Afflicted: Patient Zero (An Outbreak Zombie Infected Horror Suspense Series, Book 1)

by Derek Shupert

  He opens his mouth as if to speak, blood ejecting from his red lips as he coughs hard. I’m on the verge of saying screw it and killing him. Or perhaps I’ll leave him for some hungry guest. I wonder if they like leftovers.

  “He’s . . . bel . . . us,” the soldier faintly says. I release his leg and hold firm to his armor. His eyes roll into the back of his head and his body goes limp. He’s gone.

  I wipe my blood soaked hand on his suit and get to my feet, the noise of hungry mouths waiting to be fed rushing this way. I grab the earpiece from the dead soldier’s body and place it on my right ear, plugging it into the two-way before turning it back on. I set it to scan all channels, hoping to get a play-by-play of where the soldiers and dead are.

  I check my newly acquired Glock’s ammo situation, finding a full clip of shiny brass bullets that are begging to inflict some pain. I slap the clip back in and cock the Glock, training it at the soldier’s head and firing. I did him a favor.

  I slip the pistol in the front of my pants and off to the side, face cold and blank. My goal hasn’t changed, just my hatred for Slade is urging me to get a move on. Standing there and devising my game plan, only one thought keeps beating me senseless.

  I’m coming for you, Slade!

  23

  I manage to work my way closer to the central hub that’s controlling this mess. I dodge most of the soldiers, but run into small pockets of wandering dead that I have to dispense of. Their thick, lumpy blood covers my face and clothes as if I bathed in their bodies. Some let me be and just pass while others try their luck. Not sure why some ignore me and treat me as one of the dead while others come after me like I’m alive. I mean, am I alive?

  The hammer I have clutched in my hand drips blood, meat hanging from its red-tinted claw end. I came across it in a storage room that was ajar. I don’t think using the pistol the closer I get to the central hub would be a good idea. Might sound some alarms.

  I dispatch two more dead with head shots, cratering in their skulls with ease. They crumble to the floor. Looks like some lab nerds who got the raw end of the stick.

  I step over one of the dead nerds and hug the wall, the bloody hammer hanging loose yet ready in my hand. The chattering over the two-way quiets, but I can hear some voices up ahead and around the corner. I approach with caution and stop at the edge, slowly peering around.

  Dead. Lots of dead bodies fill this semi-narrow corridor. Two sentries stand guard with automatic weapons while gabbing, chuckling, and laughing as their eyes cut my way every so often. Doesn’t seem like their too focused. Perfect.

  I grab one of the many dead bodies riddled with bullet holes and jerk it off the ground. I hold it upright and slowly move its back to the edge of the corner, hopefully catching the sentry’s attention.

  Instantly, their banter session ceases and they become silent. Their weapons cock and the soles of boots squeaking against the floor come closer to me. Hook, line, and sinker.

  I prop up the bait against the wall and make haste, disappearing from sight. I don’t go far. I’m still within ear’s reach of the two sentries making for the dead.

  Three shots ring out in succession—two to the dead man’s back and one more in the head. The bullet explodes out the front of its head. It falls forward and lands on a pile of dispatched bodies as the sentries cautiously come around the corner. Covered from head to toe in battle ready gear, they stop and train their weapons on the ground.

  One of the soldiers pokes and prods the dead body, while the other stands back a few paces. He scans from side to side as his weapon follows along. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but I guess he’s making sure it’s really dead.

  Buried under some bodies, I quietly push them off and get to my feet. I sneak up behind the sentry covering his partner, and grab his head gear, flicking my wrist. His head bobbles loosely as his body goes limp, sinking to the ground. I quickly grab him by his upper body and hold tight, snatching his weapon and training it at his partner’s back. The soldier in front of me spins around and trains his weapon in our direction, my surly face reflecting back from his black shielded face as I open fire. The rounds strike his armor and penetrate, riddling him with holes as he falls to the ground.

