Designated (Book 2): Designated Quarantined (37 page)

St Marys
Maintenance Tunnels

Steam shifted, buffeting them as they moved, the shifting curtains of heated water soaking them as they listened. For what, they had no idea. Janet cocked her head to one side, her mouth open, slightly dulling the sound of her own breathing.

Kevin waited, breath baited, his throat dry and ticklish as they both stood silent and immobile. The rattle of pipes and fans echoed off the smooth concrete that surrounded them. The heavy baton in his hand sat sweat-slicked against his palm as he nervously shifted the riot shield strapped to his arm.

With a shake of her head, Janet set off down a side passage, Paul following cautiously in her wake.

****

Jimmy crept along, his caution born more of the fear at the woman he was now towing with him, than anything that was following. His feet shuffled through the darkness. Dull orange workers' lamps casting pools of staggered light ahead of them.

He could feel the heat from the woman at his back, the sound of her breathing roaring in his ears as he strained to listen for any sign of a tail or threat. The tremble of her hand gave away the underlying current of panic that was coursing through her. Jimmy squeezed her hand, watching as she swallowed tightly and plastered a look of stoic on her fear-flushed face.

'We're going to be okay.'

Millie didn't say a word as she gripped the knife in her hand all the tighter, the sound of approaching footsteps flirting with them both. Jimmy tugged at her, drawing her into the darkened maw of an open storage room. The hum of electricity through banks of fuse boxes masked the soft squeak of the door's hinges as he carefully pushed it closed.

****

Janet stepped slowly, a grease-filmed pool of water sloshing against the soles of her trainers. She crouched slightly as she approached the corner. Cupping her hands around each other, she pulled the pistol tight to her chest, narrowing her profile as she pressed her back to the wall.

Kevin watched as he followed her every move, shield and baton held ready as he trailed in her wake.

A hushed whisper flirted with their ears as Janet edged ever closer to the corner. Kevin's voice echoed softly; she turned to glare at him, her eyes glowing as she sawed her hand through air just below her chin.

Kevin nodded as Janet peered round the corner, her eye just breaking the line of the wall, a door ahead of her swinging closed as she scanned the corridor.

'Okay, stay low, stay quiet, and move to the door a quarter way down.'

Her voice was little more than a shadow of a whisper, but, to Kevin, it was as clear as a scream in the woods. They moved in a stumbling rush, Janet's footfalls pattered subtly as Kevin tried in vain to keep pace. The patter of his footfalls sent crashing echoes through the tunnels, their sound a screaming siren to anything that would listen.

Howls echoed and rampant shadows danced across the walls as lights flickered. Janet snapped her head towards the onrushing noise, her stomach curling into a ball of ice as she grabbed Kevin's shirt and dragged him around the corner, fear and an irrepressible need to survive driving her haste.

The door sat only a few feet ahead and yet she could almost feel their teeth at the back of her neck. Reaching out, she dragged the door open, throwing Kevin through it before sending it swinging closed. Her body slumped to the floor, feet braced as she listened to the stampeding herd fly past.

A muffled scream and the sound of metal on plastic drew her attention from the deluge that surged past the door.

Kevin's shield-cover arm rose as the slender form of a person she knew all too well drove a vicious looking knife down onto it. Her voice hissed as she called to Jimmy, his fear-pinched eyes snapping to her as the knife once more skittered over the hardened surface of the riot shield.

'Janet... I… I mean, Doctor Baker.'

Janet couldn't help but smile, a soft laugh escaping her as the noise at her back began to abate. She held one slim digit to her lips as Jimmy stared at her through the dully-lit gloom. Her hand slithered over the steel door, working its way to the handle, the touch of the cold chrome-plated handle shocking her slightly as she closed her hand around it.

The hinges rolled; Janet's eyes crushed shut as she silently chanted to herself. The whispered words filtering free of her lips as she pulled the door open. The shadows of former patients, friends, and co-workers, all of them twisted beyond any semblance of their former selves were slowly vanishing. Janet shifted, pulling the door shut again as she turned to the others around her.

