Whimper (21 page)

“Move!” Elliott ordered, practically picking me up as he pushed me through the doorway. Zack pushed the door closed again as we frantically began searching for a way to bar the door behind us. Without the door handle, there was nothing for us to use to re-lock the door and nothing close by to bar it with. Zack dropped his rock in front of it and started digging through his backpack.

“Uh, Zack? That rock isn’t anywhere big enough to keep the bad guys out so I hope you’re looking for something more important than a granola bar. Now isn’t the time to take a snack break,” I snapped as Elliott leaned against the door to hold it in place. My brother ignored me and continued rummaging. After what felt like an eternity, he pulled out a large rubber triangle with grooves on it, shoved it in the space beneath the door and started kicking the crap out of it with his boot heel.

“Emergency door stop,” he answered when he noticed I was giving him crazy eyes. “It’ll hold the door shut unless something really determined comes along. I suggest we keep moving, just in case.”

“What all did you pack in that bag?” Elliott asked with obvious admiration.

“Hopefully enough crap to save the day and both of your asses a few more times tonight.” He grinned, shouldering the backpack.

We moved rapidly down the concrete stairs and into the tunnel complex. Fluorescent lights continued to buzz and flicker in the concrete hallway, but it felt different somehow. “I don’t think we’re alone down here,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure why, but my skin felt prickly—like we were being watched.

“Let’s go slow. Keep your ears open, we should hear someone before we see them,” Zack whispered back.

We moved down the hall as quietly as we could. My bag was beginning to feel heavier, and I wondered if I had over packed. Was it really a good idea to bring the outfit change? Sure, the short heels would make me look more like one of the CDC scientists, but if I ran into any security at 2 am in a dark garage, would they even notice my stupid shoes? I was glad I hadn’t worn them now. Even our soft soled footsteps echoed in the hollow space.

“The building name plaques have been removed,” Elliott pointed out when we reached the first intersection. “Why would anyone do that?”

“So it would be harder for anyone else to navigate down here, especially someone who doesn’t know the layout of the campus well. It’d slow them down at least,” Zack pointed out.

We cautiously pushed through a set of double doors as we entered one of the longer tunnels which would lead us closer to the maintenance garage. There was a lot of stuff in this hallway. Filing cabinets, furniture, and discarded desks all stood piled along the perimeter in haphazard groups. As the doors swung shut behind us, we froze. Something felt wrong.

I started to back up, bumping into Elliott as I retreated from an unseen threat. He steadied me, glancing from me to the hallway with concern. “What?” he mouthed. I shrugged, unable to explain.

Zack kept going a few steps, until the lights flickered and the screaming began.

Inky darkness enveloped us as a chorus of screams exploded all around. I grabbed Zoe, pulling her to my side as she jerked the gun she had tucked in the waistband of her pants free. The lights blazed back on as suddenly as they’d gone off, revealing a motley group of students and faculty. They were all armed with makeshift weapons, baseball bats, mop handles, even a long handled knife. In front of us, a tall kid with fading acne scars held a trembling replica katana sword to Zack’s throat. The handgun Zack held pointed at the kid’s temple probably explained the tremble.

“Whoa, hey, everyone needs to back up and calm down,” Zoe exclaimed, gesturing with her firearm. “We didn’t come here to hurt anyone. We only need to pass through.”

“Are you infected or do you work for the government?” a middle aged man in a stained dress shirt demanded.

“Neither. Move the sword away and give us a little room and we’ll explain ourselves,” she replied calmly, her eyes on her brother.

The group mumbled around a little bit, glancing back and forth at each other. There obviously wasn’t much in the way of leadership or organization within this group, but then they must have fallen in together recently.

A loud rumble of thunder shook outside, audible even down here. Everyone jumped a bit, gripping their weapons a little tighter.

“Back off, okay, man? I don’t want to have to hurt you,” Zack warned through clenched teeth. “How about we both step away on the count of three?”

The kid with the sword must have watched enough action flicks to feel that this was an acceptable compromise, so he nodded his head in agreement. On three, both untangled themselves and stepped away almost comically fast. Maybe the kid really was a ninja. A very clumsy, awkward, Wolverine t-shirt wearing ninja.

I had to point some things out to them before they all got themselves killed. “If the lights and the yelling were meant to disorient and confuse one of the infected, you really shouldn’t try that again. They can see much better in the dark than you can. Shutting off the lights would help them in the first place, but flipping them back on would have sent one of them into a violent rage. The light hurts their eyes. That’s why you see more of them at night. The yelling? That pretty much would have guaranteed that at least one of you would be suffering from fatally traumatic injuries in seconds.”

“I thought you said you weren’t from the government!” a woman near me sneered, poking in my direction with a red axe she’d obviously pilfered from a fire emergency box.

“You asked if we worked for the government. We don’t. I used to, but now they want me dead, much like the rest of you. They want us all dead. So why are we threatening each other?” I asked blandly. I’d never been in a Mexican standoff before, and while I appreciated the checkmark on my bucket list, we were running out of time.

“Why do they want you dead?” a pretty brunette in the front of the bunch asked. Her trendy plastic framed glasses were repaired with electrical tape and hung slightly crooked, but her expression seemed both interested and intelligent. Maybe some of these people could help us. I could certainly help them.

“Elliott is the only person who can stop this outbreak. He’s close to having both a vaccine and a treatment ready. The people who are responsible for releasing the virus don’t really want either of those to happen,” Zoe interrupted. Maybe she was afraid I’d tell them that I created the virus and they would bludgeon us to death before I had the chance to continue. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe that wouldn’t happen either.

