Tommy leaned against the wall and sighed. “Thank Christ,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. “That’s such a relief. My son and parents are fine?”
Marla grinned. “Yes, they’re doing okay, including your ex-wife. Mine too. They were lucky.”
“I hadn’t wanted to dare think anything until I found out for sure.”
“Me neither. I didn’t want to wish and jinx it. I had even prepared myself for the worst.”
Tommy straightened up. “I know. It’s great. Maybe our luck has finally turned. I wish I could see them right now.”
“That’s the thing – you know how Miss Evender told us they’re working with the government to reunite people? Well, she offered me this.”
“I forgot about that.”
“Yeah, and the safest way is by air, apparently, so it’s a slow process. They’re moving people by helicopter. Apparently, the noise attracts dead-lookers, but they lose sight of them fast. Miss Evender said my mum wants to stay where she is at the moment. She’s getting over a bout of flu. Alternatively, me and Ellen can move to where she is,” Marla explained.
She noticed a troubled expression flicker across Tommy’s face for a second and then it was gone. Only a momentary thing, making her wonder what he had just thought. “So, Miss Evender wants to speak to you about moving your family or you moving. What will you choose? Stay here or go?” she asked him directly.
Tommy rubbed his chin. “I guess they’d move Bob too?”
“I imagine so. It would be cruel not to.”
“I guess I’ll see what my ex and son want to do,” he replied. “If they don’t want to come here, I will have to move to where they are. My son is the most important thing.”
“But your first choice is to stay here?” Marla asked, unnerved all of a sudden.
Tommy smiled. “After everything we’ve been through, I have to keep an eye on you and your sister. Never know what you’ll get up to otherwise!”
She grinned. “We have been through a lot,” she agreed. “I would miss you. You’ve been a great friend to us. Well, me.” Again, something flickered in his eyes, but she could not read his reaction. And then it was gone again, just as quickly as before.
“Yeah, that’s what good friends are for,” Tommy replied. “So, do I need to go see Evender now?”
“Yep, soon as.”
“What was your choice?”
“I chose to stay here,” said Marla. “My sister seems to like it and she’s happy with Robert, and I feel useful, like I’m doing something vital. But if my mum doesn’t want to move, I’ll have to think carefully about what I want to do, and speak to Ellen.”
“I’m glad we’re not all going our separate ways yet. I’ve still got to teach Ellen how to whoop my arse at Poker.”
Marla laughed, but then paused, wishing he didn’t have such a Poker Face at times. “What about Ruth and Barney? I hadn’t considered them.”
“I guess we deal with that when we find out what’s happening with our families. I’m not abandoning Barney, that’s for sure, but he needs to stay with his sister.”
“The nurse taking care of Ruth seems to have really taken to her, Ellen was telling me, and Peggy has been helping out every day. She’s asked to become her permanent carer.”
“That would be cool,” Tommy replied. “Look, I’m going to head to the office now and see what I have to do, so I’ll speak to you later. Thanks for bringing me the news – best thing I’ve heard since we got here.”
“Sure,” Marla said. “Good luck,” she added as she watched him walk down the corridor towards the elevator with his furry friend in tow. Biting her lip, she hoped circumstances would play out in such a way that he would stay.
Week 10
Sunday, 7
Marla threw the covers off and leapt out of bed as the piercing screech of the siren seared through her eardrums. Grabbing her uniform from the wardrobe, she threw it on the bed before heading into the bathroom to brush her teeth and splash cold water on her face. Tying her hair back, she walked back out and dressed quickly. After briefly checking her reflection in the mirror, she grabbed her Glock, shoved it into the holster at her waist, and left the room. Locking the door, she turned and bumped into Sylvia in the corridor. “What’s happened?” she asked her.
“Caballero wants sixteen guards to go to the basement right now. The first who appear get to go. I’m staying here to direct everyone and then I’ll come,” Sylvia explained.
“Get to go where? I didn’t know there was a basement.”
