Commander Reynolds grumbles, muttering something that I can’t make out. His lips purse and his brow furrows.
The caterwauls of the chasers echo up the stairwell. The commander’s hands reposition over the grip of the pistol as we make for the open door. He back peddles toward us. The gleam from his light brings to life the gaunt, bloody faces of the dead racing up the stairs. He grabs the handle of the stairwell door, and slams it shut just as the chasers hit the landing.
For now, we are safe. How long that will last is yet to be seen.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Trapped like rats, we’re at the end of our maze. There is no place else to go. Nowhere for us to flee from the clamoring of the undead horde. If they somehow find a way in, we will die.
The thought tries to tear into my soul like a savage beast, hell bent on feasting upon my fear—a smorgasbord of delectable suffering. I battle it’s will, trying to remain optimistic that the military will arrive before the chasers bust down the door.
A lull of silence fills the void among what few survivors are left. We sit in the hallway, scattered about within the bleakness of the night. Our final resting place before we’re consumed, or worse yet, turned.
All of the soldiers have died. The commander is the only one who hasn’t fallen. I don’t spot Nurse Debbie. I fear that she is one of the bodies I spotted in the stairwell. Ms. Jones and Doctor Harper have made it, along with two other nurses who sit huddled together. Our numbers are few now. Weapons to defend ourselves, even less.
The chasers have blocked our path to the landing pad that is a floor above us. They rotting corpses have filled the stairwell. We’re so close, yet so far away at this point.
Commander Reynolds left to sweep the floor for any infected. He hasn’t returned, which has caused most of us to worry. Lucas volunteered to help, but was asked to stay and help look after everyone. I’m glad he didn’t go.
Cindy is by my side, resting on the tile floor. Duke is down by my feet. His head rests on the fronts of his paws as his ears twitch from the groans of the chasers that seep in through the wafer thin slits around the entrance to the stairwell.
Sitting here, I can’t help but think of Jacobson, and how surreal his departing was. Flashbacks of Mack play out in front of me like a vivid replay within the darkness. What happened to the sergeant is almost the exact same scenario as when Mack died.
He was faced with a similar predicament—a horde of chasers fighting to get inside that auto parts store. Mack held them at bay for as long as he could, offering us a chance to survive. He never made it back to us. The guilt of Cassie’s loss still weighs heavy on me. I’ll never forget his sacrifice and bravery. Despite how I felt about Jacobson, he gave his life so that we could live. I’ll be forever grateful for that.
“How long have we been sitting here?” Cassie asks. “It feels like it’s been forever.” Her body is slumped over on the floor. The Carbine lays across her legs that are stretched out before her. Her fingers tightly grip the barrel and the stock as she watches the stairwell door with great intent.
“At least an hour. Probably more,” Lucas answers.
I glance to his injured arm. He doesn’t seem to be favoring it as much as he did.
“How’s the arm feeling?”
He tilts his head to the left and peers down. “Still hurts, but I’m managing.”
Cindy groans in discomfort, shifting her weight from side to side. “Are we going to die, James? I don’t want to die.” Her words are brushed with defeat, her tone lifeless and without a hint of hope for me to draw off of.
My head is telling me yes. My heart is hoping for a miracle that I’m not sure will be fulfilled.
I can’t bring myself to speak the truth, among the many others that I have yet to bestow upon her. Like everything else, I must remain the beacon of hope. Her rock to stand on as the tides of despair and hopelessness claw and reach for her feet.
“We are not going to die here. I can promise you that.” I try to sell my words as if they’re made of gold. What doubt and frustration boils in the pit of my stomach stays hidden below. For now, anyway.
Cindy just lays there.
Cassie leans in close to me and whispers in my ear, “You haven’t told her about your parents, have you?”
I shake my head emphatically. “God, no. I’m not sure if or when I’ll have the stomach to tell her the truth. Maybe never.”
