Fighting to Survive (18 page)

“
I
saw the blood. Dried, but it had dripped down under the doors,
”
he answered.

Jenni
nodded and looked around the room.
“
You
got him killed,
”
she said softly.
“
You
distracted him.
”

Katie
could feel the tension building.
“
Let's
keep moving. There is time for this later.
”

They
pushed on. Door by door, room by room. Chalk checkmark after chalk
checkmark. With the second plumber dead, they were feeling a bit
better. Of course, there could be others they did not know about in
the hotel, but the number of possible zombies was falling steadily.

“
Sixth
floor clear,
”
Bill finally declared.

Jenni
was walking with a limp and Katie stayed near her. She could see that
Travis was stressing over Jenni
’
s
injury and was keeping his anger at Jimmy in check. Curtis was so red
with anger, Katie was afraid he was going to have a heart attack. But
they kept going and Roger trudged along mumbling to Felix about his
red shirt being a bad idea.

3. Friends in
High Places

Juan stood
impatiently while the gate into the hotel was unchained. As soon as
it was opened, he hurried through with several construction workers
and a small force of armed men in tow. Stepping into the janitor's
room, he looked back into the fort and saw Jason standing with a
walkie-talkie clutched in one hand and his faithful dog companion at
his side. He gave Juan the thumbs up. Juan smiled slightly and turned
back into the hotel.

Maybe
the boy and he would get along one day.

The
stench in the janitor's room was pretty intense and his eyes began to
water. He kicked the dead zombie bodies out of the way so the
equipment could get through and grimaced as bits of gore clung to his
boots.

Stepping
up to the door, Juan felt his palms sweating and he took a deep
breath. They were just going to have to trust that the teams had done
their job and that no more zombies were roaming around downstairs.

“
Let's
do this,
”
he said.

Swinging
the door open, he stepped into the darkened hallway. Flicking on a
flashlight, he shone the beam down the hallway. Nothing stirred.

“
Scary,
huh?
”
Ken said from behind him.

“
When
is it ever not scary?
”

They
moved swiftly down the hall and into the corridor that would lead
them into the lobby. As they drew nearer, they heard the loud banging
on the doors and windows.

Juan
broke into a swift run. The sound of their pounding feet against the
tile, the tools jangling on their belts and the humming of the
wheelbarrow wheels echoed through the lobby to mix with the moans and
screeches of the zombies. The heavy oak doors were shuddering under
the impact of many fists being banged against it and the dim outlines
of the zombie bodies could be seen through the heavy, frosted lead
windows in the door and on either side of the entry.

“
Let's
make this fast,
”
Juan ordered.

Immediately,
the wheelbarrow full of fresh cement was wheeled into position and
the pallets loaded with bricks were rolled into the room. Men and
women began to quickly brick up the leaded glass windows and the
doorway. An assembly line was created and people passed on the bricks
to those wielding trowels. Layers of wet cement and brick were
swiftly coming into being as they worked in the humid heat of the
hotel lobby.

Juan
turned and saw the nearly decapitated zombie body on the steps.
Walking over, he looked down at it, and grimaced.
“
Damn.
”
Taking out the walkie-talkie, he pressed the button.
“
How
is your progress up there, Nerit?
”

“
Moving
along. We're on the seventh floor,
”
she answered.

“
Curtis?
How about you?
”

“
Also
on the seventh floor. Making some progress. Jenni's hurt so we're
moving slower,
”
Curtis answered, then added quickly,
“
Nothing
major, just knocked up a bit.
”

Juan
felt his chest tighten. He said a little shortly,
“
I
thought you said she was okay?
”

“
Yeah,
but, she's limping,
”
Curtis said blandly.

“
Tell
him not to worry,
”
Jenni's voice said through the static.

“
She
says not--
”

“
I
heard her,
”
Juan answered. He took off his hat, ran his fingers through his
curls, and took a breath.
“
Let
me know how you are doing up there. We're busy down here blocking
these fuckers off.
”

There
was a loud crash against one of the windows and Juan whirled around
to see the dim outline of a zombie with something quite large in its
hand banging against the leaded window.

