The Zombie Principle II

by David R Vosburgh

  “They didn’t find it,” he muttered to himself as he passed by them.

  They returned to the hallway and closed the lab door. The Doctor took a step toward the stairs leading up to the first floor then froze. He slowly turned around and stared down the hallway.

  “What is it, Doctor?” Major Bradley asked.

  Without saying a word, he starting walking back toward the room they had found him in. Major Bradley and Captain Bannon followed, thinking he had forgotten something in there. They were surprised when he passed that room and moved to the next, examination room 3.

  He peered through the door window. He then tried the handle but it was locked. Taking a step back, he turned to Major Bradley.

  “Would you be able to … um … open that door for me?” he asked.

  Major Bradley was about to remind the Doctor that time was still of the essence but, still holding his sidearm, instead trained the weapon on the door handle and fired. The door handle shattered.

  Stepping forward, Dr. Sanderson pushed the door open and slowly entered. Bradley and Bannon followed.

  Looking almost exactly as he last saw him was test subject Number 5. Almost exactly. He appeared to be asleep now whereas last time he was rather agitated and looking to take a bite out of the Doctor. Absentmindedly, Dr. Sanderson rubbed the bandage on his right arm.

  Major Bradley wasn’t sure but the infected strapped to the hospital bed looked just like the one he saw standing on top of Blanchfield Army Hospital. The one Dr. Sanderson and Gunner had been looking for. Then it hit him. Of course, it was. It was his former patient, the one the Doctor was pinning his hopes on.

  Dr. Sanderson moved closer so that he was only a few feet from the side of the bed. He visually checked the straps. They looked to be securely fastened. Number 5, the former Richard Kimbro, lie there, looking peaceful. Dr. Sanderson, however, knew better. He had done all he could for this man and subsequently learned all he could from him as well. It was time to end it.

  “May I have your gun Major?” he asked without even turning toward the Major, he simply stuck his hand out.

  Major Bradley wasn’t in the habit of handing over his weapon to anyone who happened to ask for it. But he knew what the Doctor was thinking. More importantly, he understood why he needed to be the one to do it. He handed him the gun, butt first.

  “Is it ready to be fired?” he asked never having fired a gun before.

  “Just aim and pull the trigger,” Major Bradly instructed, removing the safety.

  Dr. Sanderson took another step closer and was no further than an arm’s length from his former patient. He methodically raised the gun as sounds began emanating from the bed in front of him. Number 5 began to stir. His head and arms started to twitch. He sensed humans nearby and was waking from his slumber. Dr. Sanderson’s hand started to shake.

  He swallowed hard as he held the gun next to Number 5’s temple. He applied pressure to the trigger. Having never fired a gun before, he had no idea how much was needed to discharge the weapon. He continued to slowly pull the trigger when suddenly Number 5’s eyes sprang open and he turned his head and now faced the Doctor. The shock of the infected’s sudden movement caused the Doctor to squeeze hard and the weapon fired, hitting Number 5 just above the bridge of the nose. A black substance oozed onto the white hospital sheets as Number 5 stopped moving. Dr. Sanderson exhaled as the weapon, now heavy in his hand, fell to the floor.

  Major Bradley was about to bend down and retrieve his gun when a voice came through his walkie.

  “Major, we need you upstairs ASAP, over,” Captain Morris said.

  After retrieving his weapon from the floor and escorting the clearly shaken doctor from examination room 3, he headed back down the hall and toward the door leading to the stairs. He turned the corner and looked up. Captain Morris wasn’t where he left him. Concern began to creep into Major Bradley’s gut. He raised his gun and slowly made his way up the stairs, Bannon and Dr. Sanderson in the middle and Private Stevens guarding their rear.

  Upon reaching the top he nearly ran into Captain Morris who was moving back toward the stairs. He quickly surveyed the situation; Dr. Ehrlich was still sitting on the couch with a glum expression on his face, Sergeant Sanchez hovering over him. Everything seemed to be the same as before. Except for the middle-aged woman standing a few paces behind Captain Morris. Next to her was a younger woman, probably twenty years of age. He wondered where they had come from and who they were. His question was answered as soon as Dr. Sanderson emerged from the basement.

