“Lobby looks clear. Let me out of here and I’ll run in and take a look. Be ready to take off with or without me if something goes wrong,” Guillermo said.
“I’m not leaving without you, mate,” Deacon replied. “No arguing.”
The BMW came to a stop in front of the entrance, and Guillermo stepped out. Leaving the car door open, he cautiously made his way through the entrance and looked around. He disappeared from view inside the dark building as he walked off to the left. When he came back to the entrance he signaled that it was all clear and stepped back inside.
Deacon turned the engine off and they all climbed out. The air was warm despite being in the shade cast by the large building. Jonathan double checked himself to make sure he had everything he needed. Deacon and Roger did the same. Before walking into the building, Jonathan stopped to look at the sky for what he knew may be the last time.
Inside, they found Guillermo, who had taken out a fiend that had been wandering around inside. “The only one I could find on this floor. Went down pretty easy. It seems like most of this place is dark. Good call on the flashlights, Deacon.” He held his up.
“Ok. We are going to head for the top floor. That is where we can expect to find the information I need, if there is anything to find, of course. Luckily it looks as if the windows are clear.
“Certain chemicals and processes can be damaged by the sunlight. To keep complete control over the environment in the labs, the windows are made to turn black when an electric charge is added. With no electricity present the windows should all be transparent,” Jonathan explained as the group walked together through the dark lobby.
The lobby looked like a battlefield. Body parts littered the floor along with dried chunks of flesh, muscle, and entrails. Luckily, the only smell that remained was a moldy, dusty smell like that of an old basement that hasn’t been cleaned in a decade.
“You guys want to take the elevator?” Deacon asked. He smiled as he pushed the call button. “I’ll meet you guys at the top.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Guillermo responded. He smiled at Deacon’s joke.
“I think we should split up. Deacon and I will check out some of the other floors. There may be something useful,” Roger said.
“Sounds good to me. What do you guys think?” Deacon chimed in as they approached the door that led to the stairwell to the second floor.
“Ok, but keep your eyes open and watch each other’s backs. On our way back down we will check the floors for you,” Jonathan was nervous about this plan, but there may be plenty of usable items here. “I guess I am not really sure what to ask you guys to look for. Just if it looks useful grab, it I guess.”
The men remained quiet as they walked through the open door to the stairs. There was blood on the steps and hand rails. A smell of decay lingered, but it wasn’t overwhelming. As they moved up, however, the smell became slightly stronger.
Deacon and Roger walked out into the second floor. Jonathan watched for a few seconds as they moved down the dark hallway. Feeling more anxious than ever, he turned to Guillermo to see he was just as nervous. Jonathan and Guillermo watched as the two others turned into the first room in the hallway before continuing on to the fifth floor.
The second floor was the cleanest in the building. By the time the workers heard about the attack they had time to move down to the lobby. Unfortunately, with the exits locked, they could only await their slaughter. Some light was starting to flow into the laboratories through the windows, but the hallway was still dark. Despite the lighting situation, Deacon moved through the labs swiftly. He was not entirely sure what to look for, but he was sure something would stand out if it would be useful.
Roger stayed behind Deacon. Deacon felt that perhaps he stayed a little too far behind, and this made him nervous. He was aware of Guillermo’s concerns of Roger, yet he tried not to judge him based on what he believed was “unfounded”. He definitely thought Roger was a little odd, however, and this kept him on his toes when it came to the man.
Up on the fourth floor, Jonathan stepped through the open door from the stairwell and was astonished to see the amount of blood as he moved the light around. It was dried to everything in sight. The air was stagnant and thick, making it hard to breath. It was like breathing in swamp water. Across from the stairwell they had come out of there was a security station. Behind that was an open security door that led to the emergency stairway to the fifth floor.
“Make this fast. I do not like this at all.” Jonathan moved out into the hall.
“Yeah, I hear you there. We should search this guard station for anything useful.”
Jonathan opened each drawer at the desk while Guillermo watched his back. He tried to open a metal cabinet in the corner quietly, but the bottom corner stuck. The loud clunk echoed down the hall as the door came free. Jonathan grabbed ahold of it to stop it from vibrating.
