Escape From Metro City

by Mandel, Richard

  "Like the smell of fresh blood, or perhaps they can sense where more humans, ummm, more food is located?" Cy said.

  "Right," Mercy nodded. "They think it's a homing instinct of sorts. Not quite like a shark smelling blood, but more like ants responding to an imperative from their queen."

  "Which begs the question," Lisa asked. "Where's the queen?"

  "Pandora hasn't yet found an answer to that part," Mercy replied.

  Cy looked thoughtful. "You know, we need to start taking this into account once we get out of here and get to our next stop. That is, assuming we get out of here."

  "What's that?" Lisa asked.

  "Giving the zombies enough time to gang back up on us," Cy said. "It's happened to us twice now, Lisa. The first time was at the Armory. This is the second time. We don't need a third, because we might not survive that one." He thought for a few seconds, and then added, "Now that I think about it, I'm guessing we have about twenty minutes at any given location, twenty-five tops, thirty at the most extreme. After that, we can expect to face what we're facing here right now. We've got to remember that next time."

  "If there's a next time," Lisa added thoughtfully.

  Cy nodded. "Yeah. If."

  Mercy had been studying the security monitor screens as Cy talked. She now spoke, looking at them both as she did. "Cy, there may be a way we could get to Lisa's car, save ammo, and even possibly fight our way to the streets and beyond," Mercy said. As the other two watched, she walked over to where the medicine cabinet was mounted on the back wall. She picked up the bottle of rubbing alcohol and brought it back with her, holding it up before them. "We can use these. The hospital is full of them, and we've got plenty of gauze to use for flaming wicks."

  "Ahhh, Molotov cocktails," Cy said, and he couldn't help but grin.

  "That's a good idea," Lisa said, allowing herself a smile, "but it still doesn't guarantee success. We'd have to carry an awful lot of them to both clear a way to my car and clear space around and in front of it so we could get out. I don't think we can lug enough down there along with our existing gear to do the job."

  "What about flaming torches?" Cy asked. "Plenty of crutches around here, and other things that are long and straight around which we could wrap alcohol-soaked gauze or cloths."

  "Another good idea," Lisa said. She thought a moment, and then continued. "We're still facing the same problem of being too encumbered with everything we'd have to carry. Also, once a torch goes out, those zombies will probably be on us before we have time to light another."

  "Oh," Mercy said. She looked down at the floor. "Well, I tried."

  "We can still use part of your idea," Lisa said encouragingly. "The Molotov cocktails, and even your torches, Cy. I think they're going to be essential to my own plan, and that's the good news."

  "What's that?" Cy asked.

  "I think I've figured out another way out of here, one that gets us past most of the zombies and gets all of us to the MCPD station on the other side of the block. It means we'll have to abandon my 'Cuda and leave it behind, much as I don't want to, but we can probably get more wheels at the station. That's where we wanted to go after this in the first place, remember?"

  Cy looked at Mercy and she back, then both of them looked at Lisa. "Go ahead," Cy encouraged. "We're listening."

  Lisa flipped a series of switches on the control panel before her, and a new set of images promptly flashed up on the screens of the top row of security monitors. She then picked up a piece of paper from in front of her that looked very much like an enlarged street map, and held it up before them. She pointed to it or to the appropriate monitor as she talked. "I found this on one of the desks over there. It shows the outside layout for not only the hospital, but the entire block. That includes Southwest Sporting Goods down the way and the MCPD substation on the other side. Two places where we need to go anyway, Cy. Now look here," and with that she pointed to the center of the map. "See this long alley? It runs the length of the block from the back of the hospital all the way to the back of the MCPD substation, and halfway down it also connects to the back of Southwest Sporting Goods. Those are the only three entrances or exits, if this map is right, and that makes this alley very convenient for us. Also, as you can see on these monitors, the emergency entrance at the back of the hospital is fairly free of zombies, and that's where we can get into the alley from our end. That's the entrance right there, off to the side of where the ambulances drive back out," she said, pointing to the next to last top monitor to the right. "That's how we can still get to both places, even though we'll be on foot now because of us not being able to use my car anymore."