“You’ll be given further instructions there.”
“Okay,” Marla replied, assuming the woman would offer her no more information.
Following the line of guards that were making their way to the stairwell, which connected levels one, two and the basement, a hundred scenarios chased through her mind. Had dead-lookers breached the building? But how could they have? It was meant to be secure.
“Quickly, soldier,” said a male voice over her shoulder.
Marla quit stalling and quickened her pace. The stairwell was well lit and everyone’s footsteps echoed down the metal stairs. “What about the civilians?” she asked the man behind her.
“All levels have been secured. They’re safe,” he replied.
“What’s in the basement?”
“They keep weapons there. I know that much.”
At the bottom of the stairwell, Marla followed the guard in front of her down a narrow hallway and into a huge, square room. There were no windows in the place, lit by three bulbs dangling from the ceiling. Two walls were lined with weapons, from the smallest to the most powerful item imaginable. Inside, the guards were gathering and she waited with them. She recognised Robert, Sylvia and Martinez, one of the guys from the trip to Amesbury. Everyone looked decidedly nervous.
“Thank you for your promptness,” announced Commander Caballero upon entering the room. “We have a situation down here. One of the cadavers was not sedated, broke free and attacked the scientist who was working inside. We do not know how many are free because none of them had been sedated today. As you know, one bite is all it takes. Don’t take any risks and don’t get bitten. We are arming some of you with tranquiliser guns. We need these cadavers alive...” He paused. “The scientists need them as we don’t want to have to go out and get new ones. But if you need to, shoot to the head. It is the only way to kill them. Any questions?”
Marla had a zillion of them, but it was a man’s arm that shot up in the air first.
“Yes, Mitchell?”
“Why are there zombies in the basement, sir?” he asked, speaking the question on everyone’s lips.
“The scientists need them to help find a cure for the virus, Mitchell. That is all you need to know. Now that you do know, no one else in this facility can know about it. Do you hear me? If anyone speaks of it, they’ll answer to me. Understand?”
Everyone nodded.
“How can anyone get into the basement, sir?” asked Mitchell.
“There is an elevator that goes up to the labs. It is safe and locked. Otherwise there is only the stairwell connecting to levels one and two.”
Marla raised her hand. “Isn’t it dangerous to have these things in here?” she asked, remembering what Jakob had said. Not only had he experimented on the dead in the past, but he still was. That was something he had lied about.
“It wasn’t until now,” Caballero answered. “We have to find a cure. There is no other way.”
“Where did they come from?” she asked.
“Ah, they were the people who did not make it through the quarantine process. If there are no more questions, we will get on with it.”
The guards glanced at one another and nodded. “Yes, sir,” they replied in unison.
“You five, take a tranquiliser gun each. Everyone else, pick up an extra pistol or shotgun if you need them.”
Marla put her hand up. “How many of those things are in there, sir?”
&
nbsp; “Fourteen.”
“With all due respect, there are only sixteen of us, and if they attack at once we might be at a disadvantage. I request something more powerful.”
“Shotgun or pistol, soldier?” Caballero asked. “That’s what there is. Take your pick or take both. Extra ammo is at the side there. Make it swift now. Someone sounded the alarm, so there may be a scientist alive in there.”
Marla spun around. “How many scientists were working in there, sir?”
“You ask a lot of questions. I’m not sure – two or three.”
She armed herself with an additional handgun and a Remington 870 shotgun, just like the one Tommy had been using on the way to Haven. Briefly, she wondered why he had not responded to the siren in time. After loading both weapons, she shoved as much ammo as possible into the pockets of her jacket.
“Okay, Elliot, open the door,” instructed Caballero, picking up a shotgun from the rack. “Close it behind us from the other side and guard it. Any trouble, press the alarm by the door.”
Marla noticed the commander was already armed with two pistols. Strangely, she had imagined he would stay behind and send everyone else in.