Duke’s head springs up from his paws. His ears stand on end. His body is tense, muscles rigid. A low growl sounds from his throat. A threat is close.
“Something’s coming,” I whisper to Lucas and Cassie.
They snap to, and scramble to their feet. I follow suit.
“What’s wrong, James?” Cindy jerks up from the floor in a panic. Fearful cries flow from her quivering lips.
I press my finger to my lips, and shush any further talking. Harsh, but necessary.
The Carbines are shouldered as we sweep the hallway for any signs of a threat. Doctor Harper and the nurses scramble to their feet as well.
“I don’t see-” Cassie pauses. Duke barks and growls. He’s facing the hallway that is down from us. “Yeah. Someone’s coming. They’re not trying to be quiet from the sounds of it.”
We train our rifles at the hallway and patiently wait. Duke’s growls grow louder, more intense with every second that painfully ticks by.
A white light comes into view. It’s being jostled about, bouncing every which way. A body materializes from the darkness. It’s Commander Reynolds. Spent and out of breath, he slumps over. His hands rest on the tops of his knees as he takes a moment to catch his breath.
We lower our rifles and head over to him. I walk past him, and check the long stretch of hallway that is cloaked in darkness for any signs of chasers. Other than the dead who have gathered at the stairwell door, I spot nothing. What had him sprinting back to us?
“We thought you bit it or something,” I say. “What were you running from?”
Commander Reynolds stands up straight, and exhales a long, deep breath. “I was sweeping the floor just to make sure nothing was lurking about up here. I checked the other stairwell as well. I secured it as best I can. But we have a problem.”
Commander Reynolds glances back the way he came. His hand runs over his face. He pushes past me and heads down the hallway.
“What sort of problem?” Lucas inquires as we give chase.
There’s only one problem that I can think of that would have the commander in such a state. The horde of chasers has arrived.
“I need to find a window that looks down to the grounds below.”
“Is it the infected?” I pose.
The commander darts to the left through an open door that leads into a hospital room. He makes a beeline for the window. I stay close, and follow along as we navigate through the cluttered mess of turned over beds and medical equipment that lay scattered over the floor. I dread what we might find beyond the walls.
Commander Reynolds grabs the curtains and shoves them to either side. With eyes wide, he peers down to the darkness that has blanketed the grounds around the front of the hospital.
Lucas stands near me as we look out to the unsettling scene before us.
“Oh, God.” I gasp.
An endless sea of bodies meets our gaze for as far as we can see. The night has cloaked the chasers in black, making it nearly impossible to discern their numbers. Like ants, they meld together as one large group that blankets the landscape. They meander about with no particular destination in mind.
“There’s more on the far side of the hospital as well,” Commander Reynolds mentions.
I point down to the dead, bringing their less than violent tendency to everyone’s attention.
“It doesn’t seem as though they’re converging on the hospital, but more so just passing through. Maybe it’s because there’s nothing stimulating their curiosity. If we remain quiet and don’t discharge our weapons, we should be fine until the c
hoppers arrive, right?”
“Could work,” Lucas agrees. “What do we do if the chasers from the stairwell break through the door?”
I cut my gaze to him. “We’ll cross that bridge when we have to. Hopefully, it won’t come to that.”
“That won’t matter.” Commander Reynolds shakes his head dismissively as he sighs in frustration.
My face contorts in confusion. I’m not following why he is so beside himself. I mean, I get it, but if we stay quiet, then we shouldn’t draw their attention.
“For now, they really aren’t paying us any mind, right?” he poses. Both Lucas and I acknowledge with a tilt of our heads. “What’s going to happen when those choppers land on top of the building? That noise is going to be like a beacon that draws them in. Those damn things will flood this place in no time. Adding to the already shit storm that is inside the building! They’ll be able to get up that other stairwell with no problem. Given their vast numbers, it won’t take long for them to breakthrough.”