As the sound faded away, the two men could hear a new sound. This sound didn’t come from either of them, and it caused them both to hold their breath and listen as close as they could. The shuffle of feet was undeniable. Soft moans followed, but nothing was seen. When the noises died down, Jonathan checked the cabinet, once again he found nothing.
They decided to check the fourth floor first, hoping to remove the source of the earlier sounds. Moving through the bloody hallway, they entered the first lab. Guillermo stood guard at the entrance of the lab where he watched the hall. Jonathan quickly picked up some research note books and stuffed them into his pack. He knew it wasn’t what he was looking for, but there may be something to learn, and he hated to pass up an opportunity to learn.
After double checking the lab, the two moved back into the hall and down to the next room. Two fiends turned as they heard the duo enter. The lab was dimly lit, but the fiend’s didn’t seem at all hindered by the lack of light.
Neither of the fiends were employees here judging by their cloths and backpacks. A group of scavengers must have made the mistake of entering this forsaken building. One looked younger than the other. He wore a San Francisco 49ers Jersey, and from the looks of it, the blood all down the front was fresh. The other man was wearing a blue button up shirt with tan khakis, also covered in fresh blood.
They both moved toward Jonathan and Guillermo. Guillermo grabbed ahold of Jonathan and stepped protectively in front of him. He advanced toward the fiends with a flashlight in one hand and his lawnmower blade in the other. Moving slowly, the fiends would prove easy enough for Guillermo to take on his own.
Guillermo swung his blade hard into the younger fiend’s neck, the boy’s head rolling on the floor before his body fell. The next fiend continued forward with his arms outstretched to grab ahold of Guillermo. With his powerful arms, Guillermo swung upwards, splitting the fiend’s face in half from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead.
The undead man moved forward without any notice, so Guillermo swung one last time. This time Kadavre entered the side of the fiend’s head, stopping halfway through. Pressure from the impact caused the right eye to bulge out. All the way to the floor, the fiend continued his attempt to reach the two men. At the moment the dead man hit the floor his body went limp.
“Looks like it’s all clear.” Guillermo turned to Jonathan, who’s amazement at how Guillermo handles the lawnmower blade was evident on his face.
“Thanks. You are like a lawn mowing ninja. These poor guys were definitely here to find whatever they could to survive; this backpack is full of stuff. Look at this! These Doritos expired 9 months ago. Bottled water, are you thirsty?” He handed one of the bottles to Guillermo although they each brought water with them. “The other one is empty, however. I am ready to get out of here,” Jonathan said as he stood up with his new pack of supplies. “What is it?” He asked, noticing the look on Guillermo’s face.
“Step slowly to me and don’t turn around. Quietly.”
A knot formed in Jonathan’s throat, and his muscles tightened. He managed to move forward, more with a slide than a step. Once he was beside Guillermo he turned to see the naked boy standing in the hallway just outside the door. The boy’s gray eyes were beaming into Jonathan’s. His skin was pale where it wasn’t stained brown with the dried blood of what were surely his victims.
“Oh god,” Jonathan said. “I know who that is. Uh— Sam. Sam is his name.”
“Did you know him? I hate to see the little ones like this. It is hard, but I’ll take care of him,” Guillermo said stepping forward, blade in hand.
“I did not know him. He was the first one to come back, according to my father’s notes. My father and another scientist brought him back to life, but they did not expect what happened next.”
“Oh. Well I need to do this. I would recommend you look away if you want to.”
Guillermo stepped slowly toward the young boy. His hair was very thin, just a few strands remained on his head. Skin hung down off of his sunken face just above his left eye where it looked as if he had been hit with something hard. His dirty, stained skull could be seen, and it was cracked slightly. Guillermo figured from the looks of it, the boy had been beaten by one of his last victims.
Before Guillermo stepped through the door, the boy took off running down the hall. Neither of them had seen one of the fiends run so fast. The boy’s bare feet echoed as they slapped against the floor.
Guillermo just stood there, shinning his light up and down the hall. “Where did he go?” He looked back at Jonathan with a bewildered look on his face.
