The Zombie Effect

by Sampson, Roger

  “We can’t set the self destruct without it,” Cliff reveals.

  “Self destruct?” Beth whispers harshly. Cliff looks warmly at Beth.

  “These people are already dead on the outside. We can’t save them. But we can stop their suffering and prevent this from spreading,” Cliff summarizes. Beth tears up and looks away. The biting truth is Cliff’s right and she knows it. She hates that he’s right, but he is. Jack takes Beth’s face in his hands gently and kisses her softly.

  “We’re going to get through this,” he tells her reassuringly. Beth wipes her tears and smiles weakly at Jack.

  “Let’s go,” Cliff commands.

  Cliff opens the office door slowly. There is no movement in the hallway. The walls are covered in blood and another substance they can’t identify which looks like black chunky paint. Jack leads the way with his flashlight. Emergency lights barely illuminate the hallway but even those have blood caked on the light guards, which adds a rosy hue to the dim light. It’s just enough to up the creep factor. They turn the corner ahead. It’s quiet enough to hear their hearts beating. That, in and of itself, freaks them out. They involuntarily try to quiet their breathing so as not to draw attention to themselves.

  Jack hears movement around the next corner. He raises his fist and they all stop. He shines his light at the corridor. Nothing. He shines it to the other side and nothing. He shines back to the original side and Jason is standing right in front of Jack. His red orb eyes study Jack like a sandwich to a starving man. He licks his lips and grabs Jack and throws him up against the wall. Jack shrieks and cries out in pain as he thumps to the floor. Jack’s flashlight clanks to the floor. The light shines the top of Jack’s head. Beth screams. Jack shakes off the cobwebs as Jason pounces on top of him. In his semi-dazed state, Jack half fantasized Jason would do this without being infected over his jealousy of Beth’s affections. But this is worse. Jason snaps his jaws at Jack’s head and arms. Jack fights him off. Jack tries to grip his gun but Jason swats it away as they wrestle.

  Beth backs into the wall behind her and runs into the fire hose chamber handle. She quickly turns to look to see what it was and her flashlight finds the hose with an axe mounted over it. She uses the butt of her flashlight to smash the glass and grabs the axe. Cliff tries to pull Jason off Jack but Jason throws him off with a shrug of the shoulder. Cliff falls backwards into the hallway. Jason punches Jack, dazing him. Jack raises his arm in defense, leaving it vulnerable. Jason opens his jaw wide. Beth swings with all her might and lands the blade side of the axe directly in the top of Jason’s head, splitting the top of his head into two dangling sections. Jason’s arms fall limp. Jack quickly slithers out from under Jason as blackened blood, tissue and pus drip from the six inch gash in his head to the floor. Jason’s body clumps to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Beth turns to Cliff and he comforts her. She’s never killed anyone before, and even in this situation it’s the most horrible thing imaginable to Beth. “Thank you,” Jack says gratefully. Beth looks up from Cliff’s shoulder. She wipes her tears. She shakes her head at Jack. Cliff cleans the flesh and blood from the axe.

  The noise drew attention, though. There is movement coming from around the corner. A group of 3 zombies turn the corner and confront the group. Jack lifts his gun and dispatches the first one between the eyes. Cliff swings the axe like a bat and decapitates the next zombie. The third one is Lorna, lost behind her red orbed eyes. She reaches for Beth. They struggle. Beth punches Lorna. Lorna’s jaw dislocates. She clacks her now off center jaws together and charges at Beth. Jack yanks Lorna off Beth and tosses her up against the wall and fires a shot into her left eye, exploding the back of her head against the wall. Beth rises slowly. “Thanks,” she weakly says. Jack nods and smiles softly to attempt to lighten the life threatening environment they find themselves in. They can’t help but to feel sympathy for Lorna, Jason and the rest of these poor people who died when their deaths should have been prevented. But they can debate the humanity once this is all over. Right now, none of them are safe.

  CHAPTER 21

  Jack, Cliff and Beth snake their way through hallways, avoiding as many undead staffers as possible. Beth discovers how amazingly challenging it is to keep your breathing silent when you’re bombarded by both fear and fatigue. They creep up to the corridor where Power Control’s entrance is located. The door is clear of zombies. They sneak along, close to the floor, under the window ledges and reach the door. Cliff pulls on the door handle but it doesn’t open. “It’s locked,” Cliff advises.