****

Light stung their eyes as Janet and Kevin stepped from the tunnel mouth, the access ramp dropping away from them as the sounds of feet on concrete floated from behind.

'Millie, Jimmy, stick close; this isn't going to be easy, but if we're lucky, we can reach Derek and some possible semblance of safety.'

Guttural snarls filled the air as Janet spun; body dropping, arm rising, she brought the gun up. Her balance shook as she set her eyes on the shifting shadows behind them.

Millie screamed and thrashed as scarred, bloody hands closed around her. Jimmy yelled in fear and surprise. He watched her eyes widen as her feet left the floor; he slashed and hacked as the darkness closed around his momentary companion.

The sound of gunfire split the air as Janet fired. Millie convulsed as her chest shook, blood spilling over her chin as she went limp and the darkness swallowed her whole.

Jimmy spun, his eyes bulging as he stared at Janet, disbelief crawling across his features. 'You … you shot her … we could have …'

He trailed off completely as Janet turned from him, her body taut, anger dripping from her as she skulked forwards. Kevin grabbed Jimmy by the front of his shirt, the scrabbling hands of Infected missing his back by millimetres as Kevin's baton crashed down, jaw and neck shattering under the impact as he threw Jimmy towards Janet.

Her hand ensnared his wrist, dragging the bedraggled maintenance technician into a loping run.

'Jimmy, you better have your fucking car keys.'
 

****

Smoke filled the air, rampant screams and guttural yells flowing over them as they crouched, shielded from view by the bulk of an overflowing dumpster, the dull grey plastic bulging under the weight of its stinking load.

Janet waited, her chest heaving as she watched another gaggle of cackling cannibals stream past the mouth of the alleyway. Jimmy stirred, pushing against her back, sending Janet's balance reeling as she fell forwards, her hands sinking into a mire of decomposing Chinese food and dog excrement.

With a grimace of disgust, she pushed backwards, sending him sprawling as Kevin clamped a hand over the young man's mouth. Jimmy's eyes grew wide as a look of anger and consternation plied for dominance.

'In four we're going to move; you stick to my arse, and when I get the door open, get inside as quickly as possible. There are too many of them out here for this to be small.'

Janet stared at both of them, her eyes hard as she struggled to push down the fear that filled her to the core. A soft whisper found its way from her lips to Kevin's ears as she pushed herself to her knees.

'Mummy's coming, Maria; Mummy's coming.'

28
Paddington
City of Westminster
West London
Five hours earlier

Token stared behind him, eyes bulging in fright. Looking to his right he saw a slightly red-faced Patterson keeping pace with him. A sly smile crept on to his face as he stared at his crimson faced comrade.

'You know, this is very good practice!'

Patterson looked up at Token's frightened but smiling face, his soft Ghanian accent lending a twisting lilt to his words. Huffing and breathless, Patterson forced out a reply.

'For what?'

Token grinned at him, a mischievous twinkle in his eye as Patterson frowned. 'Running away from lions… and Infected, lots and lots of Infected.'

Glancing over his shoulder, Token yelped slightly as he watched the twelve dozen psychotic cannibals stumble and sprint after them. Patterson almost choked on his own breath as he forced down laughter at his companion's words.

Token pushed Patterson aside as a screaming blood-soaked form crashed into the floor. Bone and blood showered them as both men stumbled. Token's shoulder crashed into a parked car, its alarm flaring to life, deafening them both as Patterson rolled backwards over its bonnet.

'Great it's raining fucking Infected now. What's next Daleks and Cybermen?'

Token leapt over the car, grabbing Patterson by the back of his harness, hauling him to his feet as Andre's comment filtered through the miasma of hate and fear.

'No, no Daleks, but plenty of crazies and lots and lots of pain; to think I wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to help people.'

Glancing over his shoulder once, Token all but shouted at the beasts snapping at their heels, 'I did not want to be chased by this shit!'

Token quickly made the sign of the cross on his chest as he muttered an apology before shoving Andre towards the end of the road, both men stumbling into a jagged run.

'Sorry, mother, I did not mean to curse, but it seemed like the best word at the time.'

