he wondered where Lucy was.

  Captain Morris ran along the backside of the convoy checking the deployment of the men and assess
ing the ammo situation. It seemed that about half were out. He could hear the other half taking pot shots at the remaining zombies.

  Specialist Sinclair had jumped onto the wheel well of the fuel truck and was busy plunging his combat knife into the skull of a zombie. It appeared they had reached the convoy. There was only a dozen or so still standing. The Captain felt pretty good about getting out of this mess with no casualties.

  As he turned and headed back the other way his head was down and he noticed the dead bodies strewn about behind the cargo truck. He instinctively pulled his weapon and aimed it at the pile of flesh on the ground. There was no movement from the zombies. He relaxed and took a step forward.

  The one on top, lying on its side, looked familiar. It was dark out and difficult to see but he moved a little closer to get a better look. It was one of those kids.

  “Dave, I think. Where the hell did these infected come from?”

  Lucy, Kim, Danielle, and Jason were hunched down behind the information counter, not far from where Nick shot the zombie and then dragged it to the men’s room. They could hear the gunfire outside but it was unsettlingly quiet in the visitor’s center.

  Lucy poked her head up every few minutes to look at the door to see if anyone, or anything, was there; nothing yet. Jason stood ready with his club, just in case.

  Lucy looked over at Kim and thought she noticed a single tear roll down her cheek. It was dark and difficult to see but she was sure of what she saw. Kim glanced over and caught Lucy looking at her.

  “You alright?” Lucy asked.

  Kim raised her right hand and wiped away the tear. She was hoping her kids did not notice her crying.

  “Yea, I’m fine,” she said. “I was just thinking that today is … or would have been … Marcus and I’s anniversary. At least I’m pretty sure it’s today. With all that’s happened I’ve kind of lost track.”

  “How many years?” Lucy asked.