“
Shit!
”

The
front doors were set down at street level. Stairs inlaid with marble
rose up to the lobby floor from the entrance. The only windows Juan
had any concerns about were the ones framing the doorway. The windows
on the first floor were at least eight feet above the street. More of
the zombies were picking up items to bang against the windows and
doors. It was as if they understood that living flesh was just within
their reach if only they could break through.

The
assembly line was working faster now. Four people were working fast
with their trowels, spreading fresh layers of cement, laying the
brick, and then spreading more cement. Other people kept refreshing
the bins of cement while others handed down the bricks.

“
Juan,
we have cracks in this window,
”
one of the men said.

Juan
motioned to those standing nearby with guns to take up positions.
“
Keep
them covered.
”

Lifting
the walkie-talkie, he said,
“
We
need something to brace up the new walls ASAP.
”

There
was a pause, and then Ken, one of his assistants said,
“
I'm
on my way.
”

“
Faster,
faster,
”
people were saying to each other as they worked.

Juan
wiped the sweat off his brow and looked at the right window. He could
see long cracks in the glass. The shady figures behind the frosted
window were banging on it with large, heavy objects.

“
Concentrate
on that window,
”
Juan ordered.

Overlapping
each other in their haste, the four people struggled to wall in the
window. It was almost five feet high when the first chunk of glass
fell out of the window frame.

The
workers hesitated, then resumed what they were doing.

The
guards looked nervous.
“
We
can't get good shots with people in the way,
”
one of them told Juan.

Juan
thought over the scenario realizing it would take some sharp shooting
to deal with the increasingly dangerous situation.

“
Nerit,
I think we need you down here,
”
Juan said into the walkie-talkie.
“
We
’
re
going to have trouble hitting them.
”

“
On
my way,
”
she answered.

Another
chunk of glass fell from the frame. He could hear it, but not see it.

“
They're
pushing on the wall,
”
said Linda, his cousin, one of the people laying the brick.
“
I
can feel it.
”

“
Shit!
”
Juan ran down the stairs and put his hands on the wall.
“
Shit,
they are.
”

Another
chunk of glass fell out and a hand pushed through the gap between the
broken window and the new wall.

“
Watch
out!
”

Juan
ducked away just in time, but the zombie grabbed his hat and yanked
it back out of sight.

“
That
was my lucky hat!
”

Linda
slammed two more bricks into place, her heavy gloves giving her
protection.

In
their desperation to get into the hotel, the zombies were struggling
with each other to reach in through the tiny opening in the window.

Ken,
followed by more people, ran in with wood planks and large pieces of
sheet metal.
“
To
brace it,
”
he said to Juan.

More
glass fell out of the window, making the zombies more crazed and
desperate. Decaying hands were appeared over the heads of those
working on the wall. No one dared lay more bricks now and Linda
stabbed at one hand as it dislodged a brick and pulled it away.

“
Let's
do it,
”
Juan said.

“
Do
what?
”
Ken answered.
“
They're
coming in!
”

“
Not
yet,
”
Juan answered, and picked a trowel.
“
They're
reaching upwards. None of them can bite us that high. They'll just
try to grab our hands. We have gloves. Keep going.
”

The
workers hesitated and then acknowledged that he was right. Again the
wall came under construction. The bricks were laid out as quick as
possible as the dead on the other side tried to grab the trowels or
the gloved hands of the workers.

The
other window began to crack.

“
Hurry
it up,
”
Juan ordered. He lifted the walkie-talkie.
“
Nerit,
where are you?
”

“
Eliminating
your problem one by one,
”
Nerit answered after a beat.

“
What?
”
Juan answered confused.

Linda
was laying another brick when a hand grabbed her wrist firmly.
Yanking hard, it had her pinned against the freshly made wall.
Screaming, she struggled to get free.

“
Taking
care of your problem,
”
Nerit answered coolly.

Suddenly,
Linda drew back, the zombie hand still attached to her arm, but now
severed right below the wrist.

“
Now
leave me alone. I have a dozen to take out,
”
Nerit said.