Jonathan tried to speak, but no words could be found. Instead, he just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. From what he understood of these people, they were dead. His research on the girl in the yellow tank top told him that they didn’t have the muscle required to move quickly.
“I guess we get back to work,” Guillermo said, as he turned back into the room. “I wonder why he ran and didn’t attack us.”
“That was definitely strange. He moved so fast, too. We will have to watch out for him. I do not think any of them have the ability to think rationally or even plan anything out. He displayed an impressive amount of control.”
The two stood in place for a few more moments, not sure if they felt comfortable letting their guard down knowing that one of them could move that fast. Finally, Guillermo went back to his watch by the door while Jonathan picked through the various cabinets and shelves of the laboratory. Nothing they could use was found, so they readied themselves and set out to the next lab.
Chapter 18
Moving to the third floor, Roger and Deacon had found a bag of butterscotch candy, a gym bag with clean clothes, a towel, running shoes that fit Roger perfectly, and a set of keys labeled “Maintenance”. The third floor was far messier than the second, yet the sun managed to shine in a little brighter. Several scattered body parts lay about the hallway.
Sam stood at the end of the hall and watched the two as they moved along. Roger noticed him first as his light fell on the boy, and he signaled for Deacon to stop. The boy shrieked loudly, but he did not move. Deacon stepped into the nearest room and pulled Roger along with him. Checking quickly to make sure the lab was empty, they both turned to face the door and prepared their weapons to counter-attack.
After a minute of waiting, Deacon peeked out into the hall. “It’s empty,” he said as he turned back to Roger. “That boy was freaky as hell.”
“I agree. I’ve never heard one scream like that. I’m amazed he didn’t attack us.” Roger’s voice was bit shaky, revealing that there was a human in there, after all.
After taking a few more moments to collect themselves, they began to search the lab. Finding nothing, they moved along. After searching three other labs, nothing was found that they could use. The last room, however, was a supply closet. The door had been busted, and many of the contents were missing.
“Jackpot!” Deacon said, smiling at Roger.
Roger simply nodded in agreement, and then a look of confusion washed over him as he looked inside. The supply closet had been cleaned out except for some paper towels, light bulbs, a mop and bucket, and two tin containers labeled “Methyl Ethyl Ketone – Highly Flammable.” Deacon grabbed the containers.
“I wonder what they used this for.” Deacon looked at Roger hoping for an answer.
“I’m not even sure what it is,” Roger replied.
“I can’t imagine they use something this strong for the floors,” Deacon said.
“How do you even know what that is?”
“We responded to a chemical fire a few years back in Los Angeles. A combination of heat and poor ventilation caused a can or two of this to combust. It was a pretty big fire but thanks to this stuff it burned hot and fast. It was over in the matter of a few hours when normally we would have fought that all afternoon.”
They turned back down the hall toward the stairs. Neither of the men had let the boy slip to the back of their minds. Their flashlights beamed into every door as they passed by on the way down the hall. Roger watched their backs as they moved.
“Do you mind if I ask you somethin’?” Deacon asked. “And I mean no harm by it.”
“Might as well,” Roger said. A hint of impatience could be heard in his voice.
“What’s your story? I mean, you seem like a really good guy. You’re here with us, risking your life an’ all. We all appreciate that by the way, but you seem so down all the time. I know the world is shit right now, but you can still be happy and make the most of what we got. You have a family in us, mate. Ease up a bit and smile.”
“If you knew what I’ve done you wouldn’t even be here with me. The only way we can stay civil and work together right now is for you to not know more than you already do.”
“Alright, perhaps later than. You can still smile every now and again, though. Instead of always looking like you want to kill everyone.” Deacon smiled when he said this. “Let’s go through here.”
The remainder of the fourth floor was proving to be a waste of time for Jonathan and Guillermo. “I think it is time to head up to the fifth floor. Nothing else here is useful. What a disappointment. I hope it does not turn out I risked your lives for nothing,” Jonathan said, shining his light around the room one last time.
“Si, I hope the others are doing alright. I’m sure there will be something to make this trip worth it. Don’t feel bad.”