“There’s a treatment? One that could have turned the infected ones back into people?” the guy in the dress shirt gasped, guilt heavy in his voice. What had he done, I wondered.

“No,” I answered truthfully, looking at Zoe as I did. “Once they are to the violent stage, there’s too much brain damage to ever be able to bring them back. You could possibly cure their body, but they’d be a brain dead vegetable. If you’ve had to defend yourself, take some comfort in the thought that you can’t kill what is already dead. You have to do what is necessary to protect yourself from the virus.”

Several of the people in the group looked relieved, a few were disappointed, and there were some who showed no reaction at all. They were shell shocked most likely. “Have any of you been exposed to the blood of one of the infected people?” I asked, not really expecting anyone to respond even if they had. “The virus spreads by blood to blood contact. If you have any open wounds, you should cover them. Stay away from their bodily fluids. They’re drawn to shiny objects, bright colors, loud noises. They aren’t really hunting, but they have no control over their aggressive impulses. If you catch their attention, they’re going to attack you. They’re stronger than they were as humans, also faster, and pain doesn’t register. You can’t hurt them to make them stop, you have to make sure they’re either dead or immobilized or they’ll just keep coming.” Heads nodded. They had already witnessed that part.

“Do you know anything about the quarantine boundaries?” the ninja asked eagerly. “We’re making a plan. They’re going to leave us here to die, but we aren’t going to hide down here until they find us and inject us. We’re planning to get out of the quarantine and tell the media what’s happening here!”

Hmmmm. Zoe and Zack shared a look, a ghost of a smile on their faces. “We don’t know much about the quarantine perimeter other than what they’re showing on the news, but it seems to be most of the town if not all of it. That’s a pretty long walk from here,” Zack replied. “How are you planning to avoid the CDC, National Guard, and the monsters?”

“They aren’t monsters, they’re sick! Any one of us could be exactly like them, if we hadn’t gotten lucky,” a girl in front of me protested. She whirled, facing the rest of the group. “Don’t lie to yourselves and think that you’ve done something impressive by hiding down here. We found a temporary safe spot, but
these
people got in. It’s only a matter of time before someone else does.”

“That’s why we’re going to break the quarantine!” ninja boy argued.

“Saying you’re going to do something and actually succeeding in doing it are two different things,” I pointed out. “I don’t know what timeline you’re looking at, but we may be able to help you. We just can’t help right
now
.”

“Oh, you have big plans, huh? Are they having a sale at the bookstore?” the angsty girl shot back.

“We do have something very important to accomplish, and if we’re successful then we’ll give you the evidence you need to release to the public when you make it through the quarantine, plus supplies and a vehicle to get you there,” Zoe volunteered, stepping out in front of me. “We can help you.”

“What’s in it for you?” ninja boy asked.

Zoe stepped beside her brother, armed matching bookends. “You get out of our way and let us through these tunnels and on our way. Let us do our thing without interfering. When we come back, we’ll bring you with us to our safe house and load you up with supplies and information.”

If I wasn’t already completely infatuated with her, I would be after watching her handle this terrified group of stragglers. She was confident, in control, and they
wanted
to let her take over. Hell,
I
wanted her to take over.

“What guarantee do we have that you’ll come back?” the girl asked hesitantly. They hadn’t wanted us, now they didn’t want us to leave.

“You don’t really have a guarantee,” I answered. “Other than the fact that this is the safest route back to our vehicle and we’re willing to give you our word that we will do our best to come back for you.”

“Besides,” Zoe pointed out, “what do you have to lose? If we don’t come back, you can go ahead with your own plan. We’re coming back though.”

The rag tag group shuffled a few steps away and mumbled together for a moment or two. “Okay, if you’ll help us, we’ll help you,” the guy in the business shirt announced. “We’ll escort you to the building you need and help you get in and out. Sometimes it helps to have a distraction. We’ll give you a key to get back in so you won’t have to break any more of the doors either.”

“Great. The sooner we can get moving, the better!” I answered, extending my hand to shake his.

“I’ll go with them,” one of the girls volunteered. Ninja started to volunteer, but thought better of it when he caught Zack giving him the stink eye. His presence was clearly not welcome. I’d carry a bit of a grudge if someone threatened to slit my throat with a wall decoration too. A middle aged woman in a cafeteria smock who was toting her ax like it was a newborn joined us instead.

The rest moved out of our way warily and allowed us to continue down the cluttered hallway. Now we could see that they’d dragged things here in order to have hiding places, albeit rather pathetic ones. Still, they’d managed to get the drop on us by kneeling behind filing cabinets and old computer desks so who was I to criticize?

The five of us walked in silence for a ways before Zoe turned to the girl who walked beside her and struck up a conversation. “How did you end up down here? We weren’t on campus when the outbreak began. Could you tell us what you saw?”

Our escorts looked at each other, obviously uncomfortable. “It was horrible,” the girl whispered.

We continued walking, the silence stretching between us as our group struggled not to press for information. The three of us were not good at letting things lie, obviously.

“I wasn’t in class when they put the campus under lock down. I was supposed to be, but I had a migraine so I skipped,” she abruptly announced, snapping the tense quiet. “I was in my dorm room lying down. I heard commotion in the hall, but there’s always some kind of commotion so I didn’t really pay attention. One of the girls started pounding on my door, saying something about vaccines. I…I hate needles. I’m terrified of them. So I didn’t answer. I stayed in bed and when they came to check the rooms, I hid in my bathroom in the shower. No one checked in there. Before long, they all came back.” She stopped talking, as though she was preparing herself for what was to come. I already knew what would have happened if the “vaccines” were contaminated.