Ahead of them, the rest of the team dropped in quick succession through an open manhole as Walters screamed at them. 'Move it, fucking move it!'

Patterson dropped into a rapid slide as he saw King jump down into the tunnel below, closely followed by Walters sliding over the edge of the hole. Patterson hit the stagnant, foul-smelling waters below, sending the putrid sea of pestilence into the air.

Token sprinted forwards, dropping through the open manhole as he snatched at the ladder. Gaining purchase, he hastily dragged the heavy iron cover over him as he fired a last cursed insult at the mass of groaning flesh-starved beasts.

'I hope you eat your mother!'

With a dull
clunk
, the cover slid into place, sealing them away in its safe but decidedly foul-smelling embrace.

****

Shaw stared down through the lenses of his binoculars. The shifting mass of Infected flesh below moved as one, a living carpet of rage and hunger; he spat over the edge, his lips skinning back from his teeth as disgust and revulsion boiled through him.

'Putrid scum.'

Stepping back from the wall, he walked over to the small trestle table in the centre of the rooftop. Setting down the binoculars, he gazed at the chart in front of him. Tracing his finger slowly over the streets and roadways, he grimaced as he lifted the grease pencil and marked out several points.

'How we looking, chief?'

Shaw looked up, catching the eye of his teammate, staying mute and shook his head; stepping away, he motioned at the map in front of him. Interlacing his fingers behind his head, he stretched, groaning slightly as he felt a rippling
pop
run up his spine.

Kane glanced at the map and smirked.

'Fucked then, yeah?'

Shaw nodded, his mouth set in a grim line as he stared at the map.

'Basically, we're hemmed in on all four sides; basement on this place is non-existent so no exit there. Stepps and Stoors laced three of the stairways with anti-personnel charges, and the door has been snap welded with micro charges.'

Shrugging, he turned back to the wall, bracing his foot on top as he leaned out.

'So we should be okay for now. Rations, if we're careful, could last a week; water though, will last half that, maybe less. If the weather holds then we shouldn't have to worry about exposure but, this is England so it could rain in the next sixty seconds, for all we know.'

Kane smirked. 'So worse than fucked then.'

Shaw laughed as he nodded. 'Basically.'

A soft rasping preceded a heavy muffled pop, the gentle tinkling of brass echoing softly on the air as Faux ejected the spent cartridge.

'Nice.'

Pepper shifted his spotting scope slightly. The rubber cushion was hot against his sweat-slicked skin. The rubber sucked against his eye as he pulled his head away and a small shiver ran through him as the cool evening air rushed into the vacant space, cooling his overheated ocular orb.

Opening his left eye, he glanced at his partner quickly. 'Seriously, that was a bloody good shot, mate'

Faux smiled around the stock of his rifle as he let the crosshair rest on the side of his next target; slowly, his finger grazed the trigger.

The rifle kicked against his shoulder. 'Bingo,' he muttered to himself as he watched the 7.62 mm projectile punch through the Infected's cranium, sliding through the woman's brain matter as it dragged it out through the other side in a conical spray.

Blanking out the sight below, Faux shifted once more as the second casing bounced to the tarmac beneath them. Round after round he rained down until the floor below was a silent carpet of dead meat.

Rolling away from the weapon, Faux pawed at his eyes, trying in vain to rub away the tense pain behind them and the images from ground below.

A strangled groan emanated from him, drawing a concerned look, from not only his spotter, but also his commanding officer and anyone else close enough to hear it.

Slowly, Pepper shifted his hand closer to his sidearm, his glove softly rasping over his ballistics vest skimming over the surface of his uniform as it inched its way closer to the butt of his pistol.

'Don't even think about it, Pots; I'm fine. I just need a break. My head is killing me and my eyes are sore as hell. I just need a kip and something to eat.'

Miles Josef Pepper nodded as he watched his friend begin to move. A small, sly grin tugged at Pepper's lips at the use of his nickname.

Pushing himself up from the floor, Faux made a direct, if not slightly unsteady, walk over to the table, grabbed a half-empty bottle of water, and began to sip slowly.

A soft, whispered cry echoed from the alley below, catching the attention of Stoors and Stepps. Both men walked closer to the wall, glancing over the precipice to the floor below.

