“She’s right,” Nathan agreed.
“We need to move to another floor, before they exterminate us as well,” Lexx announced.
Hill considered their comments only a moment then quickly looked around the room. “Okay, we’ll go up the shaft to another floor. We need to leave any blood-covered clothing down here.” He seemed to consider more options. “I saw some clean scrub suits in the laundry room. We’ll slip into those and blend in with the rest of the staff.” He glanced at his sister and her unpredictable expression then looked back at the others. “Monica and I are going for the survivors in the doctor’s lounge.”
†
All six hurried across the laundry room with their makeshift weapons. Time was running out for any survivors on the first floor. Hill stopped them near the mounted wall phone. Hill indicated the phone to Nathan.
“Call the doctor’s lounge and tell them to get into the ventilation ducks. They have to make certain there’s nothing to indicate they went up there. We can’t have CDC thinking the infection traveled to another floor,” Hill announced sternly. “Tell them that Monica and I are on our way to help them.” He glanced at the others. “Carson and Rolan will secure clean scrub uniforms for all of us.”
Carson and Rolan hurried across the laundry room just beyond the industrial sized washing machines to where the clean scrub uniforms were stacked. Monica and Hill ran after them and for the dumbwaiter. Lexx and Nathan approached the wall phone between the freight elevator and the laundry entrance. Nathan punched in the number for the doctor’s lounge. Before he had a chance to speak, the freight elevator dinged. Nathan and Lexx froze simultaneously and looked at the elevator with shared concern. Hill and Monica suddenly stopped halfway across the laundry room to the sound and looked back as the doors opened. Ten zombies poured out of the elevator and charged for Nathan and Lexx. Nathan pushed Lexx toward the main laundry room door. Hill and Monica stared with shared looks of horror as the horde of zombies chased after them. Hill turned to Monica.
“Go to the doctor’s lounge and take the survivors upstairs,” he quickly announced. “I need to help them.”
Hill ran across the laundry room without awaiting her response. Monica appeared alarmed and stared after him.
“Hill! No!” Monica cried out.
Monica watched him head for the door without indicating he’d heard her. She cursed softly and ran for the dumbwaiter around the corner. She approached Carson and Rolan, who stacked several scrub uniforms then hastily changed into their own. Carson eyed her as he pulled the scrub top over his head.
“Where’s Lexx?” Carson asked.
“She’s with Nathan and Hill,” she quickly replied without looking at them. “They’ll be along shortly. The two of you need to go now.”
“You’re going to the E.R. break room alone?” Rolan suddenly asked.
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “Just go.”
“No, I’ll go with you,” Rolan informed her. “I’m stronger than I look. I can help lift people into the vents.”
“I don’t have time to argue,” Monica remarked and grabbed a sack full of clean scrub uniforms. She tossed the sack over her back and climbed into the dumbwaiter shaft. Carson and Rolan exchanged looks and hurried through the small open after her.
Chapter Thirty-six
The eight survivors sat quietly around the doctor’s lounge. They had moved the dead bodies toward the back and covered them. A few survivors talked softly between themselves. Pricilla held her granddaughter on her lap. The little girl flipped through a golf magazine and asked many questions about golf. She wanted to know why so many of the magazines were about the sport. Ellen brought two cups of coffee and some hot chocolate to them where they sat. The zombie was still heard thumping around inside the shower room beyond the locker room. Ellen jumped at nearly every sound the zombie made. It was unsettling knowing there was one inside the shower room with only a thin door between them and it. Adam now paced the room while occasionally looking up to the closed vent above them. They hadn’t seen Monica in over an hour. There was some concern that she may have abandoned them, but even more concern that something got to her first.
Sounds from the shower room finally subsided, leaving the doctor’s lounge unusually quiet for the first time. It was a relief not to hear the relentless thumping, but the silence was almost unsettling. Pricilla finally looked up. She obviously didn’t like the newly found silence.
“Do you think someone should check on our friend?” she asked while raising a skeptical brow.
