Chapter Ten
“I
t looked like a zombie.” Her gaze flew to his, the ghost of a self-conscious smile hiding at the corner of her mouth.
Sam nodded. “That’s what we’ve been calling them.” He buttoned his camo pants and pulled out a pair of combat boots from the bottom of his bag. “What they are is a science experiment gone wrong. A team of scientists, selected and hired by the military, were working on ways to make soldiers heal faster. What they ended up creating was a contagion that kills people and reanimates them into what you just saw.”
“Dear Lord,” she breathed.
Sam propped one foot on the lower edge of the car door and bent down to lace up his boot. All the while, he kept a careful watch on their surroundings.
“Keep a sharp eye out, Emily. There could be more of them. For some reason, the creatures seem intent on spreading the contagion and making more of themselves by scratching or biting people. After death, the contagion does something to their nails. The formerly dead cells regenerate into longer, sharper versions that are ten times as strong. They can scratch you bad and infect you with the contagion at the same time. That happens, you die and rise again to become one of them.”
“It’s like something out of a horror movie,” she exclaimed, clearly appalled by the situation.
“Welcome to my world. I’ve been fighting these things the past few months. That’s why I went undercover at Praxis Air. A couple of the scientists who developed this technology want to sell it to the highest bidder.”
“Are you kidding me?” Oh, she looked angry now. “Spread this like a weapon and have us all kill each other? Unchecked, this could wipe out everyone, couldn’t it?” Emily grasped the implications quickly, he’d give her that.
“That’s the fear.” He couldn’t tell her about the special few who were immune to the contagion. That information was more top secret than the rest. Immunity was something that would make the technology even more expensive to the right buyer. If the user could pick and choose who would be immune and who would not, the contagion could be used as a weapon without fear of the consequences.
Sam finished tying his other boot and took one last look around before climbing into the car. He shut the door and turned to Emily. She still looked shaken but she hadn’t become a pilot without learning how to handle unpredictable situations. She was holding up well.
“I’ve still got to find out where that van went,” he said softly.
“What’s the plan?” She visibly held her fear in check, which he appreciated. She was turning out to be a good partner in this totally screwed up situation.
“I want you to drive me back down the road to the curve just beyond the driveway where the van disappeared. I’m going to bail out of the car—”
“Bail out?” she interrupted him, looking appalled.
“It’s easy. You slow down to about thirty miles per hour and I’ll jump out. I’ve done it before and it’s the best way to avoid being seen. Stopping on a curve isn’t safe.”
“Neither is what you’re planning,” she interjected.
Sam had to grin. He liked the way she argued with him, but he didn’t really have time for it now.
“Do you trust me? Seems like you have so far, Em.” When she grudgingly nodded, he continued. “So trust me now. This is the easiest and safest way for both of us. I know what I’m doing and I won’t get hurt if you do as I ask.”
“Okay. So I slow to thirty and you bail out. Then what?”
“I’m going to do a sneak and peek to see if I can find out what happened to our cargo while you continue down the road, then turn around at that coal company lot we saw down the hill and come back this way. I’ll meet you back here at the gas station in about forty-five minutes. By that time, you might see some of my teammates here, cleaning up the area. If so, pull in. If they try to run you off, tell them Commander Sykes knows. Only that. Commander Sykes knows. You’ll be challenged with two questions. They’ll ask you what the color of the day is. You say orange. Then they’ll ask what the animal of the day is. You’ll say the penguin.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“I know it sounds ridiculous but it’s the pass code. They set it up before I left for this undercover assignment. Just go with it.” She nodded and he looked at his watch. “Okay, we need to get going.”
“Are you really sure about this?”
“Absolutely. Don’t worry. It’s my job and I’m good at what I do. Now drive on, captain. Time’s a-wastin’.”
She gave him a worried look but managed to get the car on the road. It didn’t take long to get to the driveway where the van had disappeared.
“All right, just past this next curve, slow down to about thirty.” Sam readied himself, his hand on the door handle.
“For the record, I don’t like this.”
“Don’t worry so much.” He winked at her but she didn’t respond. Nothing would prove to her that he wouldn’t be hurt doing this until he did it.
Sam watched the road and the upcoming curve. Almost there.
“I’m going,” he said as he opened the door and rolled out of the moving car.
He sprang to his feet out of the diving roll and stood to see her brake lights still on as she slowed, but didn’t stop the car. He waved at her before melting into the trees. He watched for a moment to see her safely around the next bend. He wasn’t thrilled about leaving her alone and unarmed knowing there were zombies in the area, but she was in a moving vehicle. As long as she kept moving, she should be relatively safe. As long as there wasn’t an army of zombies out there.
The thought made him pause.
“Oh, hell.” He couldn’t worry about it now. He had work to do.
Sam spent the next fifteen minutes moving through the woods as quickly and silently as possible. He followed along parallel to the driveway until it ended at what could best be described as a shack.
He could see the crates standing alongside the small structure. There was one man walking from the shack into a darker, wooded area behind it. The terrain rose steeply and there was a mountainside not too far from the back of the shack.
Sam stalked the man through the woods, keeping off to one side, hoping to discover where he was going. Sam’s suspicions were raised when he saw the pitiful surface structure. Those suspicions were confirmed when Sam caught sight of the gaping maw in the earth, almost hidden by the dense forest ahead of his quarry. Sure enough, the man disappeared into the mouth of the huge cave.
