The Armageddon Series | Book 4 | Pandemic, Part 4

by Thomas, Nick S.

  Pandemic

  Part 4

  By Nick S. Thomas

  Copyright © 2020 by Nick S. Thomas

  Published by Swordworks Books

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Chapter 1

  Bobby awoke from a deep sleep. He was sitting in a comfortable armchair beside a window looking onto the street. A rifle lay across his lap, an instant reminder that he had been on the lookout for trouble. Not from outside, but from within. He’d made a deal with the Corporal, but he still didn’t know if he could trust her. He looked up, and she was standing a few feet away looking out of the window, sipping a cup of tea.

  “You’re still here?”

  “Only way out of this is together, isn’t that right?” she quoted him.

  “Sure, but I wasn’t confident you believed it.”

  “I train and fight with a team. There is only so much one soldier can do.”

  He looked over to the rest of the group. “They aren’t soldiers.”

  “No, but they’re fighters, and that’s the next best thing. It’ll have to do,” she grunted.

  He got up and stretched his aching body, propped the rifle against the armchair, and stepped up beside her.

  “Would you really have done it, Kate?” he asked her quietly as he thought back to their confrontation the night before.

  “You looked ready to go through with it,” he added as he remembered finding her beside Matt, ready to kill him so the group could move on.

  “I don’t know, but I know people are capable of all manner of things to stay alive. We are going to have to make many tough decisions if we’re going to make it through this, and some of those will require us leaving people behind, even those we care most about.” There was a slight wobble in her voice.

  He remembered it was how she sounded when they first met, and she’d confronted them with her rifle for daring to rob the dead of weapons they no longer needed.

  “Those soldiers down there, they weren’t just Army buddies, huh?”

  A tear rolled down her face as she shook her head, and quickly wiped it away with her sleeve.

  “Do you have someone out there?” she sobbed.

  “Na, not anymore,” he replied solemnly.

  “You lost them because of this, too?”

  “No, they are long gone.”

  She could tell there was a tragic story behind his response but couldn’t bring herself to pry.

  “How do you get past it?” she asked instead.

  “Keep moving forward.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s all I got. Some wounds heal slow.”

  “I’m not sure any of us will live long enough for that.”

  “Then the pain will be over soon,” he quipped.

  She couldn’t believe he had done so at such a vulnerable moment, and yet it brought a smile to her face.

  “What’s done is done, we can’t change any of that. But the living here, these people we can help.” He looked back to the group who were deep in conversation as if they were friends gathered on any normal day, “It’s a new dawn, a new day. Things can’t get much worse. It’s only up from here on in.”

  But their moment of peace was broken as Adam burst into the room in a fluster and breathing heavy.

  “We’ve got trouble!”

  “You were saying?” Kate joked.

  “What is it?” Kurt demanded, snatching up his rifle.

  “A service door we didn’t know about,” panted Adam.

  Bobby grabbed his small hatchet and stuffed it into his belt. He rushed on after Adam with the Corporal by his side.

  “What about the rest of us?” Lisa asked as they reached the door.

  “Grab your weapons and join us. If they get inside this building, it’s all over. We’ve got nowhere to run.”

  It was a sobering prospect, but nobody argued with him and scrambled to collect their weapons, as Bobby hit the stairs running. Only Kurt and the Corporal were with him as the others lagged behind.

  “If this building is compromised, we’ll have to move,” declared Kate.

  “And go where?”

  “Wherever we can find refuge.”

  “Easier said than done,” Bobby added as they stormed down the stairs. They reached the ground floor to find it was peaceful.

  “That way!” Adam shouted.

  It wasn’t long before they could hear a struggle. They rushed on and through a door that had appeared sealed, but it swung open with ease to a short corridor. It led to another set of doors where Tyrone was fighting off two Crazies with a hammer as they tried to smash through. A chain was wrapped about the doors, but they’d clearly been pried open enough for others to get through, as two bodies lay on the floor inside the corridor. Kate lifted her rifle to fire, but Bobby held up his hand, signalling for her to lower it.

  “No, not unless we have to.”

  “What is this? Where does it go?” Bobby asked, slinging his rifle onto his shoulder.

  “Underground service parking!” Tyrone yelled as he smashed a Crazy in the head with his hammer. The skull fractured, and it fell back from the breach in the doors.

  “I thought this place was secure?” Kate asked.

  “It was supposed to be,” Bobby growled and rushed forward, burying his hatchet into the head of another. Even as he retrieved the blade, another one was reaching through to try and get a hold on him. He smashed down one of the hands with his axe, opening a vicious cut as the Crazy’s hand was knocked down, and he came right back, seemingly feeling no pain. He smashed the blunt tip of the axe into his face, causing him to fall back through the gap between the chain. Bobby seized his opportunity to push both doors shut as Tyrone bolstered them beside him, and they both collapsed with their backs against it.

  They’d gained breathing space, but it was a matter of seconds before they felt a Crazy hurl itself against it. They were rocked slightly, but not enough to be moved.