“I am surprised that most of the stuff is gone. I mean, realistically I cannot imagine a whole lot of people would want to come into this place and scavenge for anything. I hope the research notes are intact up on the fifth.”
“Do you really think he wrote all that down? I mean, you said what he was doing wasn’t sanctioned by the facility. Why would he keep records of that? I’m not scared or anything. I just don’t want to waste time,” Guillermo said. Jonathan could hear the slight tremor in his voice as he spoke, and he was also scared.
“The man was a scientist. Everything he did was written down. We should be able to find it easily and meet up with Deacon and Roger.”
“I’m worried about Deacon. I don’t trust Roger at all. You should have let me go with Roger. Deacon might not be expecting Roger to do anything to hurt him, but I know to keep an eye out for that.”
“I need you with me. Deacon can take care of himself. Besides, I don’t think we have to worry about Roger. Yeah, he seems a bit strange, but I think he is harmless.”
“I know Roger killed Bradley and Tyson. He had something to do with their deaths. I just don’t know why, or exactly what he did.”
“Through here.” Jonathan aimed his light at the door behind the security station they checked earlier. “This is a guarded stairway that only connects the fourth and fifth floors. The attack was contained to the fifth floor until a worker opened this stairway without thinking about the spread of the infection. From there they were able to make it to the ground floor and out into the world.” Jonathan had explained most of this to the group before they had set out, but it calmed him down to talk.
Guillermo went through the door first. The putrid smell was almost too much for the two of them to handle. Not only was this stairway spattered with blood, but intestines were strung over the hand rails. Jonathan stepped over what he believed to be the decayed remains of a lung. A group of terrified workers was trapped in here while they waited for the door to be opened. Flesh and muscle lay in dried strips resembling beef jerky.
The fifth floor was very similar to its attached stairwell. Body parts and blood littered the floor. The smell here was also rancid, and the air was quite humid. This floor was much darker than the others. Down the hall Jonathan could see the cart his father had used to climb to the vent in the ceiling. Their lights seemed to be absorbed by the darkness of this place.
Jonathan noticed that a few of the blood splatters seemed to be quite fresh. “You think that is from the two down on the fourth? Perhaps there are others that wandered in here recently,” he whispered.
“Something doesn’t sit well with me here. We need to move fast and stay on guard.”
“Agreed.”
The two moved quickly into the first lab. A lab coat lay on the floor, the sleeve had been ripped off of one side. The blood stains where a mix of dark red and brown. The shriek caused both of them to jump and turn around. Their beams of lights aimed at the door.
Sam stood there, watching the two as they froze in place. Three fiends appeared in the doorway behind him, and he stepped back to let them pass. They were all taller men, and by the limited decay, they must have met their fates within the last two or three days.
Before the last one moved by, Sam jumped up on his back and pulled the head off with unnatural strength. The spinal cord, still attached, hung down as the thickening blood slowly rolled off. He shrieked once again, tossed the head aside, and vanished from sight. The other two fiends did not notice or even care, and they continued to move in for the kill.
The two survivors rushed the door, their weapons ready to strike. Jonathan grabbed the fiend closest to him by its outstretched arm and pulled him in close, jamming the long hunting knife up through his neck and into the brain. Blood poured from the opening in clumps and ran down onto the fiend’s black button up shirt.
Guillermo swung his blade toward the head of the man before him. Instead, he hit the forearm long ways, cutting deep into the bone. Unable to dislodge his weapon, he threw the fiend to the ground. Landing a kick to the man’s head, Guillermo knocked him down to his back. He raised his leg up high, and brought a steel toed Red Wing down onto the man’s face. His skull cracked under the force, sending broken skull fragments into his brain. The man continued his attempts at getting up, so Guillermo stomped hard once more. Gray brain matter seeped through the man’s busted face.
“Piece of cake. I just wonder why the boy took out the other one.” Guillermo’s concern was shared by Jonathan.