  “Dad!” the young woman screamed as she took off in his direction.

  She jumped into his arms as the older woman moved toward the father-daughter reunion.

  “Zoe, sweetheart, you guys are still here!” Dr. Sanderson exclaimed.

  “We didn’t know what happened to you, that asshole Worthington wouldn’t tell us anything. He just kept us locked upstairs at night,” Zoe answered as she hugged him again.

  Holly Sanderson joined the other two in a group hug.

  Captain Bannon leaned over and spoke softly in Major Bradley’s ears.

  “Um…I forgot about them two,” he admitted.

  “Anyone else you might have forgotten Captain?” Major Bradley responded, sounding a little annoyed.

  Captain Morris watched the whole scene unfold, answering his many questions. They had appeared peeking around the end of the upstairs hallway. He noticed them and instinctively raised his weapon, instructing them to come downstairs. The reluctantly complied. Morris asked the usual questions; who are you? Are you carrying any weapons? They all went unanswered. The women were clearly not a threat but they were a variable that needed to be considered. That’s when he notified the Major.

  Major Bradley let the Sandersons have their moment as he moved to the couch. He looked down at Ehrlich. Using the barrel of his gun he placed it not so gently under Ehrlich’s chin, lifting it up so he was now looking at him.

  “Where is Worthington?” he asked.

  Nothing.

  “Gunner?”

  Nothing again.

  He pushed Ehrlich’s head to the side using the gun barrel in disgust.

  “What are we gonna do with him, sir?” Sanchez asked.

  Major Bradley looked around the room to see everyone looking at him, including the Sandersons.

  “Get him on his feet Sergeant,” he ordered. “Anyone need anything from the house before we leave?” he asked. He thought about grabbing some stuff like food or medical supplies from the basement but he considered the two-mile walk back to the plane and despite the declining temperatures, it was still probably damn hot out there. Most importantly, their luck had held so far and he didn’t feel like pushing it.

  The two women looked at each other.

  “I have a bag with some clothes in it,” Holly Sanderson said.

  “I’ll get it,” Zoe said as she took off for the stairs.

  “Alright, Sanchez get this piece of shit outside. Captain Morris, wait for the Sandersons and meet us outside.”

  Major Bradley motioned for Bannon and Stevens to head outside with him. They exited out the front door into an oppressive early evening heat. It was still probably 90 degrees.

  He removed his cap and wiped his brow. Looking west he saw the sun approaching the horizon. The thought of another day ending without a cure crept into his mind. Dr Sanderson didn’t immediately answer his question about a cure but he hoped finding him and bringing him somewhere safe to continue his research might bring them one day closer to the end of this nightmare.

  Squinting against the glare, he thought he noticed dirt being kicked up in the distance. It might just be a dust storm but with the heat warping his vision, he couldn’t be sure of exactly what he was seeing. He replaced his cap and retrieved his sunglasses. Looking through the filtered lenses revealed a shiny black object emerging from a cloud of dust and debris. It was heading toward the house, traveling down the same dirt road they were standing next to.
It was approaching very quickly.

  Major Bradley turned to head back into the house, but Captain Morris was exiting the building with the Sandersons in tow.

  “Still hot out here … better than being locked up in the …” Dr. Sanderson’s voice trailed off as he saw everyone staring down the road. A sickening feeling hit him in the gut.

  “Worthington,” Bannon said.

  The vehicle was now in plain sight and anyone inside it most certainly had seen them coming out of the house.

  “Get the doctor and his family around to the side of the house,” Major Bradley ordered Captain Morris. Bannon joined them. The Major had a few seconds to make a vital decision. He had to assume that Worthington wouldn’t agree to let Dr. Sanderson go or that dirtbag Ehrlich either. He also had to assume that he had Gunner with him and maybe even the other guy Bannon mentioned. With that in mind, he could go back inside and try to defend the house but he would feel trapped. Who knows what type of weapons they might have? With the rest of their guns in a canvass bag a few hundred yards from here, they might not have enough ammo for a prolonged shootout. They obviously couldn’t run, Worthington had the car.