I hadn’t given thought to that. The commander is right. The noise from the choppers will surely snare the chasers’ attention. Draw them in to investigate what’s causing the racket.
I spot his radio that is still fixed to the side of his hip. “What if you radio them and have one of the choppers lead them away while the others evac us?” I suggest.
Commander Reynolds removes the radio and holds it up in front of us. “I tried when I first spotted the infected on the other side, but it’s dead. Batteries are toast.”
Commander Reynolds throws the radio at the wall in a fit of anger. It clatters off the wall, then drops to the floor.
A thought gels in my head. I’m not sure I even want to ask what’s brewing on my mind as I fear I already know the answer.
“Do they even know where our exact location is?”
“They know we were falling back to the upper floors, but no, they do not know exactly where we will be.” Commander Reynolds points in the direction of the hallway. “I wasn’t counting on the infected being this far up in the stairwell. The plan was to sit tight, remain silent, and head up to the landing pad when they arrived.”
“So, there’s not any other way for us to reach them before they get here?” Lucas prods.
“That dead radio was our only chance,” Commander Reynolds counters.
A bad situation that has been flipped on its ear. We’re treading water now, and the waves are growing more bold and deadly with each moment that ticks by.
Silence befalls us. I look down to the Carbine tightly gripped within my hands. Three rifles remain between us and the commander’s sidearm. We each have an extra magazine left, but considering the chasers seemingly endless numbers, it’s a moot point.
We’ve exhausted all plans. Nothing congeals that could hint at a way that we make it out of this in one piece. Wicked fatal thoughts slowly consume me like a parasite. It’s a no win scenario that is going to be left to chance and fate itself.
Lucas narrows his eyes and cocks his head to the left slightly.
“What’s wrong?” I prod.
“Do you hear that?” He moves his finger in a circular motion, as if it’s timed with something. “Sounds like a steady thumping sound.”
Commander Reynolds pivots toward the window. He looks up to the eerie, cloudy sky that hangs above us like the grim reaper’s cloak.
I listen closely as well, now picking up the constant thumping sound that’s growing louder. A sense of joy and dread meld together inside of me as the revelation of what it is dawns on me.
The military have arrived.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
It’s do or die. The moment of truth has arrived. We’ve fought for our lives and have lost many. To survive what is to come, we’ll have fight with everything we’ve got, and then some.
Cassie rushes into the room with Cindy and Duke by her side.
“Is that the military?” she excitedly asks.
A chopper buzzes overhead and comes into view. Flashing red dots, fixed to its hull, indicate its location within the moonless sky overhead.
“There!” I shout, pointing out the window.
Commander Reynolds turns back and looks to Cassie. “Gather everyone, and get ready to move!”
“Move where?” she counters. “Is there another way up to the roof other than the stairwell?”
“Just gather everyone up, now!” Commander Reynolds barks.
Cassie shakes her head, but turns and leaves the room, taking Duke and Cindy with her.
A light from the chopper comes to life and sweeps over the earth that is crawling with dead. Bodies cover the ground. Heads tilt up to the sky, and search for the source of the sound that has grabbed their attention.
The light moves toward the building. I lean forward and press my forehead against the glass. All I can see is waves of chasers forcing their way inside the building.
“Oh hell,” I grumble.
Commander Reynolds looks back out to the ground below.
The chopper turns to the side, its light fixed on the ground floor of the building. It opens fire at the mass of infected that swarm like locusts.
An explosion of dragon’s fire breathes from the side of the chopper. Tracers light up the sky like fireflies. The mass of incoming rounds tears through the chasers’ bodies like a hot knife through butter. It slows the dead down some, but doesn’t cease their advancement.
“Get down!” Commander Reynolds shouts.
The hammering of the gunship’s weapons batters the air. The floor beneath us shakes and shudders from the punishment its being dealt.
Cassie peers around the corner of the door. She waves her arms frantically in the air and shouts, trying to snare our attention. “We’ve got a situation out here!”