  "That's big enough to drive a truck down," Cy noted as he looked first at the map and then at the image of the alley entrance on one of the monitors.

  "That's probably how the trucks got in to unload their freight at Southwest Sporting Goods," Lisa said. "See how this side drive from the front keeps any approaching vehicles clear of the hospital's emergency entrance looparound? I'll bet there's a matching one at the other end at the police station."

  "Probably," Cy said. "Question. Why aren't there a lot of zombies back there? You'd think there would be, the way they're all over the front here."

  "I can answer that," Mercy answered. "There's wrecks at both ends of the looparound. They're fairly sizeable, as both involve ambulances and trucks, with a few cars thrown in for good measure."

  "I remember seeing one of those when we came in," Lisa observed.

  Mercy nodded. "Those two pile-ups have got the whole back of the hospital pretty well sealed off from the outside. The only zombies that can get back there are ones that either find a way to crawl through or find a way through the hospital's first floor."

  "And with the front fire doors pinned, plus that extra set we pinned on our way through there, then the back half of the first floor should still be fairly well clear," Cy added.

  "It won't stay clear for long, once they realize we're down there," Mercy said.

  "Agreed," Lisa said. "That's why we need to block the alley entrance behind us." She pointed to a catering truck that appeared to either be parked or stalled near the alley entrance. It was in perfect physical condition, although both of its cab doors were open and there were blood smears both on them and its front fenders. "We can use that truck as a barricade. It's in a perfect position, and we don't even have to start it. All we have to do is take it out of gear and push it in front of the alley entrance."

  "You mean two of us push it while the third covers?" Cy suggested.

  Lisa looked at him for a moment, and then nodded. "I stand corrected, and you're right. Once it's in place, we can crawl under it to the alley, and then set it on fire with our alcohol bottles once we're inside. That'll hold the zombies for a while."

  "Sounds good," Cy said. He gave Mercy a look. "What do you think?"

  "Me?" Mercy said. "I'm no fighter. You guys are the fighters. I'm just a medical researcher."

  "A medical researcher turned zombie apocalypse survivor," Lisa said. When Mercy looked at her, Lisa gave her an encouraging smile. "You're part of the group now, Mercy, despite a past you honestly regret and what happened between you and me earlier, and I'm sorry for that last part. Anyway, your opinion counts just as much as either of ours. So what do you think?"

  Mercy looked at Lisa for a bit, and then at Cy. He gave her an encouraging look in reply. "Go ahead," he said.

  "Okay," Mercy said. "I've no objections. Sounds good to me."

  "Then let's saddle up and get out of here," Cy said. "We'll stop along the way and pick up as many alcohol bottles as we can comfortably carry, as well as crutch ends or anything similar we can use for torches, and plenty of gauze to wrap and burn on their ends, and after that it's the back stairwell and on our way."

  "You might want these as well," Lisa said, as she both snagged her long guns and came to her feet in one fluid motion. She slung them over one shoulder, reached into one of her firesuit pockets, and then pul
led out something, which she offered to both Cy and Mercy. In her hand were two cheap disposable cigarette lighters. "Found them in the desk along with that map," Lisa said, and then she gave Mercy a wink. "I've already got mine. I was thinking along the same lines you were with the Molotov cocktails, but you beat me to the punch in saying it. That's why I let you go ahead with it."

  "Thanks," Mercy responded with a grin as she took the lighter, put it in her pocket, and then reached for a very large medical shoulder bag in which she had stowed all of her non-medical gear. That was in a smaller bag already slung over one shoulder. "At least all of us are on the same page,"

  "And that's a good thing," Cy finished, brandishing his Ithaca as he did. He noted that Lisa hesitated, standing in front of the security workstation as she looked at a certain image on one of the screens of the second bank of security monitors. He moved up beside her to see for himself. The screen's image was a somewhat fuzzy and out-of-focus long shot view of Lisa's HemiCuda, still very much in one piece and still where she had parked it, but surrounded by a sea of zombies in constant motion around it. She became aware of his presence and turned to him. On her face was one of the saddest looks he had seen her give since he had first met her on their shared Outbreak adventure, aside from when she had talked about her late brother. "Sorry about your car," he said, his voice soft and introspective.