Allison looked at her grandmother. “If he’s our friend, why is he locked in that room?”
“It’s an expression, dear,” Ellen replied softly.
“I thought he was in a time out,” Allison announced casually while paging through her magazine. “Like daddy.”
Ellen and Pricilla gave the little girl odd looks. “What do you mean ‘like daddy’?” her mother asked.
“Lexx said Daddy had to stay locked up until he was ready to play nice,” she announced. “In the place we were staying. Where I got my cast.”
“You saw your father?” Pricilla suddenly asked.
Allison nodded. “Yeah, he was locked in the nurse’s area,” she replied. “Lexx said he needed to stay in there, because he wasn’t playing nice.”
Pricilla and Ellen exchanged uncomfortable looks. Neither was prepared to tell her the cold, cruel truth just yet. Adam continued his pacing, turned, and nearly collided with the zombie from the shower room. He stared at the male zombie with flesh torn from its shoulder and part of its intestines hanging out like a beer belly. For a moment, Adam could only stare blankly into the zombie’s dead eyes. Everyone suddenly screamed. The zombie lunged for Adam. Adam stepped out of its path and gave it a toss for added measure. The zombie lost its balance and stumbled into the nearby wall. Everyone scattered to avoid the unstable infected man. Moans and snarls were now heard from outside the doctor’s lounge door. The zombie lunged for Ellen, who bolted from its path, leading it away from her daughter and mother. Pricilla leaped from her chair, pulled Allison further across the breakroom, and forced her to stand behind her as she held the crutch in her hands.
The zombie lunged for the nurse. She attempted to escape, but it grabbed her arm. As she struggled to pull her arm free, Adam grabbed the nearby fire extinguisher and ran up behind the zombie. He struck it on the head just as it bit the nurse on the lower arm. She screamed as the zombie took a chunk of flesh from her arm. Before it had a chance to enjoy its treat, the zombie was thrown sideways from the fire extinguisher striking its head. Despite a large flap of scalp hanging from the side of its head, the zombie turned and charged for Adam. It tackled Adam to the sofa and attempted to bite his face. Adam cried out and held the zombie back while attempting to keep its teeth from tearing into his arm. Pricilla struck the zombie in the head several times with the crutch to keep it from biting Adam, but she couldn’t get much leverage on the hard angle. She didn’t want to throw the zombie’s snapping teeth closer to Adam’s face by accident.
Adam finally managed to throw the zombie off him. The zombie crashed to the floor. As Adam attempted to jump off the sofa, the zombie grabbed his foot and bit his ankle below his pants. Adam screamed as the zombie’s teeth tore into his leg, saturating his lower pants leg with blood. Pricilla struck the zombie in the head several times with a better angle and more force, knocking the zombie away from Adam. The injured man pulled himself away from the fallen zombie and allowed the bleeding nurse to help him to his feet. The zombie attempted to return to its feet with less coordination. Pricilla struck the zombie in the head again with the crutch, but it still made it to its feet. She went for another swing when the zombie lunged for her and tackled her to the floor. The zombie was on top of her and came at her face with its bloodstained teeth. Pricilla screamed and grabbed for her discarded crutch. The zombie bit down on a pink cast. The hideous crunching sound of its teeth breaking off echoed through the room. The
zombie pulled back and snarled at Allison, who was crouched alongside her grandmother with her pink cast in front of her face protecting her.
Despite having lost its front teeth, the zombie lunged for Allison, who screamed shrill and loud. The crutch slammed into the zombie’s face, ramming its nose back and into its brain. The zombie was motionless a moment then collapsed to the floor. Pricilla and Allison looked back to see Ellen holding the bloodstained crutch while she panted heavily. She tossed the crutch aside and helped pull them to their feet. The sound of several zombies pounding on the lounge door was now heard. All the commotion from the doctor’s lounge had alerted them to the delicious entrees inside. The door began to vibrate. There had to be at least a dozen of them pounding against the door in order to vibrate it. There was a good chance the lock wasn’t going to hold. The three non-injured men ran to the door to help brace it shut.