Commander Reynolds gets to his feet. He grabs a handful of my jacket and pulls me up from the flat of my butt. We make a beeline for the hall.
We converge in the hallway, huddled together in a circle of uncertainty and panic. Cassie points toward the stairwell. Fists thrash the door as the chaser’s yowls rise in anger.
“Sounds like they’re about to burst through!” she yells out.
We train our rifles at the doorway. An exhale of tension escapes from my trembling lips as Cindy melds into me. Duke barks and growls, baring his teeth. He’s ready for a fight.
A deep thud sounds from the stairwell. The hammering from the chasers ceases. Smoke funnels out from under the door as the reports of gunfire play in my ear.
“Everyone, hold your fire!” Commander Reynolds orders.
The door opens. Beams of red light strike out from the darkness of the stairwell. Bodies charge into the hallway with rifles shouldered.
“Down here!” Doctor Harper yells out.
The red lights sweep across the walls and train in our direction. Our lights bear down on the soldiers who are outfitted in black tactical gear from head to toe. They race down the hall in our direction.
They lower their rifles as they stop just shy of us. A quick salute is offered before one of the soldiers speaks. “Sir, we need to evac now!” He looks over our haggard group quickly. “Is this everyone?”
“Yes.”
The soldier’s radio crackles as a voice barks through the speaker.
More gunfire sounds from the stairwell.
“Stay close and follow us,” the soldier demands. “We need to leave now.” He spins about and twirls his hand in the air. The other two soldiers turn, and head for the entrance of the stairwell. We keep pace with the soldiers.
The gunfire from the gunship outside continues to batter the dead below without pause. Duke gallops by my side as Cindy struggles to keep pace with us.
The bright glow from muzzle flashes within the confines of the stairwell offer brief snapshots of soldiers standing and firing at the surge of dead pushing up the stairs. The deads’ yowls are silenced by the hammering of weapons continuously discharging.
One by one, we’re funneled through
the doorway and to the right. Soldiers are positioned close to the railing and the staircase that leads down to the lower floors.
Doctor Harper stops on the stairs. He looks back toward the hallway. He calls out to Commander Reynolds who’s standing before us just inside of the entrance.
I can’t tell what he’s saying. He’s pointing in our direction. Commander Reynolds comes about and cranes his neck. He looks in the direction we came from.
“What’s wrong?” I yell.
“The backup drives were left back down the hall where Doctor Harper was sitting,” the commander yells back. “We need that data!”
Commander Reynolds makes for the opening, but is halted by one of the soldiers.
“Sir, I can’t allow you to leave. I’ve got orders to make sure you’re on that bird.”
The commander and the soldier exchange heated words as I look back down the corridor. I know exactly where the doctor and nurses were sitting. If I run fast enough, I can retrieve the satchel, and make it back. It’s not too far.
I look to Lucas. I pull Cindy from my leg, and move her over to him. I don’t want to leave her, but what’s contained on those drives could possibly aid in finding a cure for the infection, and rid her of this curse.
“I’ll be right back. Watch her!” I take off down the hall in a mad dash with the Carbine slung over my shoulder. The faint whispers of voices calling out to me are drowned out quickly by the barrage of gunfire.
Hard and fast, my feet abuse the floor. My head swivels, frantically searching for the missing satchel within the darkness. I come to a grinding halt, scouring the floor with frazzled nerves.
It’s got to be around here somewhere.
I move closer to the wall to my left, and finally spot it resting in the seat of a chair. I grab the leather strap and toss it over my head. Time to leave.
I make for the stairwell, but no longer spy any soldiers positioned just outside of the entrance. The gleam of muzzle fire has vanished, and the reverberation of weapons discharging has all but ceased.
The caterwauls of the infected loom large from the darkness. The chasers flood out of the stairwell entrance into the hallway in droves. A wave of teeth and unbridled violence spill out before me.
Dead State (Book 4): Immune Page 13