Mark stopped walking and looked at a squat building.
“What about this place?” He asked the other boys.
“Ok.” His followers replied. They walked to the door and stood there for a second, listening for any noises. Nothing seemed to be stirring inside. Despite this, the boys were nervous.
“You know there could be zombies in there, right?” Mark said, voicing their concerns. “So, who is going in first?” He turned to Steve and Alex, barely restraining his malevolent smile.
The boys looked at each other. Mark turned to Alex. “Still scared?” He asked.
“No.” Alex frowned. His body language betrayed how he truly felt, though.
“Ok. You take the lead. I’ll open the door, you poke your head in. It will be dark in there, but the doorway should light up the place.” He stood beside the door as Alex stepped up to it, holding his pipe with both hands.
Mark pulled the door open and Alex took a step forward. Suddenly, Mark shoved Alex into the dark interior and shut the door on him with a vicious laugh. He blocked the door with his foot.
Alex immediately started screaming and pounding on the door.
“Mark! What are you doing?!” Steve yelled as he stepped forward. Mark pointed the end of his metal pipe at Steve. “You stay there!” All the while they could hear the muffled sounds of the younger boy screaming and crying on the other side of the door.
After a few more seconds, Mark opened the door. Alex came barging out, crying and sputtering. He collapsed onto the hard-packed dirt a few feet away. Steve walked over and knelt beside him.
Mark looked over with cold eyes. “Never threaten me again, kid.” He said. He swung the door to the hut open wide and had a peek inside. “Nothing in there.” He stated, and casually leaned against the wall of the hut as the younger boy tried to collect himself.
After a minute, Alex had stopped crying. He glared at Mark with red-rimmed eyes, wiped his nose with his sleeve and got to his feet.
“You dropped your weapon.” Mark said, indicating through the doorway of the hut with his head.
Alex collected his weapon, looking at Mark with hate-filled eyes as he walked past the bigger boy. Mark was already looking somewhere else though. Steve and Alex followed his gaze and saw a large building.
“There’s got to be some good shit in there...” Mark said. His feet were already taking him towards the building.
Steve and Alex followed. They crossed what must have been a well-used roadway. Deep ruts were stamped in the dirt road. The boys stopped and looked up at the building in front of them.
It was a warehouse. Steve could see a couple of loading bays around the corner. The boys walked towards the first door they could see. It was up some metal steps, on a small landing made of metal grating.
Mark did not hesitate and ascended the metal steps to get to a small landing and the door. The other boys followed. Steve was at the top of the steps, and Alex was still a few steps further back, when Mark let his curiosity get the better of him and he tried the door.
They all knew something was terribly wrong as soon as Mark pulled that door open. They heard loud crashing and banging noises coming from inside. Mark jumped back with a shriek.
Mark turned and shoved his way past Steve, launching himself down the steps. Steve got one quick look into the dim interior of the building. He could see the colourless bodies of several zombies scrambling towards him, appearing out of the dark and into the light cast by the open doorway. Without a second thought, he ran away.
Steve had just made it to the bottom of the stairs when he heard Mark yelp in pain. The bigger boy had stepped in one of the tire ruts in the road and tripped. He’d gone down hard. Steve was running past him when Mark screamed in pain again.
“AHHH!” He had tried to scramble to his feet but fell again. He looked at Steve’s retreating back. “Help! I can’t run!”
Steve skidded to a halt and turned. He saw that Mark had injured his ankle. He was trying to get to his feet but could not support himself with his right foot. Mark finally stood up, balancing himself on one leg.
Steve took a step towards Mark, then looked over Mark’s shoulder to the warehouse. Several zombies were pouring out of the open doorway. One had reached the top of the stairs. Steve felt a warm sensation down his leg as he lost control of his bladder.
He turned and ran for his life. He ran straight past Alex, who stood in shock for a few seconds. The zombie had slowly navigated down the first step. It looked up when it heard the clank of Alex’s pipe, which had slipped though his nerveless fingers.
