After several excruciating minutes, silence fell.
He immediately pressed the button on the walkie-talkie. “What the fuck happened?”
There was a long pause, static, laughter, and then, finally, Mike’s voice. “We got swarmed, but we’re okay now. I have a feeling that every zombie not locked in somewhere is headed our way.”
Juan was about to ask after Jenni when he heard her laughing in the background. He felt the tight knots in his back release. “Did we lose anyone?”
“Yeah, Mark and Wallace.”
“Damn.”
“Send in the backup team and have them meet me in the dining room. Use caution, there could be stragglers,” Mike said through the static.
Juan heard Jenni yell, “Love you, babe!” and relief washed over him.
“Okay, sending them in. Take care of yourselves.”
Turning, he motioned to Bill and Curtis to head in. As he watched Bill and Curtis’s team disappear into the building, he felt the knots in his back tighten.
Ashley stood quietly to one side as some of the others flipped the tables upright and began making sure the zombies were truly dead. Caution was the keyword, and everyone was being very careful. But their aim had been true and the many dead were finally at peace. During most of the fracas, Ashley and Ned had been busy reloading guns for the others. Toward the end, she had helped brace a table. Now she stood looking at her fingers and the long scrape that ran across them.
Nearby, Jenni used a broken chair leg to bash in one zombie’s head as a precaution.
Ashley stared at her hand.
It was just a scrape. That’s all it was. Just a scrape.
Katie rinsed her mouth with water from the hotel kitchen’s faucet. Watching the water swirl down the drain, she ran her wet fingers over her brow. She took a deep, steadying breath … and sucked in the overwhelming reek of decay.
She threw up again.
Finally, she was done. She wiped her mouth again and looked around. On a nearby counter, a row of buffet bins were filled with decayed food. Above them, a large menu was tacked up on a board. Given the chaos of the dining room, the kitchen seemed serene.
Beside the counter stood an easel holding a large placard that read THE DAUGHTERS OF TEXAS PRESENT THE RESTORATION OF HISTORICAL ASHLEY OAKS BREAKFAST at the top. Guest speakers were listed below.
Katie staggered out into the main room and looked at the piled-up dead. The top layers of the heaps were mostly made up of women’s bodies. They wore neat little matching outfits and shoes. Below them were the waiters and kitchen staff. Walking around, studying the bodies, she identified the front desk receptionist and a doorman. That meant there might be maids and janitors elsewhere in the building.
“Shouldn’t be too many left,” Mike said as he reverently laid a tablecloth over the two men who had fallen during the battle.
“Actually, these are mostly guests. There was a breakfast meeting here that first day,” Katie said. “I also see staff from the lobby and the kitchen.”
Mike studied the zombies. “Yeah, I see.” He paused, thinking. “We killed two janitors and a maid in the janitor’s storage closet when we came in.”
“I killed a maid in the lobby, and there was the one that took a dive out of the hotel window a few weeks back. But how many were on shift?”
Ashley spoke up. “I worked in a hotel. There should be a work schedule up at the front desk!”
Jenni headed out the door with her teammates close behind. Ashley looked a little pale and unsteady while Ned swaggered with more confidence than he should have had, considering the situation.
Katie sighed as she regarded her surroundings. “I’m thinking that the maids may have barricaded themselves into bedrooms.”
Travis stood nearby, looking at his slimed-up jacket, and then he tossed it away with disgust. “Which means every room we enter could be full of really hungry zombies.”
Katarina handed him his weapon before picking up her own dropped weapon. “Really, really hungry zombies,” she said.
“Nothing about this is easy,” Roger groused, and kicked a pink Ferragamo high heel across the room.
“Just gotta find them and shoot them in the head,” Shane said from where he was straddling a chair and appearing bored.
“Unless they eat your ass first,” Felix grumbled.
Mike patted Felix on the back. “The trick is to shoot them in the head before they get the chance.”
Bill and Curtis entered the room, followed by a guy named Davey. They all looked impressed at the carnage.