  I let go of my human shield and allow him to crumble to the ground and lay among the numerous dead bodies. I give a quick look around for any curious individuals, dead or alive. The coast is still clear. Guess everyone’s used to random gunfire now.

  Peering at the soldier at my feet, I look him over from head to toe, taking in his size and approximately how much he weighs. An idea conjures in my mind, crazy and yet much more realistic than my original plan. I can pull this off, I think.

  I get to one knee and strip the dead soldier of everything, making sure to take note of where all weapons and other various objects go. I pick the body clean in no time and get dressed, sliding all the body armor on. I leave the dead soldier mostly naked, his blue and white stripped boxers shielding his defeated manhood. I do a double check of everything and look over to the other fallen soldier. Everything seems to be in place. Just hope that everyone else buys it.

  I grab the soldier I borrowed the clothes from and hoist him off the ground, looking around for a room I can stuff the body in. I notice a door up the way some to my right and on the left. I step over the cluttered dead flesh and make my way there, finding the door is locked. With a little finesse and a “can do” attitude, I jerk firmly one time and dislodge it.

  It’s a tiny storage room that is no bigger than a walk in closet. I toss the body in and grab the other. I would hate to not have them keep each other company.

  I shut the door and head back towards the entrance, grabbing up the soldier’s weapon and making for the single door. I figure if I keep the convo’s to a bare minimum and do no bullshitting, I should be fine.

  Weapon in hand and my objective clearly lodged in my mind, I look over the barren walls for some sort of control panel or anything that might open it up. Nothing on the sides and the top is clear as well except for a thumb nail sized round disk.

  Ding! An elevator? Going . . . down.

  The doors separate, revealing a crisp white metal interior that has lights illuminating its inside. I lower my weapon to my side and step in, turning about face as the doors move back out and seal me in. It’s not very spacious, looking to only fit a few soldiers at a time.

  Silent and smooth, the lift releases and sends me downward. It’s only a short ride however before it stops and opens once more. I expect to see numerous guards patrolling and people roaming about. My game face is poised and ready—if they can even see it. But there’s no one within sight.

  Odd. Guess this could be some kind of maintenance elevator or just a chute that is used instead of the main entrance. There could be more of these down here.

  I cautiously step out and look both ways, the scenery much more vivid and lively than where I first awoke. No dark halls or the look of death’s handy work spilled all over the floors and walls. The evil and utter horror that is lurking above has managed to be held back from here. I might need to help things along and change that.

  Static from the earpiece breaks the thoughts running inside my head.

  “All units, sector five is showing heightened activity and there seems to be a malfunction in the door’s security locking mechanism. Teams three and four, converge on the site and provide cover for the maintenance crew already on scene.”

  “Copy that. On our way now!”

  The transmission ceases and the static dies off. I take my chances and go left, still unsure where I’m going. I try to play the part as best I can, keeping my movement fluid and clean cut, the barrel of the gun draped across my chest as I grip the butt. I keep an open ear for any indication of where Slade might be.

  I come to a T in the road and keep moving, going right this time and finding a few lab coats roaming the halls. I don’t see any soldiers about and the lab coats are peering down at papers and chatting amongst t
hemselves, not paying any attention to me.

  I continue down the hall and keep my head forward, peering from side to side behind the dark visor that shields my face. The small group of white coats that were chatting breaks apart and goes their separate ways, leaving just one with his nose buried deep in his work. This is one instance he should’ve been a little flaky.

  Stepping carefully, and trying to conceal my presence, I slip in behind him and gaze around for any inbound bodies. All clear, but not sure for how long. I need to move fast.

  Shouldering the automatic weapon, I remove the more personal Glock from its holster and nudge it in his back.

  “What the hell!” Startled to say the least, the lab coat drops his papers and tries to turn around, but I stop him, shoving the barrel into his kidneys harder.

  “Keep your head straight and mouth shut. You call for help or so much as twitch, I’ll place a bullet through that kidney of yours.”