Pricilla and Ellen looked at Adam then to the large amount of blood covering the bottom of his pants and his shoe. He clutched his ankle in agony while leaning against the wall for support. The nurse held a cloth around her lower arm, but it was already bleeding through. Their injuries were serious enough that they would undoubtedly turn in less than an hour from the infection. Adam met Pricilla’s sympathetic gaze.
He frowned and defiantly shook his head. “No, don’t feel sorry for me,” Adam boldly announced and straightened proudly. “You were right. We should have dealt with him when we had the chance.”
There was an awkward silence as he stared at her while reaching into his pocket. Pricilla appeared curious and attempted to see what was in his hand. By the time she saw the pocketknife, he was already plunging it through the nurse’s ear and into her brain. She gasped only briefly and immediately dropped to the floor. Ellen and Allison screamed. Ellen pulled her daughter’s face into her chest and shielded her from the gruesome image. Pricilla just stared at Adam with shock.
He offered a tiny smile and gave her a polite nod. “I won’t make the same mistake twice,” Adam informed her.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he plunged the pocketknife deep into his own ear. He instantly dropped to the floor, blood spilling from his ear. Pricilla shut her eyes and groaned softly.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Lexx and Nathan ran across the maintenance shop with several zombies gaining on them. As they ran, Nathan pointed to the vent opening on the ceiling nearly fifteen feet above them. There was no visible access to the vent. He pushed her toward some metal shelves near the back. Lexx quickly scaled the cluttered shelf with Nathan just behind her. She reached the top shelf, turned on her hands and knees, and extended her hand to Nathan. Less inclined to climb, the zombies pushed on the shelf to get to them, causing it to sway. Lexx appeared alarmed, gasped, and held onto the edge of the smooth metal shelf. Nathan looked below him at the zombies as they reached for him and rocked the shelf. It wouldn’t be long before the shelf toppled with them on it.
He looked back at Lexx. “Go! Across the shelves to the vent,” Nathan ordered.
She suddenly looked at him with horror on her face. “What about you?”
He offered a tiny smile. “I’m the diversion.”
Lexx’s eyes widened as she stared at him and the strange smile on his face. “Nathan, no!”
“I know what I’m doing, Lexx,” he informed her. “If I stay, we’re both going to die. I can buy you enough time to reach the vent.”
“Nathan--”
Nathan offered her a knowing smile and, before she could protest, leaped off the shelf. He landed on top of a female zombie, tackling her to the floor. He scrambled off her and sprang to his feet before the others could pile on top of him.
“Go, Lexx!” he cried out then yelled to the zombies, “Hey, come and get me!”
She felt some hope for his survival after watching his quick reflexes. The zombies chased Nathan leaving only two behind still intent on reaching Lexx. The shelf no longer swayed. Lexx cursed and quickly crawled along the top of the shelf, throwing a few items at the zombies below as she made her way to the vent. She looked back to check on Nathan’s progress. To her horror, there was a pile of eight zombies against the back wall. Lexx cursed softly, fought her tears, and continued for the vent. The two remaining zombies followed her from the ground and clawed at the shelves despite her throwing objects at them. She reached the end of the shelf and looked at the pipes along the ceiling near the vent several feet out of her reach. She looked down to the relentless zombies below her. There were only two, but it wouldn’t be long before the other eight finished their snack and returned for her. She took a deep breath and concentrated on her best approach to cross the pipe. Thinking like a monkey would be to her advantage at the moment.
†
Soldiers and CDC in hazmat uniforms stormed through the broken emergency waiting room door just a little before dawn. The remaining zombies within the waiting room charged the armed soldiers, who immediately opened fire. They took several body shots but continued charging for the armed men. It only took them a moment or two to realize they needed to shoot them in the head in order to keep them down permanently. They continued into the emergency room corridor, shooting anything that moved. After a small section was cleared, a man appeared from one of the exam rooms with his hands in the air and relief on his weary face.
“Thank God,” he cried out cheerfully. “Am I glad to see you guys!”