“Been busy, I see,” Bill said.
“Nothing we can’t handle,” Shane retorted. “Despite the lesbos, fatsos, and old people.”
Everyone ignored him.
Jenni ran back in, waving a clipboard. “I got the roster. And I found a bunch of master keys!”
She handed the roster automatically to Katie even though Mike had been reaching for it. Realizing what she had done, she sheepishly handed Mike the jumble of keys instead. He just smiled slightly and started to pass them out.
“Okay, gimme a second … .” Katie counted the kitchen staff and waitstaff, then studied the list. “It looks like all the dining room and kitchen people are accounted for. Both front desk people are here, as is the doorman. We’re missing four maids—” She flipped a page. “—and two plumbers. They were called in to look at the showers on the sixth floor.”
“So the sixth floor is a potential hot spot,” Mike said thoughtfully.
“And the maids could be anywhere,” Travis said with a sigh.
“Six zombies,” Katie said. “Plus the manager of the hotel.”
“Not so many compared to this,” Bill pointed out.
“Yeah, but they could be anywhere—upstairs, in closets, under the beds—anywhere,” Travis replied.
“And we may have straggler guests from this luncheon that no one told us about,” Mike said, sounding peeved.
Ashley seemed pale and a little unsteady on her feet. Putting her head down, she tried to settle her queasy stomach. Katie still felt a little nauseated, but there was so much to do. Travis gave her a weak smile and she reached out. He took her hand and squeezed it.
“We stand here any longer, and we’re going to freak ourselves out,” Mike said after a beat. “We survived this. We survived all the shit that went down the first days. We have to keep going.”
Katie nodded, as did most of the others. Mike was right.
“So, let’s get this done. What more can go wrong?” Mike said with a laugh.
Ashley looked up, growled, and bit into Mike’s throat.
5.
What Should Have Been
He’s not supposed to die, was Jenni’s first thought. Mike’s the black hero of this tale. He’s supposed to survive, isn’t he? At least until the end, just like George Romero’s films. But Mike was struggling, his throat caught in the angry bite of the petite blond woman. Her bony arms were around him, crushing him as she tore at him. Everyone was frozen in disbelief.
It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.
But it was.
“Get her off! Get her off,” Mike gasped.
Travis grabbed Ashley’s braid and yanked her back. Blood sprayed everywhere, hot and red with life.
Katie acted fast, bowie knife in hand. The others were responding sluggishly, the shock of the attack dulling their reactions.
The thing that had been Ashley turned toward Travis, chewing the flesh she had torn from Mike’s neck. Hissing, she was about to strike again. Travis tried to duck away.
Holding the knife over her head with both hands, Katie brought it down hard. With a disgusting sound, the knife plunged through the zombie’s cheek, shattering her teeth and wedging into her jaw. The two women fell to the ground, the zombie beneath, Katie on top.
Jenni ran forward, flipping the safety off her gun.
Katie pinned the small zombie to the ground and kept slamming its head on the floor until its skul
l cracked and the thing that had been Ashley shuddered and went still and silent.
Mike lay on the ground nearby, shivering violently, his hands pressed to his throat. Blood was bubbling up between his fingers and spreading on the floor around his head like a red halo. Jenni fell to her knees beside him. Feeling impotent, she laid her gloved hand on his cheek. He looked at her, his expression regretful and sad.
“I didn’t … see … her … ,” he gasped.
“I didn’t either,” Jenni answered.
“Keep … going … ,” Mike whispered, and was gone.
Jenni drew her hand back. Tears streamed down her face.
Travis pulled out his gun and aimed at Mike’s head.
“Do it,” Katie said softly as she got to her feet and wiped her knife blade on her jeans.
Travis narrowed his eyes. His hand trembled.
“Do it before he comes back,” Nerit said sternly.
Travis struggled to pull the trigger. Jenni could see the agony in his eyes. “Can’t,” Travis sighed, beginning to lower the gun. “Someone else—”
Mike’s eyes flashed open, and he growled.