  No, they had to get the jump on them.

  “Sanchez, get Ehrlich over here!” he yelled.

  Sergeant Sanchez grabbed Dr. Ehrlich by the wrists and moved him over to where the Major was standing. There was precious little cover near the house. They were very much in the open and vulnerable. He was about to order his men down to the ground, making themselves as small as possible when the car, now easily recognizable as a black Escalade, veered sharply off the road and executed a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree spin. The maneuver, expertly done by whoever was driving, kicked up a blinding amount of dirt and dust just as a gust of desert wind blew it directly at the Major.

  He was temporarily blinded as he heard the Cadillac come to a stop and the doors open. He was out of time and out of options.

  “Fire at will!” he screamed.

  Gunfire erupted as Sanchez and Stevens, without being ordered to do so, had already taken positions on the ground. They fired in the direction they thought the car had ended up. Their suspicions were confirmed when the sounds of broken glass and punctured metal mixed with the gunfire.

  Return fire began immediately but Worthington and his men were just as blind as the Major and his group. Their initial rounds missed their mark. It was, however, only a few seconds before the wind blew the remaining dirt away from the house and revealed the situation to all.

  The Escalade had come to a stop about twenty-five yards from Major Bradley on the other side of the sidewalk leading to the house. Both front doors were open with bullet holes visible in each, shattered glass littered the dirt under the driver’s side. The rear driver’s side door was also open. The car was idling in park.

  Gunner Johansen was crouched behind the driver’s side door, covering as much of his enormous frame as possible, a Walther P99 in his left hand. Benton Worthington had been in the front passenger’s seat and being unarmed, ran immediately to the rear of the vehicle. Another man the Major had remembered seeing at Fort Campbell emerged from the rear driver’s side door and was running toward the side of the house, his semi-automatic rifle at his side.

  The third man’s shots were wild as he attempted to fire while running full speed. Gunner’s first two rounds, however, found their mark in the chest of Dr. Werner Ehrlich. Major Bradley was still standing in the open as his men hit the deck and Captain Morris ducked around the side of the house. He pulled the doctor in front of him, using him as a shield, hoping that Worthington would believe Ehrlich to be too valuable to kill. That was the best-case scenario. Worst case, Ehrlich takes a bullet meant for him.

  Stevens and Sanchez began targeting Gunner, as the Major struggled to keep the mortally wounded doctor on his feet. They aimed under the car door attempting to take the Swede out at the knees. Captain Morris peered from around the corner of the house and was now adding his own fire to the fray.

  Gunner, realizing he was outmanned, retreated straight back using the Escalade as cover until the third man had reemerged from the side of the house to add covering fire. Both sides exchanged rounds for the next few seconds before Gunner and his associate disappeared from sight, possibly heading to the rear of the house.

  In a heartbeat, an idea formed in Major Bradley’s head.

  “Captain Morris, keep an eye out behind you, Gunner may attempt to flank us!” he yelled. “Sanchez, get to that Escalade and drive it over here, Stevens cover him.”

  Sanchez quickly rose to his feet followed by Private Stevens. He moved toward the driver’s side of the SUV as Stevens fired at the corner of the house where Gunner was last seen sending shards of plaster flying. Edging around the door, Stevens peeked in the backseat ensuring there was no one else in the car. Confident the vehicle was empty he climbed in and put the gearshift in drive. Stevens waited until the Escalade moved forward, then he swung around to the rear of the vehicle pulling the tailgate down and hopping onto it, all the while keeping a sharp eye on the corner of the house.

  Sanchez pulled up next to Major Bradly who dropped the lifeless body of Dr. Werner Ehrlich. It was unfortunate he decided to align himself with Worthington but it was his choice and he paid for it with his life.

  The Major jumped into the front passenger’s seat, slamming the door shut. Sanchez moved the car forward and came alongside the other corner of the house where Captain Morris and Bannon were on either side of the Sandersons.