  I can feel him shaking through the tremors working their way up the gun. Good. Glad he’s taking me seriously.

  “I need to find some sort of control room or something showing a layout of this place. You show me where it’s at, and I just might let you live.”

  “I don’t know where anything like that is. I’m just a lab assistant—a nobody. I don’t know anything.”

  Quivering coward. I might kill him just because of how spineless he is.

  I remove my helmet, leaning in close and whispering into his ear, my hot, foul breath crawling all over his neck. “How ’bout I don’t shoot you and just eat you here on the spot.”

  The smell of fear looms in the air and permeates from his nether regions as his head shakily twists back and he glances at me. Pure terror smears his face, a whimpering noise emitting from his lips as he gazes upon my now hideous face.

  “Okay, all right, just please don’t hurt me.”

  “Smart move, egg head.” I slip my helmet back on. “Pull yourself together and start walking. You make a move that hints to alerting someone, I’ll take my time in devouring every little inch of this pudgy body of yours.”

  The lab coat nods his head in agreement, pulling himself together as best he can. I lower my weapon and holster it, figuring by now he isn’t stupid enough to try anything. I give a quick look around for anyone coming. Still no one in sight. I guess the murder of dead beating at their doors is keeping them busy and occupied.

  Picking up his mess of papers from the floor, the lab assistant gets on the move. I keep pace with him as we head further in, turning corner after corner and passing by numerous personnel that pay us no mind. So far, so good.

  He rounds one more corner and stops in front of a door with no visible handle. I give a quick look down both hallways and find the coast is clear for the moment. He stands firmly in place and looks straight ahead. The door clicks and pops open. I get a brief glimpse of a soldier standing at the entrance.

  “What is it? You’re not cleared for access in this sec-”

  I grab the lab coat by the scruff of his collar and throw him into the soldier, knocking both men flat to the ground. The Glock sweeps about as I dart inside, quickly scanning over the room for a head count. I count two on the floor and two more coats sitting at a control panel that is littered with monitors. Jack pot.

  “Shut this door now!”

  The coat on the left turns and flips a switch, the door automatically sealing us in. I move into the room a little more, which has rows and rows of computer servers and various hardware off to my right.

  “Get up!” I say flatly, kicking the two men on the ground.

  The other coat makes for a weapon under the console and I put him down quick, one shot right in the side of the head. Blood splatters the monitors behind him and tags his colleague as well.

  “I would not advise anyone else doing that unless you want to end up like him.”

  Off the floor and over by the console now, the remaining men hold tight as I walk forward, looking at the screens. There’s much going on and I’m not sure where a lot of these feeds are streaming from. A few seem familiar, but most look foreign.

  “Tell me where these-”

  Something hard and blunt strikes me in the back of the head and knocks me hard to the floor. Lights out.

  24

  Clickety clang! Clickety clang! What the hell happened?

  My mind is a bit foggy and what sounds like chains clanging together echoes inside my head. My eyes wander around, finding mostly darkness and a lone light overhead. That seems to be the least of my problems.

  Wham! A fist slams into the right side of my face; my head cocks swiftly to the left and my jaw feels as if it’s dislodged from its hinge. Two more shots hit my stomach and one more right across the bridge of my nose. It breaks upon impact as my head snaps back, the thick, mutated blood oozing out and down my lip. I hope it hurt his hand.

  “Oh, stay with me, Mike. We’ve just gotten started.”

  That voice, that familiar tone that brings my head back down and out of the clouds. My vision is shaky and my eyes feel like they’ve been rattling around loose inside my skull. I blink a couple of times and clear out some of the fog. That’s when I see him. Slade.

  He nods at the bruiser dishing out the punishment. I don’t keep my eyes fixed on Slade. Another right cross hits me hard, the oversized brute’s hammer of a fist slamming into my cheek. My head snaps to the opposite side, blood slinging from my mouth and nose. Two more deep and concentrated jabs to my stomach and an uppercut weaken my legs, sending my head dangling forward.