Blood exploded between his eyes, and he was truly gone. A delicate little pit bubbled with blood as Nerit stepped over Mike’s body.
“If you hesitate again, I will shoot you. I will not lose anyone else because you could not pull the trigger,” she said briskly and brushed past Travis to stand guard at the door.
“This isn’t right, man. This isn’t right,” Felix whispered, falling to his knees beside Mike.
“What do we do now?” Katarina asked softly, shock clear on her face.
Jenni stared down at Mike, so peaceful in his final death.
Bill leaned down and grabbed Mike’s walkie-talkie. “We finish this. Easy as that.”
Curtis shook his head and grabbed a tablecloth.
Jenni sighed.
You were supposed to make it to the end. Mike, does this mean this is the end?
Even Shane was solemn as Curtis laid the white tablecloth over Mike’s still features.
CHAPTER SEVEN
1.
Pieces of Hell
“How could she turn so fast?” Katarina asked.
Katie had knelt beside Ashley, inspecting the dead woman’s body. Now she looked up at the others and showed them the scrape on the blonde’s hand. “She was bitten. Looks like one of them got her here. It’s more like a scrape than a bite, but it was enough.”
“Ashley’s been anorexic for years and has all sorts of health issues. That’s probably why it took her down so quick,” Curtis said softly. “Poor thing.”
“You have to kill whoever is bit immediately or we’ll lose more people,” Nerit said coldly. “We don’t know how long it will take before someone turns.”
Katie shivered at her tone and observed Travis. His head was down and he was staring at the gun in his hand in a strange, almost angry way.
“That’s bullshit. What if the person don’t change? What if the bite don’t take? We can’t just shoot everyone like that lesbo bitch shot Patrick!” Shane’s voice was fierce as he glowered at Katie.
“And what if we let someone with a bite live long enough to begin spreading it through the fort? That’s the end of us all. Do you want to be one of those things? Do you? Do you want to be the reason everyone else dies? Tell me. Do you want that on your hands?” Nerit gave Shane a fierce look.
Shane didn’t answer, just looked away.
Travis hesitated, then said to Nerit, “With Mike gone, you’re the only former military officer we have in the fort.”
With a slight nod, Nerit turned her gaze on Travis. “I know. I’ll do my best to continue his work.”
Bill patted Nerit’s shoulder lightly. “You’ll do a good job, Nerit.”
Assuming control, Nerit began reorganizing the teams, trying to balance the groups by skill level. Everyone was emotionally and physically exhausted, but they had to go on. This was what Mike had trained them for, and even though he was no longer with them, they had a job to do.
Katie looked around again. Jenni was standing nearby, her expression a little distant and disturbing. Katie reached out to take her hand, and Jenni raised her eyes. They had a glazed look Katie hadn’t seen since the first day of the zombie rising.
“Jenni?”
Jenni frowned a little and said softly, “He wasn’t supposed to die.”
Katie hugged her. “None of us are. Not like this.”
Jenni drew away, clutching her gun tightly. “I just don’t want it to be the end.”
“It’s not,” Katie said confidently. “We just have to keep going. Fighting. For everyone’s sake, Jenni, we gotta get this done.”
Jenni appeared a little more focused as she absorbed Katie’s words. “Yeah, for everyone still alive.”
Nerit had moved over to the doorway and was watching the hall. Bill asked her, “Nerit, we clear?”
“No movement,” Nerit answered.
“But be cautious anyway,” Bill reminded everyone.
There were nods, and people visibly drew on their inner strength as they prepared to leave the dining room.
Bill raised the walkie-talkie to his mouth and pressed the button. “Juan, we’re moving out. Send in the sentries for the first floor.”
“We heard more gunshots,” Juan’s voice crackled through the receiver.
“Yeah, we lost some people. Mike and Ashley.”
“Shit,” Juan answered.
“We’ll be in touch.” Bill motioned to Nerit.
