Outbreak

by Paul Carberry

  ***

  Jason waited in his personal hell for midnight. He wished he had worn a watch, or had some way to tell the time. The waiting was figuratively killing him. His stomach was twisting and turning, making him nauseous as he thought about what waited for him in those other cells.

  Suddenly, the light in the hallway turned off, and the emergency lights began flashing. Red lights moving in a circular motion created a terrifying atmosphere in the hallway. A loud buzzing alarm rang off the empty walls. Jason gripped the baton and tried to psyche himself up for what was about to happen next. The door to Jason’s cell made a loud clicking noise as the lock was disengaged and the door slowly creaked open. Both freedom and almost certain death awaited Jason on the other side. He was terrified for his life, but his desire for revenge kept him focused. His senses were overwhelmed by the disgusting odour that filled the hallway within a matter of seconds. The rotting flesh of zombies was a scent Jason never thought would be filling his nostrils, even though he had thought about it every time he watched a movie with his friend Eric. Now he was experiencing it in real life. Jason stood up and got ready to fight for his life.

  Chapter 19

  Adrenaline

  The red flashing light in the hallway glowed eerily against the white linoleum. The muffled, anguished moans coming from the cells echoed off the walls, sending shivers down Jason’s spine. This was it, he would be in for the fight of his life. He had no idea what to expect on the other side of that door. The shuffling of feet scuffing across the floor started to grow louder as they shambled out of their cells. They must have smelt Jason, they seemed to be drawn towards him.

  For hours while he waited, Jason developed a plan. He would try and kill as many of those things as he could as quickly as possible, so they wouldn’t have a chance to outnumber him. If he faced them one on one, he should have been able to survive … he believed. He would choose one side, and work his way to the end of the hallway before turning and working his way back the other way.

  The door opened to the left, so he decided he would go down the right side of the hallway first, using the door as shield.

  Jason could feel a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins as he kicked the door, and it swung all the way open, making a loud crashing noise as it brought up solid against the cement wall. The noise must have gotten the zombies’ attention, the sounds of shuffling feet quickened. Their moans were nerve racking, unlike anything Jason had ever heard. Jason quickly examined the left side of the hallway. None of the zombies had made their way out yet.

  Jason ran down the hall to the next cell and witnessed the abomination for the first time. A woman, who looked like she had passed away from old age was on the floor. Her frail frame was covered by light, grey skin that almost seemed to be ready to fall off the bones, it was all wrinkled and bunched up. Its long grey hair was thinning and matted her face, it appeared that old age had left her bones so brittle they had broken when she tried to walk. She was dragging herself towards Jason. Jason decided to leave this one for now, and ran past the open door towards the next cell that was a short distance down the hall.

  What Jason saw this time was heartbreaking. A young boy not much older than sixteen, was poking his head out of his cell. The boy’s head was shaved clean, his bloodshot eyes darted towards Jason, his jaw began to snap repeatedly at the fresh flesh. It reminded Jason of a shark, circling its prey. The only thing that kept Jason going was his desire for revenge and his will to live.

  As frightened as Jason was, something else guided his arm as he raised it above his head, and brought it down with every bit of force he could muster. The heavy black baton found its way deep into the skull of the young boy, the left eye burst right out of its socket as the baton sank into the softened skull. The boy’s body seemed to stand still for a moment before it crumpled collapsed into a heap on the cement.

  What Jason should have felt was remorse, but all he felt was something entirely different. In some sick way, it felt good. Somehow, it seemed unreal to him. All he felt inside was a burning fire, only saving his wife’s life would extinguish those flames. That feeling when the baton crushed that boy’s skull was revolting, but Jason knew he would have to get used to it if he was going to survive long enough to find her.

  Jason saw the hands poking out of the doors of the final two cells on the right hand side. He quickly glanced behind him and saw one of the zombies in the remaining two cells had fully emerged, the old lady still had not reached the door.

  As Jason reached the next cell he turned to face the zombie. This time the zombie was a full grown man, with its arms outstretched, grasping at Jason. Bloodshot eyes glared at him as it tried to clutch onto Jason’s shirt. With his adrenaline at its peak, Jason raised his leg, and with all of his strength he kicked the zombie in the breadbasket. The creature was sent tumbling backwards, and it tripped on the bed sending the creature toppling over. The zombie became lodged between the frame and cement wall, unable to find a way to its feet.

  Jason headed down the hallway to the last cell to meet his adversary in the door frame. The zombie had crept its way out of the cell and was already grasping its hands in Jason’s direction. This apparition must have died in some horrible accident. Its left hand was completely missing, the bone was protruding out of the rotten flesh. The flesh around the wound had turned almost completely black, his shirt covered in yellow, red and brown stains. An open wound on his face was still oozing thickened, dark red blood and white puss.

  The baton flailed wildly, striking the zombie square on the jaw, shattering the lower portion, jarring it unhinged, still the freak was attempting to chomp into Jason’s flesh. The zombie’s right hand grasped onto Jason’s shoulder, and as if it didn’t realize that its left arm was missing it tried to latch onto his other shoulder. Jason threw his weight into the zombie and toppled it over into a heap onto the floor. Jason pressed his boot against the zombie, pinning it to the floor. As Jason looked down at the zombie, it was trying to crane its neck towards Jason’s ankles. Jason raised the baton above his head and drove it into the skull of the zombie with tremendous force.