  “Where’s the key?” asks Beth.

  “The engineer has the only key,” Cliff replies in frustration. Jack spies a pad code next to the door with a red light illuminated.

  “Does the keypad work even if the power’s out?” inquires Jack. Cliff looks at the lock.

  “Yes, it has its own separate emergency backup power system. But I don’t know the combination,” Cliff advises.

  Jack holsters his gun in his pants and retrieves the electronic lock pick from his back pocket. “Makes me glad I brought this with me,” Jack whispers. He gently pops the faceplate off the lock and connects the leads. He flips the switch and the machine hums and the numbers rotate and lock one at a time until all 5 are locked. The lock turns from red to green. The door lock clicks. Jack smiles. Cliff opens the door. They enter and shut the door quietly behind them.

  Cliff shines his flashlight at the main power panel. “Main power is out. The backup generator has to be switched on manually,” summarizes Cliff. Cliff searches the back wall for a small panel. He installs a key into a lock on the panel and a switch box pops open. Cliff flips the switch. The panel illuminates and the generator hums to life.He searches for the breaker boxes on the wall and flips them all to the “ON” position.Light fills the room.

  The power engineer stands behind Cliff staring at him through red orbs. “Cliff!” Jack yells. The engineer reaches out and grabs Cliff. Cliff drops to the deck and flips himself around. The engineer stalks him. Jack pulls his gun. “No Jack! Not in here!” Cliff screams. Jack looks around the room, taking in the panels and power controls and suddenly realizes if they start shooting in there they could cut the power, and the ability to launch self destruct, with it. Jack takes a running leap and drop kicks the engineer to the deck. Jack lands right next to him. The engineer grabs for Jack’s leg. Jack kicks him away. The engineer gets Jack’s foot and slams it in his jaw and bites. Jack screams. Cliff picks the axe up and swings it violently at the engineer, shearing his right arm off. It falls to the floor and the engineer loses his grip on Jack. Jack squirms away. Beth picks up a long flat head screwdriver and charges the engineer, who is now in a seated position. She drives the screwdriver through his left ear and her inertia drives it straight out the right side. Black brain matter, blood and pus drip from the business end of the screwdriver as the engineer drops over silently. Beth backs away quickly.

  Cliff tends to Jack. Jack removes his shoe. “He didn’t break the skin,” Jack says in relief.

  “Thank God,” Cliff sighs. “Holy shit that was close,” Cliff continues.

  A loud bang of a door swinging open interrupts the moment and Cliff jumps back.Still holding the axe, he holds it up in ready position.Sprinting steps grow closer and closer followed by growling noises. Cliff, Beth and Jack listen closely. Jack rushes to put his shoe back on. A scream as a blur in human form turns the corner. Cliff swings and plants the head of the axe square into Parker’s chest. Cliff’s eyes bulge as he realizes Parker was running away from the zombies, not as one of them. Parker chokes up blood and drops to his knees. “Oh, Jesus!” Cliff exclaims. Beth screams. Jack leaps up and helps Parker to the floor gently. Tears run down Parker’s cheek as he gurgles breath.

  “Have to get to self destruct,” Parker instructs. Cliff tears up and shakes his head yes as he holds Parker in his arms.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Cliff squeaks. Parker slowly closes his eyes and goes limp.

  J
ack rises and embraces Beth. Cliff sits stoically and stares off. “Cliff,” Jack calls. Cliff doesn’t respond. Jack touches Cliff’s shoulder. Cliff looks up weakly. “We have to go,” Jack announces softly. Beth looks at Jack and points to Parker. Jack nods at the subliminal notification they have to shoot Parker in the head to prevent him from coming back since he was killed with the zombie blood filled axe. Jack pulls his gun and puts it to Parker’s temple. Cliff looks away in stoic shame.

  Jack fires.

  “Where to Cliff?” Jack asks matter of factly about the location of the Control Room.

  “Two wings over. Maybe a hundred yards,” Cliff responds. Jack checks his clip. One round left. Cliff approaches a lock box on the far wall and smashes it open with his flashlight, breaking it. He removes a wrench. He hands the axe to Jack. “I’m done with this,” he somberly declares. Jack takes the axe and Cliff hands Beth a wrench from the lock box. Beth hugs Cliff. “Let’s do this,” Cliff says as he picks up a sledgehammer from the locker.

