Fighting to Survive (14 page)

Shane
didn't answer. He just looked away.

Bill
began reorganizing the teams, trying to keep them evened out with
skill level. Everyone was emotionally and physically exhausted, but
they had to go on. This is what Mike had trained them for and even
though he was no longer with them, they had a job to do.

Katie
looked at all the bodies again and looked down at Mike's covered
body. Jenni was standing nearby, her expression a little distant and
disturbing. Katie reached out and took her hand and Jenni turned to
look at her. Her eyes had a glazed look Katie hadn't seen since the
first day they had met.

“
Jenni?
”

Jenni
frowned a little, and said softly,
“
He
wasn't supposed to die.
”

Katie
hugged her tightly.
“
None
of us are. Not like this.
”

Jenni
nodded mutely, drew away, and clutched her gun tightly.
“
I
just don
’
t
want it to be the end.
”

“
It
’
s
not,
”
Katie said firmly.
“
We
just have to keep going. Fighting. For everyone
’
s
sake, Jenni, we gotta get this done.
”

Jenni
looked up and her gaze seemed a little more focused.
“
Yeah,
for everyone still alive.
”

Bill
looked toward Nerit, who was standing near the doorway watching the
hall.
“
Nerit,
we clear?
”

“
No
movement. I think the rooms are what we need to worry about now,
”
Nerit answered.

“
But
be cautious anyway,
”
Bill reminded everyone.

There
were nods and people visibly pulled on their inner strength as they
prepared to go on.

Bill
raised the walkie-talkie to his mouth and pressed the button.
“
Juan,
we
’
re
continuing on.
”

“
We
heard gunshots,
”
Juan
’
s
voice cackled through the receiver.

“
Yeah,
we lost some people. Mike and Ashley.
”

“
Shit,
”
Juan
’
s
voice answered.

“
We
’
ll
be in touch.
”
Bill motioned to Nerit.

The
older woman started down the hall followed by her new team of
Katarina, Shane and Jimmy. The other teams followed as Bill pointed
to them. They were back on schedule and heading to their assignments.

Katie
looked toward Roger and Travis. They were talking softly. Roger
nodded slightly, but obviously looked ill at ease. As she neared
them, Travis sighed and looked toward her.

“
I
’
m
sorry, Katie. I won
’
t
fuck up again,
”
he said.

She
shrugged and looked toward Roger.
“
No
one thinks it
’
s
easy killing what used to be your friend, Travis.
”
Forcing herself to look at him, she could see the pained expression
in his eyes.

Travis
said softly,
“
Just
a living nightmare, isn
’
t
it?
”

Katie
blinked, realizing what had happened. Travis had once confided in her
that he had been struggling with his bizarre visions since the first
day. He often saw his friends transformed into zombies for quick
flashes. Now he was seeing those nightmares become reality. No wonder
he had hesitated shooting Mike.

She
reached out and touched his cheek. He nuzzled her fingers, comforting
himself, then he straightened.

“
Let
’
s
do this.
”

***

Room after room was
empty. Offices, closets, bathrooms, empty…

Each
time a door swung open, Nerit
’
s
gut clenched and her finger prepared to squeeze the trigger. Nerit
rarely flinched in the face of danger. In fact, she rarely felt
afraid. Her calmness was something she was used to, but now, she felt
fear struggling to gain a hold of her.

Each
large piece of furniture could be hiding danger, every partially
opened door a potential for death…

There
were signs of violence. Behind the front desk there was an enormous
pool of dried blood and pieces of intestine and organs. The manager
’
s
office had all the furniture knocked over and the heavy desk shoved
aside, but no blood. Maybe he had escaped.

Walking
quietly down the narrow hall, opening closed doors, the four of them
moved with silent efficiency. The remains of the life that existed
before the undead rose danced before their eyes as tombstones of days
gone by. TVs and computers sat silently, screens blank. A newspaper
laid on the floor in a bathroom declaring,
“
The
Dead Walk
”
.
A reminder of the first days, of what had happened, and of what now
existed in the world.

In
a supply closet, banners for the grand opening of the hotel were
folded up, waiting to be hung up. But that Grand Opening would never
happen or at least not the way the investors had thought it would.