Elliot pulled open the heavy door and the soldiers filed past, one at a time. Once everyone was inside, he pushed it to, standing astride in front of it with his gun drawn. Marla noticed a red button to his right. Surveying the room, she found it to be brightly lit, but bereft of windows. It was a concrete tomb. The place had seen some disturbance, judging by the overturned furniture and glass on the ground. A white-coated body lay ahead on the floor, ripped in half. Ropes of red littered the ground amid pools of blood. Marla felt herself recoil.
Low murmurs and moans crept up all around the vicinity, but from where exactly it was impossible to discern. Marla could only see what was immediately in front of her and it was a narrow space. Metal worktables were positioned at the far end of it, presumably for the dead-lookers the scientists had been working on. Passages appeared to lead off along the way, almost inviting an ambush. Marla pondered with a sigh what idiot had designed it. There were too many places to hide.
The guards ahead of her moved forward and she followed behind closely, walking somewhere in the centre of the line. Boots clicked loudly on the concrete ground. Eerie groans stifled the quiet, rising above the general murmurs, and then two of the dead stumbled into the tight space. One lunged for the guard at the head of the line, but the second soldier, whom Marla recognised as Martinez, managed to shoot him in the chest with his tranquiliser gun. The thing stumbled, but it did not go down. Marla stopped as the guy in front banged into her chest. As the men pushed backwards, she struggled to maintain her footing. The passage was too narrow and they were wedged.
A shriek sliced the air and Marla craned her head around the person in front of her, only to see blood splurting from the neck of the first guard. “Fuck,” she muttered, grimacing. Drawing her gun, she aimed it over the heads of the queue of soldiers and shot the bleeding guard in the back of the head. He collapsed immediately. The man in front of Marla jumped and turned around to gawk at her, disgust in his eyes, but there was no time for questions. At the head of the line the two dead-lookers were attacking and the guards were trying to hold them off, struggling to raise their guns and force them back at the same time. Someone fired and one of the dead hit the floor. Blood launched like Champagne from a cracked-open bottle, colouring the white cement walls. Another shot rang out, followed by the sound of something heavy falling.
Caballero strode forward and Marla could only imagine what was going through his head. “Split up,” he ordered. “Three teams of four and one of three. Marla, you’re with me. That’s it. Fast. Two teams go straight ahead, leaving us two to take each of these passages. These passages all meet in the main room, but this centre area is too narrow. Take no chances. Anyone who has only got a tranquiliser, drop it and arm yourself with a gun. I’m not losing any more men.”
Marla was surprised Caballero wanted her in his team after she had criticised him at the church, but perhaps he meant to keep an eye on her. She passed her spare pistol to the other guy in her group. He nodded and she smiled, propelling her trepidation to the back of her mind. Caballero led his team of three down the right-hand passage. They were halfway along when a rush of jagged breathing crept towards them. Everyone raised their guns. As if on cue, one of the dead charged towards them, half of its head missing and grey drool trickling from its mouth. Skin flapped off the bottom of its jaw, exposing the lifeless muscle beneath. Caballero fired once and the creature hit the cement.
The passage turned and a shadow crept out from the right, its unearthly cries filling the space as it lunged forwards to grip the head of the soldier to whom Marla had handed her pistol. He fired a shot and his hair became a matted pile of red. The dead thing shuddered to the floor. Wiping his face with the sleeve of his jacket, the soldier walked forward, followed by Marla. She swept her eyes from front to back, back to front, as she strode. Caballero brought up the rear.
After turning once more, the narrow corridor opened up into a huge room and their bearings became clear. More than half of the metal worktables were empty. Leather straps hung loose. Marla estimated about ten of the things were up and walking around. Four had been silenced that she knew of, so where were the others? Caballero looked as if he was wondering the same thing. At that moment the other members of the guard appeared.
“Two down, sir,” said one soldier.
“Three, sir,” said another.
“We got two, sir,” added Marla. “And then there were the first two, making nine.”