  CHAPTER 22

  Several black and white vehicles rapidly approach the street corner at the bottom of the hill near the entrance to the institute. Dr. Norris, a tall dark man in his fifties, steps out of the lead van in a HAZMAT suit. He stares at the institute in the distance and studies the grounds using a pair of binoculars. A tech approaches him. “Set up a perimeter. Get local law enforcement to help you,” Dr. Norris directs. The tech scurries off looking like an astronaut wrestling with his moon suit.

  Cliff, Beth and Jack slowly and carefully exit the Power Control room. They turn the corner and are greeted by three zombies who charge them like starving animals. Jack swings the axe and beheads a formally twenty two year old intern turned infected cannibal. Beth is greeted by a former janitor who pushes her against the wall. She swings the wrench, creating an indentation in the zombie’s head. He bleeds from the eyes and nose but charges again. She swings again, nailing him in the eye. One of the wrench edges gets lodged in the eye socket and Beth has to yank it out, creating a crunchy slushy sound as his eye falls out and the zombie collapses. Cliff lifts the sledge to ward off the attack from his zombie. Cliff pushes him back and wildly swings the sledge, driving a hole into the zombie’s chest. Blood, muscle and organs cascade from the open wound. Cliff tries to retrieve the hammer, which is embedded in the zombie as it attacks him again. The axe rains down on the zombie’s head from behind and splits it in two, showering Cliff with blood and brains. Thankfully Cliff had closed his mouth, but it didn’t make this moment any less disgusting and Cliff leans over and upchucks. “Thanks,” he praises Jack, half in gratitude and half in sarcasm. Jack tears off a piece of the zombie’s shirt and hands it to Cliff.Cliff shoots Jack a WTF look and Jack casually observes, “You got some…stuff, here.” Jack points to his cheek and forehead to give Cliff reference. Cliff looks crossly at Jack and looks around. Realizing there is no other way to clean his face at the moment, he carefully uses the torn shirt to wipe the zombie off his face.

  The trio inches their way down the hall. In the distance they hear rustling. Jack stops. He peeks around the corner. The Control Room entrance is at the end of the corridor. But a dozen zombies linger between them and the door. There is no way to pass them without confrontation. “Son of a bitch,” Cliff whispers.

  “There’s too many,” Jack surmises.

  Cliff stares at the wall in thought for a moment as Jack scopes possible alternate routes. “Maybe if we back track there could be another way in there,” Jack offers. Cliff shakes his head no.

  “That’s the only way in. And when the power went out it reset all the electronic locks so you have to have the master code, which the engineer has. And he’s dead,” Cliff summarizes. Jack looks at the zombie horde and back at Cliff.

  “I can hack it, but I need thirty seconds uninterrupted,” Jack concludes.

  “Yeah,” Cliff agrees and nods. He looks at the zombie horde and then down the opposite hallway. He continues, “Alright. I’ll take off down this way, lead those bastards past you here and give you a diversion. They’ll follow me and clear the corridor for you.That should give you all the time you need.” Beth’s eyes widen.

  “No,” she exclaims quietly. Cliff turns to her.

  “Sweetheart, we can’t make it in there otherwise. We have to end this.You and Jack can do this,” Cliff pleads.

  “I’m going with you,” Beth begs teary eyed. Cliff embraces her warmly. He looks her in the eyes and smiles like the sun had risen on her face.

  “We will be together again very soon. But it’s too risky right now. I can’t lose you too,” Cliff says lovingly. Tears roll down both of their cheeks. Cliff hugs Beth tightly and kisses her cheek. Cliff looks at Jack. “At the back of the control room is a service entrance that leads to the basement level and parking garage. Black SUV. You can find it with the key. Get her out. You should have plenty of time. If I’m not there in time, don’t wait for me.You know what to do,” Cliff instructs and hands Jack his keys. Jack accepts the keys and nods.

  Cliff smiles at Beth and takes off down the opposite hall banging on the walls and screaming. This draws the attention of the zombie horde who turn in pursuit. Jack and Beth huddle down near the corner as the horde passes by.