  The baton brought up solid against the floor, sending a jolt up Jason’s arm.

  The man must have turned a long time ago, his skull had grown soft, it seemed to offer no resistance against the blow. Blood and brain fragments exploded outward and splattered over everything within its spray radius. Jason looked at his pants, now dripping with blood and brains.

  It should have bothered him.

  Jason turned to look down the hallway. The two remaining zombies were shuffling towards him, sluggishly closing the gap during the struggle.

  Fuck.

  Jason wished he had a moment to catch his breath, his lungs burned as he laboured to fill them with oxygen.

  Jason charged down the hallway towards the two monsters, coming up with a plan as he lumbered down the corridor. As he got closer he noticed his one chance to do this, the lead zombie had scuffled just behind the cell door, giving Jason the opportunity to crush it between the wall. Jason closed the gap, he was only one cell away when his whole plan fell apart in an instant.

  A set of arms reached out from the cell as he passed and tripped him unexpectedly. He fell hard, his chin smacked against the hard cement floor. The sudden jolt sent the baton flying out of his hands, it scattered across the floor before coming to a stop behind the first zombie.

  As Jason rolled onto his back, he stared in disbelief at the old lady who had tripped him up. Kicking wildly at her outreached arms, Jason tried to break her grasp. Her frail bones splintered as his feet slammed into her arms. He moved in closer for the killing blow, crushing her skull against the door frame. The skull didn’t even feel like bone, more like putting his foot through a fallen tree branch, the bone just snapped with the force.

  The brain slipped out of the back of her skull, and made a sickening sound as it plopped onto the floor. Jason turned just in time to see the zombie make a lunge f
or him, he rolled to the right and the zombie crashed hard onto the floor. The corpse was relentless, and began to reach for Jason’s legs instantly, slamming face first into the floor did nothing to slow the creature one bit. It just kept clawing its cold dead hands into the cement, dragging its body towards Jason.

  The undead freak’s hand had just missed grabbing a hold of Jason’s leg before he managed to scramble to his feet. The other shuffling corpse had nearly closed the gap, and the baton was too far out of reach now. Jason’s only option was to run back down the hallway as far as he could. Gasping for air, Jason ran into the last cell at the end of the hall and slammed the door shut. He scanned the room for something to hold the door closed, but the room was bare. Jason put his back against the door and tried to catch his breath.

  Jason’s mind raced trying to think of a way out of this. He turned and came face to face with the monster, those evil, bloodshot eyes staring at him through the grey glaze that covered its eyes. This zombie was much more able-bodied than the others he had managed to kill. Quickly the other deceased victims made its way to the cell, they started relentlessly pounding against the door in a deadly, synchronized harmony. They were like rabid wolves ready to attack the wounded prey, Jason did not know how much longer he could keep them out of the room. Jason’s energy was draining quickly, and there was no other way out of this prison cell. Time was standing still, Jason’s strength was rapidly depleting while the lifeless corpses on the other side of the door showed no signs of fatigue.

  ***

  David watched the monitor as the two zombies pounded against the door where Jason had trapped himself. Maybe Jason would not be able to survive this. Jason had put up quite the valiant effort.

  It had amused David to watch Jason struggle.

  David wanted to go down to the cells and kill the remaining two zombies himself so he could have the satisfaction of killing Jason. He looked at the time on the clock. 12:27. Gordon would still be in his office so David wasn’t sure it would be a good idea. Gordon had already given him a hard time about staying behind to watch this. David just hoped that Jason would be able to hold them off for just a little bit longer, until he would be able to go down there himself.

  ***

  Gordon looked at the time. 12:48. It was time to head down to the boat and leave the island. He checked the computer screen one last time, watching the walking cadavers pound against the door outside of the cell where Jason had scrambled. Gordon flicked the security camera feed off, and brought up the termination program. He typed his password into the program and hit enter, destroy all the evidence in the computer network just in case anybody ever tried to access his files. The cure for the zombie apocalypse would be wiped clean from the computer and now only the computers in Buchans would have access to that information.

  Gordon’s security waited for him outside of his office. He gathered his travel bag and walked away from his desk for the last time, knowing he would never return. Gordon wouldn’t miss this place one bit, and he was glad to be heading to Millertown with his old colleagues. The original group of government scientists who first tried to invent the super soldier serum would finally be reunited. They had founded the Pharmakon company shortly after they lost the government contract. They would soon have their revenge on the government. They would soon be in control of the entire world.

  “It’s time.”

  Gordon spoke to the guard outside his door, he had security posted there after David left his office, as a precaution in case David tried something stupid. Lately, David’s new attitude frightened Gordon.

  Gordon and the guard walked in silence towards the wharf. Most of his employees dared not speak to him unless ordered. They all feared his power and he was ok with that, Gordon didn’t care to be around people whom he deemed to be below him. He was a scientist who preferred to work alone, only those few whom he deemed his equal he would tolerate.