  “Captain, now!” Major Bradley ordered yelling through the broken window. Bannon and the Sandersons piled into the back seat while Captain Morris ran around to the rear of the car and positioned himself next to Private Stevens. He reached around and delivered two sharp knocks on the rear quarter panel. Sanchez took his queue and punched down on the accelerator, spinning the tires and kicking up lots of dirt.

  Sanchez maneuvered the Escalade back onto the road as he put some distance between them and the house. Private Stevens and Captain Morris saw Gunner and Worthington emerge from the rear of the house. Gunner raised his weapon and fired in their direction. His rounds went wide as Stevens returned fire scattering Gunner and Worthington, buying Sanchez more time.

  As they passed the shrub where they had stashed their weapons bag, Major Bradley pointed to it as Sanchez stopped the car.

  “Captain,” he turned around and yelled. “Could you retrieve our weapons?”

  Captain Morris jumped out of the back, grabbed the canvass bag, and threw it in the back. Returning to his seat, he repeated his signal to Sanchez that he was ready. Sanchez pulled back onto the road and headed to the plane.

  Fifteen minutes later they were airborne. Major Bradley made sure everyone moved quickly as he had no idea if Worthington would follow them. Perhaps on foot or maybe he had another vehicle nearby they didn’t know about. Either way he wasn’t taking any chances.

  As soon as they arrived at the plane he ordered Bannon to get it ready for takeoff in five minutes even if that meant shortening his checklist. Captain Morris ushered Dr. Sanderson and family onto the plane while Sergeant Sanchez and Private Stevens checked the area for any infected. The Major, meanwhile, decided to shoot out the tires of the Escalade. If Worthington followed them to the airstrip and wished to retrieve his SUV, he wasn’t going to make it easy on him. After climbing back on board, he stashed the weapons bag in the galley.

  They were now all seated in the cabin, decompressing from the rather harrowing escape they just completed. The women were sitting in the front two chairs with Dr. Sanderson behind them. Stevens occupied the other seat. Captain Morris and the Major sat on the sofa while Sanchez sat on the large seat facing inward. No one had said a word since take off.

  Captain Bannon finally turned the seatbelt sign off signaling the freedom to move about the cabin. Dr. Sanderson was the first to stand up. He glanced down at his wife and daughter and smiled softly. He gently stroked his daughter’s cheek. Leaning down h
e kissed the top of her head before turning and heading over to Major Bradley.

  “I … no, we want to thank you for coming for us, Major,” he said.

  “The man you should be thanking is Captain Bannon, he took quite a risk contacting us and coming back here,” the Major replied thinking that they had now stolen Worthington’s plane as well as his Escalade.

  “And I will,” the Doctor said as he took a seat at the conference table across from the Major.

  “What’s in the bag?” Major Bradley asked.

  Dr. Sanderson looked back toward his seat where the bag he removed from the lab sat on the floor.

  “A beginning,” he answered.

  Major Bradley waited for the Doctor to continue. Captain Morris unfastened his seatbelt and moved next to the Doctor at the conference table.

  “It’s more of a possible antidote rather than a cure,” he continued.

  The ever-observant Morris pointed to the bandage on his arm.

  “I was forced to test the antidote myself.”

  “By Worthington?” Captain Morris asked.

  “He threatened my family … I swallowed the pill … and allowed Number 5 to infect me.”

  Major Bradley had two immediate thoughts. First, this was the second person in twenty-four hours he had met who apparently had been bitten by an infected person and survived. Second, if this pill worked, why wasn’t the Doctor more excited about it?

  Dr. Sanderson seemed to be reading the Major’s thoughts.

  “I was unconscious for two days … that’s not a real-world scenario that works. It needs more testing.”

  “How long ago was that?” asked Morris.

  “A couple of weeks ago, maybe longer …”

  Major Bradley had a million more questions. But he felt the Doctor was holding something back. Something important. The questions could wait until they were back at the base. He felt he had enough to satisfy Colonel Jepson.

  “I have someone back at the base that I think you should meet,” he teased the Doctor.