Fighting to Survive (13 page)

Jenni
nodded.
“
I
worked in a hotel. There should be a work schedule up at the front
desk!
”

She
started heading out the door and Mike immediately motioned Ned and
Ashley to follow.
“
Stay
with her.
”

Ashley
nodded, still looking pale from the battle and Ned swaggered with
more confidence than he should have considering the situation.

Katie
sighed and looked around.
“
I
’
m
thinking that the maids may have barricaded themselves into bedrooms
like that one zombie that took a header out of the window when we
first arrived.
”

Travis
stood nearby looking at his slimed up jacket and tossed it away with
disgust.
“
Which
means every room we enter could be full of really hungry zombies.
”

“
Nothing
about this is easy,
”
Roger said, 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 looking 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 that chance.
”

Bill
and Curtis entered the room, followed by a guy named Davey. They all
three looked impressed with the scene.

“
Been
busy, I see,
”
Bill said.

“
Nothing
we can't handle,
”
Shane retorted.
“
Despite
the lesbos, fatsos, and old people.
”

Everyone
chose to ignore him.

Jenni
ran back in, waving a clipboard.
“
Okay,
I got the roster.
”

She
handed it automatically to Katie though Mike had been reaching for
it.

“
Okay,
gimme a second…” Katie looked around, counting the
kitchen staff and the wait staff. She looked at the list.
“
All
the kitchen people are accounted for and so is the wait staff. Both
front desk people are here as is the doorman. We are missing four
maids…” She flipped a page and studied it for a moment.
“
And
two plumbers. They were called in to look at the showers on the sixth
floor.
”

“
So
the sixth floor is a potential hotspot,
”
Mike said thoughtfully.

“
And
the maids could be anywhere,
”
Travis said with a sigh.

“
Six
zombies,
”
Katie said.
“
And
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 answered.

Everyone
stood in a circle, pondering this.

Jenni
looked around, then up at Katie.
“
Well,
it can
’
t
be that hard, can it?
”

Katie
arched an eyebrow at her.

Jenni
smiled at her.
“
I
mean, what could go wrong?
”

Nearby,
Ashley looked pale and a little unsure on her feet. Putting her head
down, she took a deep breath.

Katarina
looked toward Nerit and said,
“
Can
I tag along with you?
”

Katie
still felt unsteady and a little nauseous, but there was so much to
do. Travis gave her a weak smile and she reached out to him. He took
her hand and squeezed it.

“
We
stand here any longer and we
’
re
going to end up freaking ourselves out and giving up,
”
Mike said after a beat.
“
We
survived this. We survived all that shit that went down the first
days. We
’
ll
survive this.
”

Katie
nodded her head, as did the others. Mike was right. They had to keep
going. Standing here freaking themselves out was doing none of them a
bit of good.

“
So,
let
’
s
get going and get this done. What more can go wrong?
”
Mike said with a laugh.

It
was then that Ashley looked up, growled, and bit into Mike
’
s
throat.

He's not supposed to
die, was Jenni's first thought. 's the black hero of this tale. He's
supposed to survive, isn't he? At least until the end…

But
Mike was struggling, his throat caught in the angry bite of the tiny
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 long blond hair and yanked her back. Blood sprayed
everywhere, hot and red with life.

Katie
moved fast, a hunting knife in her hand. The others were moving too
slow, the shock of the attack dulling their reactions.

The
thing that had been Ashley was now turning toward Travis, chewing the
flesh she had torn from Mike
’
s
neck. Hissing, she was about to strike again and 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
check, shattering teeth and wedging into her jaw. They both fell to
the ground, the zombie beneath, Katie on top.

Jenni
ran forward, her hand holding her gun, flipping the safety off.

Katie
pinned the small zombie to the ground and hacked at its head with her
knife. The skull cracked beneath the blade and she kept slamming it
down until the thing that had been Ashley shuddered and was 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 to do anything, she laid her gloved hand
on his cheek and he looked toward her.

“
I
didn't...see...her...
”
he said, looking regretful and sad.

“
I
know. I didn't either,
”
Jenni answered.

“
I'm
sorry, but keep...going...
”
Mike whispered, and was gone.

Jenni
drew her hand back. Tears streamed down her face.

Travis
drew his gun and aimed it at Mike
’
s
head.

“
Do
it,
”
Katie said softly, standing slowly, wiping off her knife on her
jeans.

Travis
narrowed his eyes, his hand trembling.

“
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
erupted between his eyes and he was truly gone. A delicate little
hole, 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 coldly, and brushed past Travis to stand guard at the door.

“
This
isn't right, man. This isn't right,
”
Felix exclaimed, falling to his knees beside of Mike.

“
What
do we do?
”
Katarina asked softly. Her shock was mirrored in the faces of those
around her.

Jenni
looked back at Mike, so peaceful in his final death.
“
We
keep going.
”

Bill
leaned down and grabbed up Mike's walkie-talkie.
“
We
go on. We finish this. Easy as that.
”

Curtis
shook his head and grabbed a tablecloth to cover Mike with.

Jenni
looked down at Mike and 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.

1. Pieces of Hell

“
We
keep going,
”
Bill said for emphasis.
“
We
get this job done.
”

“
How
could she turn so fast?
”
Katarina asked.

Katie
looked up at her, holding the dead woman's hand.
“
She
was bitten. Looks like one of them got her hand and she yanked it
back. It's not a distinct bite mark, more like a scrape, but it was
enough.
”

“
Ashley's
been anorexic for years and has all sorts of health issues. Probably
took her down fast,
”
Curtis said softly.
“
Poor
thing.
”

“
So
you have to kill whoever is bit immediately or we'll lose more
people,
”
Nerit said in a cold voice.
“
We
can't be sure how long it will take before they turn.
”

Katie
shivered at her tone and glanced at Travis. His head was down and he
obviously knew the comment had been directed at him. He was staring
at the gun in his hand in a strange, almost angry way.

“
That's
bullshit. What if they don't change? What if the bite don't take?
We can't just shoot everyone like that lesbo bitch shot my brother!
”
Shane's voice was fierce and he glared at Katie.

“
And
what if we let one person with a bite live long enough to change and
began spreading it through the fort? Then that is the end of us all.
Do you want to be one of those things? Do you? Do you want to be
the reason all the survivors of this fort die? Tell me. Do you want
that on your hands?
”
Nerit gave Shane a cold, fierce look.