  The company boat had arrived late that night, as to not draw too much attention from the locals. Most of them would never even know that it was docked there. He wondered how many people would come to this island after he was gone. It did not matter, all of the useful evidence had already been destroyed.

  As they stepped outside into the cold night air, a low humming noise could be heard in the distance. Gordon thought it might have been the boat’s engine, but it did not sound right.

  As they neared the boat the sound of the boat’s engine became more clear. Whatever that humming was, it did not belong to the ship. Gordon and his security guard climbed the stairs that led from the wharf to the deck, the guard turned back to look and see what that humming noise was.

  “Look sir, a helicopter.” The guard pointed to a light in the sky. Clearly the source of that humming noise. “What should we do?”

  “Nothing, we stick to the plan. We get on this ship and by the time they figure out what’s going on, we’ll be long gone.” Gordon had no idea why there was a helicopter approaching, but he knew that it was not going to stop this boat from leaving.

  “Should I stay and deal with it sir?” The guard seemed anxious.

  “No. Let David deal with it. We stick to the plan.” This is why he didn’t like people. They did not know when to listen, or when to shut up. Gordon knew that in five minutes the boat would leave the dock, and if they weren’t aboard, they would be left behind. Gordon did not like his chances of survival, even with this guard at his side. “Get on this boat now! I need you onboard!” Gordon barked his orders, trying to sound authoritative.

  “Yes sir!” The guard followed Gordon up the ramp. The hull was vibrating, signalling that it was time to go.

  ***

  Adrenaline kept pushing Ethan forward, he had followed the convoy all the way to the town of Buchans. For some strange reason they all drove down into the old abandoned mines. What where they up to? They had not been in use for at least twenty years.

  No signal on the cell phone. Ethan was not surprised that there was no signal out here, but it was very unsettling. Ethan knew he should just turn around and leave. His knuckles hurt from gripping the wheel so tightly.

  “Just turn around! Just leave Ethan!” He said out loud to himself.

  What was he even doing here? This was far beyond his duty. He had no business getting involved with whatever was happening out here, it just didn’t concern him. Ethan placed his hand on the door handle.

  “What the fuck are you thinking?” Ethan swung the door open. “Have you lost it?”

  Ethan stepped out of the truck and started to sneak towards the entrance to the old mines, as he approached, the roar of the engines echoed out of the hollow cave. The outside of the mine’s old brick walls were covered in moss, water trickled down the bricks. Ethan continued to press forward. A small, glowing light could be seen further ahead in the mine from the vehicles.

  “Run you fool!” Ethan’s voice was drowned out by the roar of the engines.

  Ethan made sure to stay hidden in the shadows as he approached the convoy of vehicles.

  The old dirt floor of the mine was suddenly replaced by pavement, the old brick walls replaced with cold steel. Just ahead the ceiling had florescent lighting. The musty air of the mine had been replaced by fresh air. A forklift was unloading the cargo truck and placing the metal crates in a large, cargo elevator.

  “What’s going on?” Ethan had not heard anything about anyone re-opening the old mines, something horrible was taking place under everyone’s noses. Ethan started to creep forward, his foot accidentally kicked an errant rock.

  “Did you hear something?” Someone pointed in Ethan’s direction.

  One of the men motioned for two other men to go check it out. They started to walk directly towards Ethan slowly.

  “Hey, take this.” Someone tossed one of the men a flashlight.

  Before they had a chance to catch it, Ethan turned and broke away, running as fast as he could. His loud footsteps echoing in the mine shaft, drawing the beam of light right in his
direction.

  Chapter 20

  A Fight to the Death

  The sea air was refreshing, even under such horrible circumstances. The smell seemed to soothe Gary, putting his mind at ease.

  “Elliot,” Gary half whispered to Officer White, trying not to draw the attention of the guard standing on the wall above them.

  Elliot crept over to where Gary was hunched against the bricks, trying to conceal himself.

  “I see him.” Elliot pointed to the guard above. Elliot’s blonde hair blew aimlessly in the breeze.

  “Wait until he passes.” Gary held out his hand motioning for Elliot to stop. Gary had noticed the guard was making a loop around the massive wall that surrounded the facility. Patience would be the key to their survival.

  The security personnel who patrolled the facility was well armed. A fully automatic rifle rested comfortably in his hands, a utility belt full of various weapons hung around his hip. His jacket did not seem to fit him right, most likely he was wearing some kind of body armour. Eric was certainly right about something illegal happening on this island, however Gary still had his doubts about zombies. A small chuckle developed in his stomach as he suppressed the urge to laugh out loud at the very notion.

  A light flashed in their direction, and for a moment Gary expected the light to reveal their location. Gary’s heart thrashed around in his chest, after a few tense moments, the guard moved on. The patrol was hardly paying attention to where he was shining the light, it was probably a force of habit to search around with the flashlight like that. After he passed by, Gary motioned his hand forward, towards the docks.

  All of a sudden the deafening, rotating blades of a helicopter could be heard. Gary strained his neck upwards to spot the light emanating from the helicopter. Thank God Eric was finally here.