Stepps opened his mouth to fire off some witty remark as he watched the small group backing away hurriedly from the encroaching threat of death.

The lithe blonde leader of the group raised her face to the sun, her crystalline, emerald-green eyes meeting his dark-brown orbs briefly. Any remark or cynical comment he had died in his throat as he realised just who she was. 'Fuck me!'

Stoors looked at his friend quizzically. 'What? Who the fuck is she?'

Stepps hurriedly snapped a drop line onto his harness as he swung himself on the wall and stepped backwards to the edge.

'The boss' wife.'

And with that, he was gone, the high-pitched rasping of nylon-impregnated rope cutting through the evening air as he descended towards the floor.

Stoors stood dumbfounded for all of ten seconds before he found himself running towards the edge of the roof, line in hand. In a small leaping hop, he was over the edge and running down the side of the building, the line spilling out behind him as he all but sprinted down headfirst.

****

Janet raised the Sig Sauer pistol and fired, her eyes flinching closed at the bright flash and ringing bark of the gun.

Huddled behind her were Siobhan and two of her co-workers, their children, and her eleven-month-old daughter. The whimpering cries stung her ears as she faced off against the encroaching wall of Infected. Jimmy and Kevin stood shoulder to shoulder with Janet, fear running rife through them all as they stood their ground.

Jimmy's fingers tightened in nervous apprehension as he watched the advancing wall of death. The stench emanating from them was unbearable as the wind picked up slightly, the frigid stale air around them being drawn down the miniature cavern as it passed by, dragging the thick, cloying pall of offal and excrement down upon the small group.

'Well, Mrs Baker, I have to say this has been an experience—one I would've missed if I could, but at least its lasted this long.'

Janet cast a sidelong glance at Jimmy as he tensed up, bracing for the inevitable end; the knife in his hands shook slightly as he suppressed his urge to run.

Kevin looked across at the pair of them, a small reluctant smile playing across his features. 'Fuck it,' he murmured as he pulled Jimmy towards him and kissed him.

'What the fuck, man?' Jimmy crowed as he stared at Kevin in a mixture of surprise and confused outrage. 'I've known you for six years and now you pull this shit?'

Janet looked between them with a confused smile on her face, her mind whirling with the panicked need to find safety for her and her daughter and the sheer dumbfounded confusion at Kevin's actions.

Kevin turned away from them, rolling his shoulders to loosen them up as he gazed headlong at the advancing wall of Infected. The vicious, smirking grins that twisted the faces of their would be captors sent a shiver through him as he cast a sidelong glance at Janet and Jimmy.

'You don't know until you try it, Jim, and I didn't want to go out without knowing.'

Janet's eyes, despite the situation, danced with laughter as she watched a red flush creep up Jimmy's features. All mirth died on her breath as she let her eyes drift back to the motley cluster of evil and death that slowly stalked towards them.

Her heart quivered in pain and fear as she set eyes upon the blonde-haired and brown-eyed girl that stared at her from between the legs of two women, her satin blond hair matted with gelatinous globules of blood that clung to her scalp like limpets. A smile cracked the child's face as her eyes met Janet's, her crimson stained teeth spotted with the remnants of her last meal as she licked her lips and waved. The bulbous sores around her mouth and eyes pulsed as she pushed past the two women and slowly began to creep closer.

'No, Kirsty, oh lord, no!'

Janet's eyes clouded with tears as she stared at the slowly advancing child, the gun in her hands quivering as she lined up the sights with the centre of the girl's chest.

A heavy rasping thud drew her attention. Glancing around her quickly, she all but screamed as a grey-clad body dropped from above and filled her vision completely.

A second thud, followed quickly by a metallic
clink
rolled across her senses, followed in very short order by a short, startled yell from both men.

'Ma'am, stay back and keep the rest of the civilians with you.'

Stepps and Stoors, stood an arm's length apart as they slowly raised their LMGs and squeezed the triggers. The alley erupted into a pulsating wall of noise as the light machine guns roared, bodies dancing, shredded like confetti amidst the deluge of bullets.