  “This ain’t strong enough to hold many of ‘em off,” Tyrone panted as Adam reached them.

  “What the hell were you even doing down here?” he demanded.

  Tyrone had no answers.

  “Well?” Bobby shouted at him.

  “I was just checking everything was secure.”

  “Bullshit,” snapped Adam.

  Bobby sighed as Adam rushed forward angrily as if to strike Tyrone. Bobby leapt to his feet and closed the distance, forcing the Corporal to jump in his place as the door was pried open. She once more slammed it shut with Tyrone before turning back to the confrontation with rifle poised and ready to use.

  “Enough of this crap,” Bobby snarled as he stepped into Adam’s path and pushed him back.

  “Exactly, enough of it. What the hell was he doing down here?”

  Bobby didn’t like Adam’s attitude, but he to was curious as he looked back to the guilty looking Tyrone. “Well? If we’re goi
ng to make it through this we need to start trusting each other.”

  “I was just looking for anything that could be useful.”

  “Useful? Like what?”

  “That’s a service entrance for works vehicles. He was probably looking for a ride out of here,” insisted Adam.

  “Sure I was, that and anything else that we could use, but not to go it alone.”

  “You see, he was gonna leave us!” Adam tried to push through the former Marine, but Bobby’s grip held him firm.

  “Enough!” Bobby snarled and gave Tyrone his chance to explain himself.

  “We can’t make it out there by ourselves, I know that now. If it wasn’t for all of you, we would both be dead, Mel and me. I was trying to find anything that could help us out of this shit show.”

  Bobby looked to Adam. “You hear that?”

  “Yeah, I hear it,” Adam growled as if half believing the story.

  “The reasons why don’t matter now. This is a problem we’ve got to deal with.” The Corporal insisted as the door continued to echo out behind her.

  The Crazies were throwing themselves at it. The rest of the group finally reached them, with Lisa at the head. It was a shock to them all to see the bodies, for they’d had a couple of days of safety. The building had felt like a fortress to them all, a place safe from the brutal creatures that seemed intent on killing them all.

  “Are we safe?”

  “Not yet, Lisa,” replied Bobby.

  “What do we do?” Roger was standing behind Lisa and breathing heavily from the rush down the stairs.

  “Did you get a good look what it’s like out there?” Bobby asked Tyrone.

  “Only a little.”

  “What did you see?”

  “Nothing with wheels.”

  “I meant enemy numbers, points on ingress, what are we facing out there?”

  “They’re getting in through the roller shutter on the ramp.”

  “It’s open?” Bobby asked in disbelief that they could have missed it and looked to Kurt for answers who seemed to know the facility well.

  “I checked it. It was shut.”

  “Someone in here did this?” Kate shouted angrily.

  “We don’t know that. Let’s deal with one problem at a time, huh?” replied Bobby.

  “What can we do about this?” Lisa asked.

  “Only one thing we can do.”

  “Yeah, Kate, and what’s that?”

  “Destroy them all, Adam, and seal that roller shutter,” Bobby sighed.

  “What? You want to go out there?”

  “Not particularly, but that don’t change the fact we need to.”

  “But why? They’re contained now, aren’t they?” Lisa was terrified at the prospect of coming face-to-face with a Crazy once more.

  “Not really, this door won’t hold them. You saw how they got through that fire escape in the hotel. If they get through these doors, then the whole building is compromised.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “That we’re fucked, Lisa,” replied Kurt.

  Lisa was pale with fear as she looked to Bobby, hoping for another solution, but he didn’t need to say another word for her to know there was none. That changed her tone, and so knowing there was no choice, she dug deep and persevered.

  “All right, so how are we gonna do this?”

  “How many were out there?” Bobby asked Tyrone.

  “With the ones we killed here, maybe ten or fifteen.”

  Adam laughed. “Don’t be too precise,” he gasped sarcastically.

  “I didn’t exactly pause to count ‘em, okay!”

  “Enough!” Bobby roared, “However many are out there, we have to deal with them. But no shooting, not unless things go to absolute shit, you hear?” He looked to Kate and Kurt who had his rifle slung on his back.

  “No guns?” Wallace asked angrily.

  “We can’t risk that sort of attention, not while that shutter is open,” replied Roger.

  “That’s right. We have to get in there quick and quiet,” added Bobby.

  “We could feed ‘em through, keep ‘em bottlenecked so we can deal with one or two a time?” Kurt asked.

  “Let’s do it,” Kate insisted without waiting for their de facto leader to speak up, yet Bobby knew it was the best call.

  “Everyone ready?” he asked.

  They were all scared, but they stood their ground.

  “Let’s do this,” ordered Bobby.