Alex shrieked and ran after Steve.
Mark couldn’t put any weight on his right foot. The first zombie had missed the next step, and unceremoniously tumbled down to land several yards from him. Mark cried out in alarm and hopped away on one leg. The zombie was already getting back to its feet. Mark hopped away as fast as he could, trying not to let his right foot touch the ground. But it was unavoidable. Every time he did put his right foot down, he was almost blinded by the sharp pain that shot up his leg.
Mark cried as he hopped away. He looked over his shoulder to see several zombies behind him. They were gaining on him. He looked ahead, whimpering from a combination of pain and panic.
Mark changed his direction to the nearest building. His only chance was to get in the door and shut it behind him. They were close now. Only a few feet away.
“Please don’t be locked. Please don’t be locked. Please don’t be locked.” Mark kept repeating the wish like it was a mantra.
The door was not locked. With a small sound of relief Mark threw the door open.
He was speechless as a zombie stood in the doorway. In the next second, Mark was swept off his feet as the zombie lunged at him. They were quickly joined by several other zombies.
Mark’s high-pitched screams could be heard by all nearby. Except there were no living people nearby – only the dead. Steve and Alex didn’t hear Mark’s screams for all the noise they were making themselves as they ran for their lives. Unwittingly, they were drawing undead towards them. They ran straight to their homes.
The boys did not alert the authorities. They were scared out of their wits and fearful of being in trouble. Half an hour later, inevitably, the first zombies appeared in a populated area of the camp.
People freaked out at the discovery of zombies in their midst. Many feared that a fence had failed, and they were about to be overwhelmed. The scared mobs of people made a lot of sound, attracting more zombies, who were dawn by the noise. It spiralled out of control fast.
The reality was that only about twenty-five undead were roaming the camp. The rest were stuck in the buildings that they died in, without the ability to open the doors. The soldiers at the safe zone would have been able to dispose of these, despite their own low numbers. But panic only fed the chaos further, and within half an hour all control was lost.
Chapter Thirty-two
October 28, 11:40AM
Tammy and the several other diners were oblivious to this, as the mess hall had no windows and the continuous music streaming out of the jukebox drowned out any noise from outside. She only realized something was wrong was when another diner came back within a minute of leaving.
“There’s zombies in the camp!” He yelled into the mess hall before turning and running away.
Tammy knocked over her coffee as she leaped up from her chair. She followed the crowd to the exit, hanging back once she got there, in order to avoid the shoving match as people fought to get through the doors. She stayed inside as the double doors closed behind the crowd. Tammy walked up and watched through the window that was set in the door, along with a few other people that had stayed inside. She was mesmerized by the crowd of running people outside. They hadn’t seen a zombie yet – just people running in a panic.
At that moment, a fatal mistake occurred at the gate. The Humvees parked near the gate promised a means to escape to the panicked crowd. One of these vehicles would le
ad to the downfall of the safe zone. Individuals ran to these vehicles and attempted to gain entry. The guards posted at the gate did not know what to do. They did not want to fire on these people.
If only they had...
Humvees do not require keys to start. They simply have a start button. The first vehicle fired up and immediately lunged forward, running over several people. In her state of panic, the driver had floored the gas pedal. She lost control of the vehicle as she clipped the metal structure of a guard post. The Humvee’s new trajectory took out first a section of the inner fence, then several sections of the outer fence before coming abruptly to a stop against a concrete barrier. The driver slammed against the steering wheel and was momentarily stunned. She opened her door to get out but never made it. She was pulled screaming from her vehicle by several zombies.
The screaming and running people in the camp attracted many zombies. They came shambling and lurching from all directions towards the massive hole in the fencing.
Five soldiers were posted at the gate. One had been badly injured when the Humvee ran over him. One of the guard towers had toppled, and the soldier manning it had been flung to the ground, where he lay unmoving. The soldier in the other guard tower immediately started shooting. The remaining two soldiers ran to the breach and attempted to halt the advance of the throng of zombies.