  Jack peeks around the corner. The path to the Control Room door is now clear. They creep down the hallway to the lock. Jack retrieves his hack tool and connects the leads.The tool hacks the lock and it turns green and the latch releases. Jack puts the tool in his pocket as a zombie turns the corner. Jack jumps back in surprise. Beth leaps up and swings her wrench with authority, adding a new three inch hole to the zombie’s head next to its ear. She grabs the zombie by the back of the head and drives it into the wall. The zombie drops leaving a trail of disgust on the wall.

  Jack chuckles through wide eyes. Beth offers her hand to help him up. “You in?” she asks. Jack smiles and nods affirmative. Beth opens the door. They enter the room. Three zombies greet them violently. Jack raises the axe against one that attacks him. He throws it against the wall and swings the axe at its head, removing the top just above the ear. The zombie drops like a rag doll. Beth dodges the zombie coming for her and as if doing a martial arts move reverse punches the zombie followed by the business end of the wrench coming down on its head. It drops. Jack addresses the third zombie. He brings the axe down on its chest, embedding it there. The weight of the axe drops the zombie to its knees and Beth grabs a screw driver from the control panel and inserts it into the zombie’s left eye. The zombie drops motionless. Jack closes the Control Room door.

  Jack quickly opens the small arms locker and snags a pair of Glock 22s and four clips. He hands one of the weapons to Beth and a pair of clips. Beth pops a clip into the gun, chambers a round and sets the safety. Jack smiles at her. She shrugs and tries to force back a return smile.

  Jack turns his attention to the console. He searches the console and finds a large red button enclosed in a glass case. “The key is on his ring,” Beth instructs. Jack sifts through the keys on Cliff’s ring and finds a small key that fits the lock. It pops open. A computer screen awakens in front of them with “Self Destruct Sequence” instructions. Jack types on the keyboard to enable the sequence. “Zero, zero, zero, zero,” Beth advises, sharing the self destruct password with Jack. Jack looks up at her. “He wanted something easy to remember,” she quips. Jack types it in.

  “Self Destruct Enabled. Press red button on the console to begin 5 minute countdown. Evacuate all personnel immediately” appears on the screen. The timer above the red button sets to 5:00. “You ready?” Jack asks. Beth stares at Jack for a long second as a tear forms in her eye. The thoughts of her dead mother, father in danger and the institute which had been her whole life now being destroyed overwhelm her. Jack takes her hand and gently kisses her. She squeezes his hand. Beth reaches down and presses the button. “Self destruct sequence activated. You have five minutes to evacuate”,a computer voice drones over loudspeakers.

  CHAPTER 23
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  Jack and Beth unlock the service entrance door at the rear of the control room with weapons drawn. Panting lightly as if playing a tense video game, they look up and down and discover movement in both directions. The door clicks closed behind them, drawing the attention of both groups of undead. The top group reaches first, where Beth is. She fires the Glock and dispatches one, then another, then another. Jack fires on the group approaching him from below. Heads splatter the wall with slimy brain matter and coagulated blood. The shots create a deafening noise. A nurse zombie charges Beth, slamming her into the wall. Beth grunts and struggles. The female undead snaps her jaw at Beth. Beth struggles to keep her defense up. Another zombie falling over knocks Beth’s arm away, giving a clean lane to Beth’s face to the zombie. Beth screams. Jack lunges in and pops the second invader in the temple and grabs the female zombie. They struggle and Jack lifts her up and tosses her like a rag doll over the stair railing, plummeting her to the floor below, where the hand rail decapitates her. Beth collects herself.

  They change clips and head downstairs. “You now have four minutes to evacuate”,drones the speakers on each floor. Beth and Jack pick up the pace. Another group of zombies charge from below. Eight pops of gun fire leave a heaving pile of already dead corpses in their wake. They reach the bottom and carefully open the exit door to the garage.

  They enter the garage and are met by four more zombies. Beth empties her clip eliminating the two on her side. Jack head shots the two on his side in rapid succession. The random thought hits him that he’s getting pretty good at this. He’s not sure if that should be considered a positive or a negative. “I’m out,” Beth declares. Jack checks his clip.

  “Two rounds left. Let’s find the car,” he responds.

  The door behind them swings open. Jack and Beth whip around, Jack with weapon already cocked. Cliff barges through the doorway. “Daddy!” Beth exclaims and runs to him. They embrace tightly. Jack smiles. A zombie sneaks through the door behind Cliff. Jack’s eyes widen. Cliff and Beth are oblivious to the zombie just being happy to be reunited.