Without hesitation, CDC shot the man with several rounds. His body jerked and jolted from the bullets riddling his body before he finally collapsed to the floor in a bloody heap. The soldiers and CDC continued along the hall. More zombies began appearing and ran for them. The gunfire continued.
†
Pricilla, Ellen and Allison stood near the back of the doctor’s lounge and watched in horror as the remaining three men from their group attempted to hold the busted door closed. Zombies groaned and thumped against the thick door. The lock was already dangling with fragments of wood still attached to it. It wouldn’t be long before they plowed their way through as the three men were quickly losing energy. The vent grate flew open, startling the three women toward the back. The men holding the door closed were too busy to bother looking. Monica dropped through the opening and landed gracefully on the floor. Rolan jumped down behind her with less grace and a lot of grunting.
“They’re getting through,” one of the men holding the door shouted to Monica.
Nathan’s phone call never got through, so they had no idea what was about to unfold outside the lounge or how much danger they were actually facing. They had no idea that the zombies were no longer their biggest threat.
“In the vent!” Monica ordered while pointing.
The faint sound of assault rifles were heard being fired from deep within the emergency room. The others appeared hopeful and clung to one another with anticipation.
“Listen,” Ellen cried out with glee. “They’re coming to rescue us!”
“That’s not the sound of a rescue,” Rolan informed them while becoming increasingly anxious. He grabbed a chair and placed it beneath the opening in the ceiling. “That’s the sound of extermination. They’re going to shoot anyone on this floor whether you’re infected or not. Now get in the vent!”
They didn’t appear convinced and exchanged looks rather than springing into action. Rolan forcibly grabbed Ellen, startling her, and hoisted her onto the chair beneath the vent. She reluctantly did as he ordered, given little choice as he grabbed her buttocks in both hands and thrust her upward toward the vent. As Rolan pushed more people onto the chair and through the vent, Monica and another man pushed the vending machine in front of the door. It fell in front of the door with a thunderous crash. The door vibrated and harshly struck the vending machine. There were enough zombies behind the door that they were pushing the vending machine a little at a time with each thrust. It made a hideous metallic scraping sound as it dug into the floor, leaving a deep scratch in the tile.
“We don’t have much
time,” Monica informed Rolan, now feeling the pressure.
The sound of automatic weapons firing was getting closer and would soon be upon them. Rolan pushed the last man onto the chair then turned to Monica and motioned for her while she kept her weight against the vending machine to keep it stable. They’d pushed it far enough away from the doorframe that it would easily topple with the right amount of force.
Rolan stood by the chair and extended his hand to her. “Come on!”
She looked back at him and his extended hand. She nervously shook her head. “Once I let go, we’re only going to have a few seconds before they push through,” Monica informed him. “You can’t wait for me.”
“I’m sure as hell not leaving you!”
The sound of gunfire was now in the corridor outside their lounge. There was a thunderous commotion within the corridor, although it didn’t stop the relentless zombies from pushing on the door. Several zombies’ reached into the room past the vending machine and attempted to grab Monica.
“Come on,” Rolan shouted. “Get your ass up there!”
“I’m right behind you,” she called back then assessed the height of the vent and the chair beneath it. She gave him a quick, concerning look. “Give me some room up there! I’ll be coming in hot!”
Rolan nodded and hoisted himself into the vent. Monica kept her weight against the vending machine, took a few deep breaths, and then bolted for the chair below the vent. There was a thunderous crash as the vending machine toppled and clipped Monica’s leg. She was thrown across the room and to the floor. She clutched her lower leg and cried out in agony. The zombies pushed past the vending machine. Monica attempted to move to her feet but could barely stand. As she made it to her feet, she stared helplessly as Alpert lunged for her while the others attempted to push past the vending machine. A screwdriver was suddenly plunged through Alpert’s eye, and he fell to the floor. Monica looked back at Rolan, who now stood alongside her. Rolan swiftly pulled his makeshift sling blade from his holster and swung for the second zombie, slicing its head in two.
Basement Dwellers Page 17