Head shots were very hard to make as a seemingly unstoppable enemy advanced upon them. They held the line though and kept shooting even as the enemy closed in on them. The soldiers were overwhelmed within a minute. Several soldiers had been making their way to support their comrades at the breach, but were delayed by panicked, fleeing people.
It was at that moment that somebody in the small office near the gate sounded the alarm. The air raid siren that ensued had a terribly unnerving effect on all within earshot. The noise it made, especially when it built up to its crescendo shriek, acted as a magnet for many zombies.
Tammy had stepped outside when that alarm rang out. She watched from a distance as a tide of humanity came at her down the main avenue. The sight was mesmerizing, and Tammy was frozen in place. She would have gotten swallowed up and trampled by that wave of people.
But a solid tug on her elbow spun her around. A soldier was yelling and beckoning. It took a moment for her to make sense of the words that were being yelled at her.
“–got to get out of here! This way! Quick!”
The soldier started running down one of the lanes leading away from the mess hall. Tammy first took one step, then another, and suddenly she was running. The soldier was about fifty feet ahead of her. He looked over his shoulder once, saw that Tammy was following, and continued to run.
Tammy was quickly running out of breath. She heard screams behind her and ran harder.
It seemed like their run would never end. Tammy was struggling mightily when she saw motion.
“Over here!” Tammy looked up to see another soldier waving them over from the doorway of a tall building. The building was about fifty yards ahead. Tammy picked up speed for a final burst.
The soldier ahead of her had almost reached the doorway. Tammy ran for all she was worth. She felt a cramp in her side, and her vision started to blur. Then she was through the door. She crashed to the floor, completely out of breath, as the two soldiers closed the door behind her.
Still breathing hard, Tammy pushed up onto her elbow and flipped over to lie on her back. Black starbursts were exploding in her vision. She hungrily gulped air. Her forearm was bleeding freely from a scrape, but sheer adrenaline and lack of oxygen prevented her from noticing it.
It took her a full minute to catch her breath and become aware of her surroundings. She was in an office of some kind. The only window in the room had its shutters down. The door also had a small window set into it with its shutters similarly drawn. One of the soldiers was peeking out through the small gaps in the shutters.
Tammy took in the rest of the room. She saw two desks set up with radio equipment with a large power unit beside them. A communication building. Tammy determined.
She continued to look around. There were benches and a table set up near the back of the main room. She also saw a steep stair – almost a ladder – leading to the second story. She also saw a couple of doors and was relieved to see ‘w.c.’ written on one of them. She had to pee.
“Let me have a look at that, miss.” Tammy turned her head and saw that one of the soldiers had knelt beside her. He had opened a first aid kit. She sat in silence as the middle-aged man cleaned the wound on her arm and the blood that had run down to her hand. He next applied some disinfectant to the scrape and taped on a gauze bandage. The calm nature of the man had its effect on Tammy, who finally was able to control her breathing and her composure.
“Thanks.” She said to the man once he was done. He gave her a kind smile in return.
“Do you feel any other injuries?” He asked.
Tammy shook her head. “No ... I don’t think so.”
The man stood up and offered her his hand. “Let’s get you up on your feet then.”
She got up with the soldier’s assistance. Just then she heard the buzz of radio noises. She looked over and saw a female soldier working the radio.
“Whiskey X-ray Six, this is Whiskey Alpha Romeo how copy over.”
“Whiskey Alpha Romeo, this is Whiskey E-ray Six, copy five by five over.”
Tammy was surprised at the calmness of this radio communication. Both operators spoke as if it were the most normal business in the world.
“Whiskey X-ray Six, Kilo two-six has been compromised. Repeat. Kilo two-six has been compromised. Requesting support or ex-fill, over.”
“Copy Whiskey Alpha Romeo. Stand by, over.”
“Copy.”
The female soldier looked up from her radio set-up and nodded politely, then did a double take, her eyes opened wide. “Hey! You’re that tv reporter. ... Tanya?”