  “Shit,” the bruiser exclaims, shaking his right hand as his left rubs the bloodied, swollen knuckles.

  “Damn Mike, you sure can take a beating,” Slade exclaims with a joyful glee.

  Let me loose and I’ll show you a beating.

  Slade walks up to me and grabs my hair, yanking my head back hard. He just stares. Not sure what he’s thinking, but I can only guess it involves my insides becoming more outwardly.

  “Truly remarkable,” Slade mutters. His breath smell’s just as bad as the dead. Makes me wish I had a tic tac or something.

  He releases my hair and my head falls forward once more. The swelling from the blows is starting to set in. My face is puffing up and my blood continues to flow like a river out of me.

  “I must say, you’ve been a pain in my ass for some time now, Mike. Killing my men and throwing a kink in my plans just isn’t Kosher, my friend,” Slade snidely remarks, disappearing in and out of the darkness. “The people that employ me want results and we just can’t have some freak interfering with that.”

  “Happy to disappoint you then,” I reply, spitting a thick wad of blood in his direction. “Please let me know how else I can make your life hell.”

  Slade pauses, and comes back fully into the light, smirking. He chuckles as he looks around at some of the soldiers and other unsavory men standing on the sidelines.

  “I love this guy. Even after he’s beaten and broken, he stills has a sense of humor.”

  Laugh it up for now, ’cause soon my cold, dead hands will squeeze the life out of you.

  I pull myself up slowly, arms tired and taut, all my weight bearing down on me like an anchor has worn them out. I get to my feet, face swollen and my right eye partially closed, but I keep my left focused on Slade. No matter what he does to me, I will not show weakness or submit. He’ll have to kill me before that ever happens.

  “You’ve got spirit, I’ll give you that,” Slade says with a devilish smirk. “About as much as the good doctor, Natasha, and that nice little dirty blonde number. Hmmm. Makes me wonder how dirty she really is?”

  “If you think I give two craps about any of those people, then you’re more delusional than I thought,” I reply, spitting out another wad of chunky blood that streams across Slade’s black boots.

  Slade nods to the soldiers on either side of him, both men stepping back and disappearing into the blackness. The bruiser who has been using me as his human punch
ing bag is dismissed as well, walking off and wiping the blood that is smeared all over his hands on a white rag.

  Finally, some alone time!

  I stiffen my arms and pull down on the chains holding me in place. I caught a glimpse of what was dangling from the ceiling as I was being whaled on; a black pulley that has some wear and tear around it. I patiently wait for Slade to step in closer, hoping he’s feeling the power swell inside of him—like he has me dead to rights. The sound of a solid metal door squeaking perks my ears and curiosity. More punishment? Better hold off. Don’t want to jump the gun and ruin the surprise.

  More chains rattle in the blackness and that ever so familiar shrill and growling fills the silence. It does little to distract me, my thoughts and focus still pointing at Slade.

  “Bringing in some guests thinking it’s going to scare me or something?”

  “Oh no, not at all. I don’t doubt that you’re not anxious about the infected anymore,” Slade replies as two hideous and grotesque undead are led into the light by a couple of soldiers.

  They are shackled at the neck with chains trailing behind them. The soldiers pause and yank back hard, halting the snarling, ravenous dead. Attaching the chains to thick metal horseshoe type bars on the floor, the soldiers step off to the side.

  Moaning, and reaching for anything that closely resembles food, the dead lunge forward, the shackles digging into their rotted flesh and snapping them back. Slade shoots a glance at one that is mere inches from raking its long, discolored nails down his arm, appearing perfectly comfortable with the undead so close. Interesting.

  I contemplate just going for it and making my move in spite of the dead and added soldiers, figuring I’ll catch some lead from at least one of the soldiers before I dispose of Slade. As much as I want to snatch the life from his body though, I’ve got to think smart. Play this right, don’t go off halfcocked and get myself killed. I’m so close and have come too far to fail now. Damn it!