Sam’s further reconnaissance only confirmed that the shack was simply a delivery station. The real action was going on inside that cave. Sam sat back in the forest and watched for a few moments. His patience was rewarded a few minutes later when an older man in a blue lab coat followed the first man out of the cave and headed back toward the shack.
Sam had counted only two small vehicles parked near the shack. There was the possibility that the two men he’d seen were the only two here. There was also the possibility that more bad guys were hanging out inside that cave. Sam had to find out which was the truth. The team would need that recon when they got here.
He decided to take a quick look to see what the men were up to. He slid back through the woods in time to see the first man open several of the crates. It looked like the guy in the lab coat was inspecting the equipment and giving instructions to the other man. In Sam’s mind, lab coat was the brains. The other guy was the muscle.
When it looked like they were going to unpack the crates, which would take some time, Sam decided to head back to the cave to see if he could get a closer look. He approached with stealth, using the senses he’d developed over years of field work to note things about his environment. For example, there weren’t any obvious booby traps or sensors in the area. The whole setup didn’t have a lived in look. He’d bet the scientist and his friend hadn’t been here long.
Of course, they’d been around long enough to lose at least one zombie. Sam approached the cave entrances from the side. The mouth of the cave was wide and squat. The men had emerged from an area about five yards to the left of Sam’s position.
He examined the entrance of the cave minutely before he moved forward. As he’d thought, the place was empty except for a few boxes and tables. There was a caged area with a raised table in it. That looked new. There was still construction debris around the base of the bars. Sam would bet they’d installed it after they lost the guy he’d dealt with at the convenience store.
Sam didn’t go far inside the cave. Just a few feet. Enough to get a general idea of what was inside, but not far enough to get caught inside should the men from the shack come back. Sam glanced at his watch. The team would be there soon. He had to get clear to meet up with them.
He made his way out of the cave and faded back into the woods. The convenience store wasn’t far as the crow flies. Sam decided to trek back through the woods and scout the trail for the team.
He found nothing that would slow down the team. The approach was clear. Whoever had set up that little hole in the ground hadn’t secured it very well. Perhaps they’d thought being in a cave would be defense enough. Boy, were they going to be proven wrong in a big way. Sam couldn’t wait to see it happen.
When he got to the convenience store lot, he approached from behind—probably the same way the zombie had. Only there was no unsuspecting clerk for him to surprise. Instead, he was challenged at the perimeter of the woods by one of his teammates.
“About time you joined us.” Xavier Beauvoir, Green Beret captain and all around Cajun badass, greeted him.
“Doing my sneak and peek, as ordered, captain.”
Sam went into detail about what he’d seen as they walked toward the front lot of the store. He wasn’t surprised to find the place had been cordoned off and taken over by his teammates. The evidence of the two men he’d had to shoot was already gone. He could see techs in hazmat gear following the blood trail around the grounds. They wouldn’t leave anything to be discovered later by unsuspecting and unprepared locals.
Sam also saw the rental car. Relief flooded him so hard he almost missed a step. Emily was safe. She’d gotten past the low-key guards and was talking with Simon Blackwell, former Navy SEAL and the original zombie hunter.
Simon had been the first man to prove immune to the contagion and he’d led the way for the precious few who’d followed. Emily smiled at something Simon said then glanced in Sam’s direction and the smile turned into a huge grin of relief. He could read her now. She was as pleased and relieved to see him as he’d been to see her. But they didn’t have time for a sloppy reunion just yet. Sam had to pass along his intel and help his team.
As soon as the other guys saw him, they gathered around. Simon left Emily at the car with one of the support staff. John Petit and his sister, former police officer Sarah Petit, who was also Xavier’s fiancée, walked toward him from the other side of the lot. Donna, newly engaged to John was walking on his other side. It was strange to have women on his combat team, but Sam had gotten used to these two over the past months. Both were tough, though Sarah was a much better shot than Donna. Ultimately though, the thing that made them most suitable to the team was that they were both immune to the zombie contagion.
The only personnel sent to confront the zombies—or into any situation where zombies were expected—were the fortunate few who had already been proven immune. Sam had been made immune by the serum Dr. McCormick had developed. The rest of the combat team had been attacked and survived because they were naturally immune. Simon, Xavier, Sarah, Donna and John. They gathered around, exchanging short greetings before the informal debrief began.
Sam told them everything he’d seen at the cave and they quickly devised a plan.
“You look like you’re a little light on equipment, Sam,” Xavier observed. “Go get whatever you need out of the truck. We’ll head out as soon as you’re geared up.”
Sam gave Xavier a quick salute and headed for the truck parked close to Emily’s rental car. She saw him and pushed past the man who’d been talking to her to intercept Sam. He waved the other man off and motioned her to join him as he picked up a combat vest from the truck.
“Did you find where that thing came from?” Emily’s voice was breathless with what sounded like worry she was trying to hide.
Sweet of her, but not necessary. Still, it was nice to have someone worry about him again. It had been a long time since anyone had given a damn about whether Sam lived or died, except maybe his teammates.
“Yes, ma’am. They’re in a cave not far from here. We’re going there now to solve the problem.”
“You’re going with them?”
“I scouted the place. I’m going to lead them to it.” He grabbed a spare rifle and slung it over his arm. The vest was already loaded with clips of the specially marked ammo. He’d done a quick check before slinging it on.
“You’ll be careful?” Emily’s tone made him stop to take a look at her. She was more than worried. She was terrified. Hiding it well, but he could see it in the depths of her gaze.