  "I appreciate it," Lisa said. She bit her lower lip. "It's my decision, of course, and I know it's the right thing to do, given the fix we're in, but ... well ... I'm going to miss that car." She continued to stand there, looking at the monitor, fingering the set of car keys she was now holding in her hand. She managed a faint laugh, and then looked at him with sad eyes. "It's one of a kind, Cy. You know?"

  "I know," Cy said, still keeping his voice low. He tried to put as much comfort and care in his own eyes as he could. "Maybe you can get another one once we get out of here."

  "A Barracuda, maybe," Lisa replied, her voice also low, "but not a HemiCuda. They're too rare." She suddenly drew herself up, took in a deep breath, and then let it back out again. She shoved the car keys back into one of her firesuit pockets and then gripped her MAC-11 again. When she resumed speaking, her voice was calm and in its familiar normal tones. "Anyway, I've made my decision and I'm sticking to it." She again looked at Cy. "You know what else? I may have lost my brother, and my family, and along with them one of the rarest and best muscle cars in the world, but I've gained something just as important in return."

  "What's that?"

  Lisa looked him in the eye. "A new friend," she said quietly

  Cy returned her look eye for eye. "Me too," he responded in a low tone.

  They stood there for several seconds, simply looking at each other. Mercy remained respectfully quiet where she stood. After a few seconds, Cy cleared his throat. "Well, ummm, we better get going, you think?"

  "I don't think, I know," Lisa said, as she suddenly grinned and brandished her new MAC-11. "Mercy?"

  "Just waiting for you two to finish up making goggle eyes at each other," Mercy said, nodding as she held her own new M-16 at the ready.

  Lisa blushed. Cy started to say something, stopped, then said something else instead. "Okay then," he stated, as he began to head towards the door. "Let's move out."

  Chapter 5

  Side Quest

  The three of them had made a sweep of the fifth floor for the ingredients each needed for torches and Molotov cocktails. Each now had the floor end of a normal crutch tucked into their gear harness or in Mercy's case, through the straps of one of her carry bags. Each had been removed from the rest of the crutch and wrapped with a fair amount of medical gauze that had been thoroughly soaked in rubbing alcohol. These would be lit and used as torches at the appropriate time. All three also carried several rolls of unsoaked gauze and as many alcohol bottles as they could comfortably handle in addition to the rest of their gear. As Lisa had correctly predicted, the amount they could carry would have only been sufficient to get them to her car, had that been their plan. Instead, what they had was more than sufficient for their new plan to escape the very real trap in which they now found themselves.

  The three of them were in the process of moving down the back stairwell in the central section of Metro City Medical Center to its first floor. It was the quickest way to reach the emergency entrance. All three remained silent, the tension mounting as they came closer to the first floor, and yet the sound of the zombies remained muffled and somewhat distant. All three had their weapons up and at the ready. Cy was in the lead with his M-16, while Lisa was right behind him with her MAC-11 and Mercy brought up the rear with her M-16. Once they reached the bottom landing, they stopped and looked at each other. There were no moans or scratching sounds outside the stairwell door. Those still sounded as if they were coming from farther away.

  "Sounds like they haven't breached the fire doors yet," Cy half-whispered, his head turned and cocked to one side.

  Lisa's head was likewise cocked. "It's about time we got another lucky break in this adventure, you know," she said, also in a half-whisper.

  Cy nodded, then addressed the two women. "I'm going to open the fire doors and then jump to one side. If you see anything moving, shoot first and ask questions later."

  "Right," both women responded.

  Cy positioned himself so he could reach the door's latch bar from one side. He looked at the women, nodded again, then pushed hard and pulled his arm back as quickly as he could. The door swung open to reveal a dark and empty hallway.

  "Now," Cy urged, as he sprang from cover and bolted through the door, with both women hot on his heels.