“Team one, take the left, and we’ll take the right. Team three, check the back over there,” instructed Caballero. “I can’t hear anyone.” He nodded to his team and they stepped forward, keeping to the walls and checking in either direction, but everything was still. No shadows crept into the light and there were no suspicious noises. The four teams met at the other side of the room.
“I don’t get it, sir,” said one soldier. “We’ve covered the whole…”
“Oh, God,” breathed Caballero, hastening towards the elevator in front of them. Bloody handprints splattered the glass doors. “This goes straight up to the labs.”
Marla’s throat felt constricted as the commander continued to speak. For a second she did not hear anything and then she caught the end of his sentence. “...the lab fast. This can take about six people at a time, so we need to move now,” he said. “It’s automatic.”
Elliot charged over from his position guarding the door and the soldiers split into three groups. When the elevator appeared, the first six people, including Caballero, Marla and Martinez, stepped inside. The commander pressed the green button as she stared down at the sticky, bloody mess by her feet. It did not bode well. She imagined how frightened the scientists must have been. In her mind she saw them panicking and running into the lift in a vain bid to escape death, only to be followed by it. A severed hand loitered in the corner, but it was still. She kicked it anyway, just to be sure. It seemed to take an eternity to travel upwards and then the metal box clattered to a stop with a shake.
“Brace yourselves,” warned Caballero as the soldiers came face to face with the disfigured, growling visages of two of the dead through the glass. The doors slid open. As the things lunged, the men fired, with Marla shooting around the side of them. Within seconds the creatures collapsed, unable to get a hold of their prey. Caballero stepped out of the box first. As soon as everyone exited, kicking the bodies out of their path, the elevator travelled back down to collect the remaining guards, but Caballero did not wait.
Marla crept behind him. The portion of the laboratory that she could see was a total write-off. Anything capable of being smashed had been. Myriad colours of liquid ran across the tiled floor amid shiny, jagged splinters, as though seeking an escape. The glass fronts of numerous cupboards had been shattered and Marla shivered slightly as she witnessed bloody handprints in various places.
To her left a body in white overalls lay sprawled, chest down, its head ripped completely off the shoulders, its arms outstretched. Marla could not help noticing that all of the fingers were gone, as were both of his feet. They looked to have been gnawed off. Glancing back, she saw Caballero gesturing for her to follow him. Switching her attention, she hurried to obey. Two of the soldiers followed while Martinez and the other one spread out. In the distance the elevator rattled. Back-up is coming, she thought.
As they walked ahead, the rest of the L-shaped laboratory came into view and Marla wished it had remained concealed. Three dead-lookers had a scientist pinned across a table, or what was left of him, and they were tucking into the belly while the now unrecognisable face screamed. The ripped-out entrails were fast gathering on the floor in a spiral. In slow motion, the creatures turned their heads, baring their teeth like ravenous beasts. Unearthly growls penetrated the room as they darted forward simultaneously, only to be cut down by a hail of bullets. Swiftly, Caballero strode forward and silenced the scientist’s screams with one shot. Then he pointed to the right.
Marla walked ahead, flanked by two male soldiers. The other two guards trailed behind, surveying all directions. Caballero pointed again and Marla crept up to him. The laboratory eeled off to the right into a narrow passage framed by cupboards of bottles and instruments of various kinds. For some unknown reason her brain wondered at the cost of it all, but she quickly dispelled the thought.
The passage turned again and stopped at two offices. One door was open, the other closed. Caballero nodded and disappeared into the nearest one. As soon as he did so, two figures surged out of the shadows, pushing him against the wall. He swerved his head from side to side, dodging the snapping teeth. Without thinking, Marla raised her Glock and fired straight into the forehead of the furthest one, showering blood and brains, and forcing the body off to the left while the two soldiers accompanying her laid the force of their weight into the nearest dead-looker, shoving it further into the room. Marla fired again and the thing hit the deck.
I Dream of Zombies (Book 2): Haven Page 12