“I have no clue. That was unexpected. Maybe he wanted to show that he was the boss. After all these fiends are running on survival instincts. Perhaps it is a way for him to show his ‘Alpha Dog’ status to keep the pack in line. That is just a theory, of course,” Jonathan stated. “But I am curious now if this shows that the fiends have the potential to be pack hunters. It would explain why they make more noise while they are chasing us then they do just wondering around.”
“I can buy that, but where is the rest of the pack?”
This question had been on Jonathan’s mind for a little bit now. Without saying anything else, he turned around and started to dig through the row of filing cabinets lining the walls. He moved as quickly as he could, skimming over the labels on each file as he went. Guillermo kept watch while Jonathan worked; hoping Jonathan could find what they needed in this room so they didn’t have to go to another.
“It’s not here. We are going to have to go to the other labs,” Jonathan said apologetically.
Guillermo nodded his understanding, and they moved down the hall. A trail of blood ran into the next room. Neither of them wanted to go in, yet they stepped in and spread out, moving quickly to insure that the room was empty of fiends. Jonathan’s eyes lit up as he instantly saw three large glass bottles filled with fluoroantimonic acid.
“This may be useful. Grab that jacket over there. We need to wrap them up and keep them from breaking.” Jonathan pointed toward an open locker that housed what could be the cleanest jacket in the building.
“What is that stuff?” Guillermo asked.
“This is a very strong acid,” Jonathan responded.
With the bottles safely protected and stored in Guillermo’s pack, the two moved down the hallway glancing into each lab as they went. Jonathan finally decided that the last lab was their best bet, as it appeared to be the most suited for the needs of his father and fellow researcher Greg.
“Of course it would be the last one,” Jonathan said.
The lab was a total mess, and it was obviously where the initial attack took place. Amid the disarray of dried blood, flesh, and bones, Jonathan noticed that a large part of a woman’s face lay on the floor. Although the journey this far acclimated them to the smell, this room’s stench was horrible.
“Oh wow that is terrible,” Jonathan said as he plugged his nose.
The sound of Jonathan’s nasally voice made Guillermo chuckle. “It is pretty awful. Do you see what you’re looking for? We need to find it and get out of here quick.”
“Yeah I’m looking. Would you mind searching that area up there on the platform? Just round up any papers you can find and I’ll look through them later.”
Guillermo walked quickly up to the platform and began piling up all the papers and folders. Most of the papers were too soaked in blood to read, so he left them where they were.
“I have everything from down here,” Jonathan said. “Nothing really looks promising though. How’s it going up here?” He stepped up onto the platform and quickly sifted through the pile of papers Guillermo set aside.
“I don’t know what you’re looking for, so I’ll say it’s going fine.”
Jonathan tossed aside many of the papers that had nothing useful on them and put the rest in his pack. After gathering up what he could, they prepared to find Deacon and Roger and head back to the house.
As they made their way across the lab, a fiend stepped through the door. This fiend was a shorter woman. From the looks of her she had been pregnant when she was infected, and she was also missing most of her face. The skin on her arms had been torn apart, and her unborn child hung from her open stomach. The fetus waved its small arms and legs around. Despite the infection, it was still too weak to move much more than that.
Guillermo prepared to make quick work of her and the fetus fiend when he noticed that the dark hallway behind her was packed full of fiends.
“There’s the pack you were talking about,” Guillermo said. Although he saw no way out, his spirits were high. “I’m sorry we didn’t make it. I plan to take out as many of these bastards as I can before they take us down, though.” He brought Kadavre back like a baseball bat.
Before Jonathan could say anything uplifting, the fiends rushed in, their moans had sent chills through them both. They moved slightly faster than the fiends in town, but they were still slow. Their numbers would prove to be the real problem.
Guillermo swung at the pregnant woman, but his blade struck a stainless steel table. The blade deflected off and straight across, slicing through the woman’s stomach just below the opening that had already been torn there. The child fell to the floor, its arms and legs moving around slowly. The amniotic fluid had become a thick paste. The woman moved forward, stepping on the dead baby, and crushing its skull and ribs.
Jonathan had looked behind them in hopes of finding a way out. The vent shaft in the wall above a stainless steel cabinet caught his eye, and he ran toward it. “Slow them down the best you can, but be careful!” he shouted.