“Tammy. Tammy Jensen.” Tammy walked over and shook the soldier’s hand.
“Oh, Yes of course! Tammy.” She offered an embarrassed smile. “Sorry. My name is Abigail. Abigail Jackson. Or operator Jackson if you prefer. Or just Abi...” The girl showed none of her radio composure and was absolutely babbling.
“That over there is Lieutenant Stringer. Just Mike to us. He runs this outfit. And over there–” The radio squawked. Abi was all business and turned away as if the conversation never took place.
Mike Stringer finished the introductions for her. He shook her hand with a kind smile and pointed to the third soldier, still sitting at a chair with his head nearly between his knees.
“The guy you ran in here with is Private Dan Mckenzie. I had sent him out to go see what was going on. Dan isn’t in great shape, as you can see.” He said with a small wink at Tammy.
Dan raised his face to look up. His face was still bright red.
“Damnit Jim I’m a radio operator, not a marathon runner!” Tammy caught the old-school Star Trek reference and smiled despite herself.
“Heh. Well it wouldn’t hurt you to skip the mess hall and hit the gym instead, once in a while!”
“Oh haha, very funny Mike.” The stocky soldier replied. Tammy could see a glint of amusement in his face though. These guys were used to bantering back and forth.
“Well, for what its worth – I appreciate you pulling me along, Dan.” Tammy smiled at the soldier. Dan’s face got even redder. Tammy felt her own discomfort at that moment.
She turned to Mike. “Hey, can I use the washroom?”
“Sure!” And he pointed to the back.
Tammy stepped out of the washroom feeling greatly relieved. She was amazed at how the entire body ceases up when faced with life of death situations, and how forceful those other bodily functions return after the danger has passed.
Just then somebody called from upstairs. “Mike, we got a couple more civilians out there!”
Mike rushed back to the door and peeked through the shutters.
“It’s a lady. And a kid.” Mike stated. “They’re a long way out yet.” He opened the door. “Dan!” Mike called. With a grunt, the stocky soldier heaved himself out of his chair.
“Keep this door secure.” Mike ordered as scanned the surroundings.
He looked back inside. “Abi, you stay on the line with headquarters. Dan, step up to this door. Weapon ready.” And he stepped outside.
“HEY!” He yelled out. “OVER HERE!” He waved his arms to get their attention. Dan stepped just outside the door, holding a carbine at low and ready. Tammy moved to stand near the door as well so she could see what was happening. In the distance she saw that the two civilians were indeed a woman and a child – a boy.
They heard Mike call out and changed their direction. They looked exhausted and could go no faster than a jog. Despite their lack of speed, it looked like they were going to make it. There were no zombies to be seen.
“Shit!” Dan exclaimed as just then a zombie lumbered into the road from between some buildings to their right. The zombie was in between the civilians and their sanctuary. It was close enough for Tammy to see that it had been a man. It was dressed in boxer shorts and a wife beater shirt. It had damaged one arm near the elbow, and its lower arm hung at an unnatural angle.
“Dan!” Mike commanded before he stepped into the road. He shuffled a couple more steps to his left and started yelling and waving his arms violently. It worked. The zombie turned its face in his direction and with a clack of its teeth it came lumbering towards Mike.
Tammy heard Dan take in some quick breaths and raise his rifle to his cheek. The zombie came closer. Maybe thirty yards out now. Enough to make out multiple tattoos. Running on bare feet had damaged its feet as well. The zombie left bloody footprints on the hardpacked earth with every step. That did not slow it down though as the zombie continued its lumbering run.
“You got this, Dan.” Mike stated calmly, continuing to wave his arms. He had stopped yelling.
“I got this.” Tammy heard Dan repeat. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Tammy was stunned at the incredibly loud sound of the rifle. A ringing noise started in her ears even as she saw the top of the zombie’s head explode in a spray of blood, brains and bone fragments.
Apocalypsis Immortuos | Book 1 | Syndrome Page 20