As
they opened the very last door, it swung open into a small office.
Inside were three bodies. None moved.

It
was a woman and two children. The woman had evidently smothered the
kids and drove an ice pick through their skulls. They were carefully
arranged on the floor, their arms around each other. She had then
clutched the ice pick in one hand and had fallen sideways onto it.
She was lying next to the children, her eyes wide and staring, but
they were all most definitely dead.

Making
sure the room was clear, Nerit approached the door and studied it.
There were no claw marks on it or any sign of distress. The woman had
hidden back here, terrified, until she had made a desperate choice.
Nerit returned to the manger
’
s
office and found a framed photo. It showed a young man, the dead
woman and three children.

“
What
do you think happened?
”
Katarina asked.

“
I
think he told her to hide with the kids. Maybe he tried to go for
help,
”
Nerit answered.

“
And
never came back,
”
Jimmy finished.
“
And
she stayed here.
”

“
She
may have been too terrified to try to go for help or try to escape,
”
Shane said.

“
And
yet the construction site was so close, safety so close,
”
Katarina whispered.

Nerit
nodded and lifted her walkie-talkie to her mouth.
“
Juan,
first floor is clear. We
’
re
joining the teams on the second. But we may have one more zombie. I
think the manager's family was visiting on the first day. One of his
kids is not accounted for.
”

“
Shit,
”
Juan's voice said.

“
Zombie
kids. I hate them,
”
Shane muttered.

Nerit
motioned for the group to follow her. They moved down the hallway in
silence, leaving behind the mother and her two small children to rest
in peace a little longer.

***

Jenni's revised
group of Ned, Felix and Charles moved down the second floor hallway,
guns at the ready, alert, and fearful. Ned held a large flashlight
up, illuminating their way. The power grid was still up for the town
had power, but a breaker had been tripped inside the hotel and it was
dark, musty, and terrifying.

Despite
the renovations, it seemed the hotel had been determined to keep its
old world charm. The doors were not unlocked by card keys, but with
regular keys. Master keys had been found behind the front desk and
passed around to the various teams. Charles carried their set in his
meaty hand. He looked very nervous as sweat poured down his face.

They
had figured out a method for clearing out the rooms. Jenni and Felix
would keep watch while Ned held the flashlight up so Charles could
unlock the door. Then Charles would fling open the door while Jenni
and Felix aimed straight into the room, ready to fire at anything
that stirred. If nothing immediately popped out, they would move
slowly into the room and check the bathroom the same way. The beds
were old fashioned and so they had to check under them. This was
accomplished by Felix ripping the comforter off and Jenni squatting
down to make sure it was clear.

It
was definitely a good plan and it worked through four rooms, but the
stress level was growing. They were all struggling with a growing
sense of dread. Maybe it was the darkness that dwelled in the
hallway, the cloying stench of death that seemed to hang in the musty
air, or the way the world outside seemed so far away as the storm
boomed overhead.

The
fifth door loomed before them and Charles wiped his brow with his
hand and looked toward Jenni.
“
Ever
feel this was a bad idea?
”

Jenni
laughed.
“
Ever
since we came in.
”

Charles
leaned over and unlocked the door.

Felix
made a little noise in his throat.

“
What
is it?
”
Charles looked at him nervously.

“
The
stench,
”
Felix answered.

Jenni
let herself sniff the air and flinched.
“
Shit.
”

They
all steadied themselves and Charles flung open the door.

Nothing
stirred in the room.

Cautiously,
they moved into the room, doing exactly what they had done before.
The space under the bed was clear. The wardrobe was empty. The
bathroom door loomed before them, taunting and terrifying.

The
stench was so bad, their eyes were watering.

“
I
hope I don
’
t
get this room,
”
Charles muttered, and flung the bathroom door open.

Nothing
stood before them, but the toilet with a tidy little white strip of
paper across it and an empty clawed tub.

“
Where
the fuck is it coming from?
”
Ned exclaimed.

Jenni
looked back toward the open door that led to the hallway, then back
into the bathroom.
“
We
’
re
missing something.
”