  Tyrone released the chain a little, enough that a human body could fit through the opening. The door was violently smashed open. Tyrone grimaced as he held the chain tight and braced the door, holding a hammer in his other hand ready to strike. The first of the Crazies was quick to crawl through beneath the chain, and Tyrone delivered a quick kick to its face at almost a horizontal angle, causing it to roll towards Bobby. His small axe descended on the bloodied creature before it could get to its feet, the blade burrowing into the back of the head. Before it was even finished, another was crawling through and reaching for Tyrone. He swung his hammer as best he could, holding the chain firm with his other hand, but it made him an easy target. The Crazy was on him in no time. He wedged the tip of the hammer into its mouth and held it at a distance, but it still thrashed about with its arms striking and clawing at him.

  Kurt rushed forward with his fire axe and brought it down with brutal power on the back of the neck of Tyrone’s attacker. Its body went limp as the blade embedded in the base of the neck, but as it fell back to the floor, the axe was wrenched from Kurt’s grasp. He was forced to back away as another crawled through to get at him. Roger stepped up to help, swinging the back of his axe blade in a large sweeping motion, as to not lose his weapon as Kurt had done. The long swing struck the jaw of the Crazy just as it had gained momentum going forward. Its face stopped mid-air while the legs went out from under it, and the body was sent into a somersault, landing in a bloody mess at the feet of Lisa and the others.

  Roger looked as surprised by his turn of speed and aggression as everyone else. He froze and looked down at the body, almost as if to feel remorse. Yet in that moment another creature managed to slip through and rushed for him, ignoring Tyrone completely, who had no choice but to leap after the creature, extending his reach as far as he could while keeping a grip on the chain. He smashed his hammer on the back of its head, and it fell at Roger’s feet, though not dead. More crashed against the door, ripping the chain from Tyrone’s hand as the doors were blown open, and he fell back onto his butt in horror. Before the creatures could reach him, Lisa led the charge forward to stem the tide. Bobby was right beside her as the group hacked and smashed their way through those trying to get through. He hacked at one, splitting its temple in two.

  He pried his blade from the head, but there was no time to swing another blow, as one got close as if to bite him. He smashed the fist, which clenched the axe into its face, finally giving him the room. He buried the blade in even deeper than the previous one, furious they dared get so close. Yet he struggled to get the blade free, holding the lifeless body with one hand and trying to pry out the weapon with his other. As he struggled on, the rest of the group fought past him, driving the Crazies back with remarkable efficiency. The vicious creatures’ bodies were piled up, for in the confines of the small corridor they could not flank or overwhelm the survivors. They soon reached the opening of the doors which had been thrown open and did not advance any further.

  “We’ve got a problem,” declared Kurt.

  “No shit,” replied Bobby.

  “More than the obvious.” He pointed over and past their people. Bobby had to shuffle about to get a better view until finally he got sight of the problem, and his eyes widened in horror.

  “There’s more coming through!” Adam yelled as he spotted the same issue. More Crazies were trickling through under the open door, almost as quickly as those before them were being knocked down.

  “We have to stop them coming through!”
Kate shouted.

  “How?” Lisa pleaded, struggling with one of them. It lashed out, smashing her in the side of the head. She dropped, but Kurt quickly leapt into her place to give her time to recover. Bobby helped her up and looked at the open shutter door once more.

  “If we don’t get that shutter down this, the whole place is compromised, and we’re finished.”

  The rest fought on as he and Lisa were left to make a decision. She nodded for him to make the call.

  “We get that door shut or we’re finished. Weapons hot, let’s clear them out!” Bobby slipped his bloodied axe into his belt and took up the rifle he used so sparingly. Kate and Kurt did the same, positioning themselves in a line, more like a firing squad than anything else.

  “Everyone back. Protect out flanks and mop up!”

  Those defending the door quickly separated and moved back as best they could. The Corporal fired the first shot, hitting a Crazy between the eyes and dropping it in one. In the confined corridor the noise was ear-splitting, only they had to conserve their ammunition as best they could, but it didn’t need to be said as they all knew it.

  Kurt and Bobby fired simultaneously. They were easy shots to take at such close range and targets coming right at them. All three took their shots carefully, as what had seemed like an impossible task was made light work of. Ten Crazies lay dead at their feet in seconds as the three with rifles advanced out from the doorway. The others spread out at their flanks, engaging the stragglers.

  Gunfire ripped through the loading bay as the bloodthirsty animals were put down with ease. Yet none were so foolish as to think it would always be this easy. Their ammunition was already low, and there seemed little hope of finding more. Roger led the way on their right flank and showed no risk of freezing up a second time. He smashed his way through, bloodying the office shirt he still wore. Bobby was soon ahead of the rest and advanced quickly for the doors, ignoring his flanks and relying on the others to protect him. He was not only conscious of how many were coming through, but also how much the echo of gunfire would attract more of the bloodthirsty creatures. His advance was closing the distance rapidly with the enemy, and as he shot one, it was so close it collapsed onto him. His muzzle dropped as he pushed it aside, and another was on him like a flash. He swung the stock of the rifle into its face. The bullpup rifle was short but also heavy. The blow cracked the skull of the Crazy and dropped it.