The older woman started down the hall, followed by her new team of Katarina, Shane, and Jimmy. The other teams followed as Bill pointed to them. They were back on schedule and heading to their assignments.
Katie walked over to Roger and Travis, who were talking in low tones. Roger looked ill at ease.
As she drew closer, Travis sighed. “I’m sorry, Katie. I won’t fuck up again,” he vowed.
“No one thinks it’s easy killing what used to be your friend, Travis.” She could see the pained expression in his eyes.
Travis answered in a tortured tone, “Just a living nightmare, isn’t it?”
Katie blinked, abruptly comprehending what Travis had just been through. Weeks ago, Travis had confided that he had been struggling with bizarre visions since the first day. He told her that he often saw his friends briefly transformed into zombies. Now he was seeing those nightmares become reality. No wonder he had been reluctant to shoot Mike.
She reached out and touched his cheek. He nuzzled her fingers, comforting himself, then straightened. With a grim expression, he said, “Let’s do this.”
Room after room was empty. Offices, closets, bathrooms, empty …
Each time a door swung open, Nerit’s gut clenched and her finger prepared to squeeze the trigger. Nerit rarely flinched in the face of danger. In fact, she rarely felt afraid. She prided herself on her calmness, but now she felt fear struggling to get hold of her.
Each large piece of furniture could have a zombie lurking behind it; every partially opened door held the potential for death … .
As they walked through the hotel, Nerit saw numerous signs of violence. The storage room near the loading dock was where the kitchen crew and waitstaff had apparently met their ends. One of the conference rooms was a slaughterhouse. It was evident the poor women from the breakfast had tried to barricade the doors, but the barriers had given way and the breakfast guests had perished. Behind the front desk, she spotted a pool of dried blood that was littered with pieces of intestines and other organs. In the manager’s office, all the furniture was knocked over and the heavy desk had been shoved aside, but there was no blood visible. Maybe the man had escaped.
Walking quietly down the narrow hall, opening closed doors, Nerit and her team moved with silent efficiency. The remains of the life that had existed before the zombies danced before their eyes, tombstones of days gone by. TVs and computers sat silently, screens blank. In one bat
hroom, a newspaper lay on the floor. The front page read, THE DEAD WALK.
One supply closet held the neatly folded banners for the hotel’s grand opening. Nerit shook her head, knowing that grand opening would never take place.
The last door opened onto a small office. Inside were three bodies: a woman and two children. None moved.
The woman had strangled the children with her stockings, which were still knotted around their throats. They were carefully arranged on the floor, their arms around each other. It looked like the woman had then clutched an ice pick in one hand and fallen sideways onto it. She was lying next to the children, her eyes wide and staring. They were all most definitely dead.
Making sure the room was clear, Nerit approached the door and studied it. There were scratches and smears of blood on the frame and door. Nerit thought she knew what had happened. The woman—probably the mother of the children—had hidden back here, terrified, until she had made a desperate choice as zombies had attacked the door, trying to get in. Something about the family looked familiar. Leaving Shane and Katarina on guard, Nerit took Jimmy back to the manager’s office, where she picked up the framed photo on his desk. It showed a young man, the dead woman, and three young children. Nerit took the photo with her when she and Jimmy rejoined their teammates.
“She’s the manager’s wife,” Nerit said.
“What do you think happened?” Katarina asked.
“I think he told her to hide with the kids. Maybe he tried to go for help,” Nerit answered.
“And never came back,” Jimmy finished. “And she stayed here.”
“She may have been too terrified to try to go for help or try to escape,” Shane said.
“The construction site was so close, safety was so close,” Katarina whispered.
“I don’t think she had a choice. Zombies were outside the door at some point. She did what she had to do.” Nerit lifted her walkie-talkie to her mouth. “Juan, the first floor is clear. We’re joining the teams on the second. The manager’s family was visiting, and one of his kids is not accounted for.”
As The World Dies Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3] Page 40