  The trio ran through a short hallway that ended in the waiting area for the emergency entrance. As with the front entrance, there were a number of half-eaten bodies here and the entire area was saturated with a very rank smell. The humans couldn't help but cough as they moved through it to the emergency entrance. It was shut, but the glass had been smashed out of both doors and one of the nearby floor-to-ceiling window panes. The three didn't bother with the door. With a run and a leap, they were through the broken-out window and outside the hospital. They ran for the alley entrance, but were brought up short when a pair of moans sounded from nearby. Both Lisa and Cy turned and opened fire automatically. The moans instantly changed into bloody gurgles as two zombies, one in the remains of a policeman's uniform and the other in that of a paramedic's, spun around and crashed to the ground.

  "That's done it," Cy exclaimed. "The zombies now know where we are."

  "Come on!" Lisa urged, as she again resumed running for the catering truck. "Let's get this done before they come in force!"

  Even as she shouted the words, another zombie came around from the front of the truck and charged her. Lisa whipped up her MAC-11 but the sound of a short but controlled full auto burst from Cy's M-16 beat her to the punch. The zombie staggered back and was spun almost halfway around from the force of the hits, which wound up leaving a fair-sized bloody splatter pattern on its upper left side. A split second later there was another such short burst. Most hit its upper body and one found the right side of the head, popping it back and causing a geyser of blood to shoot up in the air. It stumbled back another step and then fell in a scream of agony to the pavement. At the same time there was the sound of single shot fire from Mercy's M-16, coming from farther behind them, but by that time Lisa had made it to the cab of the truck. No keys in the ignition, of course, but that had been expected. She hopped into the drivers seat, smashed down the clutch pedal with her left foot, and took it out of gear. "Cy!" she called. "It's ready!"

  "Stay up there and steer!" Cy called. "Mercy! Go full auto! I gotta push the truck!"

  "I can't aim on full auto!" Mercy called back, even as she hit and downed two more zombies with single shot fire.

  By now Cy had ran to the back end of the truck. He turned and put his back to it, bracing himself against the truck so he could push while still holding and shooting his M-16. "
Do the best you can!" he called, as he began to push with his legs. "Pull down when it does, and short bursts only!"

  "Right!" Mercy called, even as she thumbed her selector switch to full auto and readied herself again.

  The truck began to move. Lisa had hopped out of the cab and was pushing from up there, keeping one hand on the steering wheel to guide it and pushing with everything she had. Cy was doing the same ̶ backpedaling, straining from the effort, and shooting as required. Slowly but surely the truck moved, rolling from where it had been parked and across the alley entrance. There was the rat-a-tat-tat of an M-16 on full auto from behind them. Mercy could barely control her rifle that way, even as she had said, but fortunately a stray ricochet managed to hit the zombie at which she was aiming. It promptly screeched and quickly wriggled back the way it came. There was another full auto burst from Cy's M-16, even as he fired and pushed at the same time. The truck was still moving, but the edge of the alley fence was coming up fast. Lisa waited until the last possible minute and then jumped out of the way, so she wouldn't be hit when the driver's side door of the cab hit the fence edge and slammed shut. "Cy!" she called. Cy also jumped clear, and two seconds later the front end of the truck hit the alley wall on the far side and crunched to a stop, the sound of smashed and broken front lights mixing with the gunfire and zombie wails. Cy rolled and came back up quickly, continuing to shoot at the zombies, even as there was another short full auto burst from Mercy and he saw Lisa pop up from under the middle of the truck's box back. It had been parked almost perpendicular to the alley proper, and in its new position it completely blocked off the alley. The only way to get to it was to crawl under the truck, just as Lisa had done. That was exactly what she had planned.

  There was more gunfire, this time from both ends of the looparound. Mercy and Cy were positioned on each end, holding off the zombies that were continuing to crawl through the gaps in the wrecked vehicles. Lisa paid them no heed. She pulled a bottle of rubbing alcohol from her gear and began pouring it on the truck, moving up and down it until the bottle was empty. She repeated this with more of them, until all exterior parts of the truck she could reach it were thoroughly doused. She now had only one bottle left. She called out to the others. "Truck's ready!" she yelled.