Outbreak (Book 2): The Mutation (24 page)

“Get that furniture back against the door!
”
ordered Wilder.

As Vasquez, Cain, Fisher, and Mears grabbed the furniture, Wilder heard the noises on the roof.

“They’re on the fucking roof!
”
Wilder yelled.

“They’re everywhere!
”
Wallack cried out.

After the furniture was pushed against the door, everyone checked their weapons.

“Lock and load,
”
Butsko ordered, “but hold your fire. No shooting out the windows.”

Wilder noticed the windows looked a little thicker than your typical glass. He suspected it was thick and well insulated in order to help keep the clubhouse cool during the brutal Texas summers.

As she cocked back the hammer on her carbine, Fisher looked over to the others.

“What the fuck are we gonna do?
”
she asked no one in particular.

“Get ready for war,
”
Butsko finally said.

Chapter Six

1

Will to Power Center

Spicewood, Texas

Walt and Cheryl took a final deep breath and slowly left the pharmacy. Cheryl looked for signs of the infected in front of them while Walt scanned behind them.

The sudden appearance of the infected outside the kitchen had them both concerned and on edge.

Have they learned to be quiet
? Walt thought.
Are they now able to hunt us
?

Walt shook his head and returned his focus to the task at hand. He searched for them but saw or heard nothing. Yet that didn’t make him feel any better.

“I liked it better when they made noise,
”
Walt whispered to Cheryl.

“No shit,
”
she said. “This stillness and lack of noise is killing me.”

Walt and Cheryl cut through the dining room and saw the results of their previous battle. Walt glanced toward the hole in the wall that saved his and Joe’s lives. Walt hoped the others were safe. Over the last two years they had all become a big family. It ripped his heart out when Walt saw one of his own as an infected, reanimated monster.

“The main entrance is right down the hallway,
”
Cheryl whispered to Walt.

“Yeah,
”
Walt said as he looked down the hall toward the common room. “Down a long hallway with a lot of doors.”

Cheryl knew what Walt was worried about. Between them and the main entrance were seven doors that led into various purposed rooms. Any one of them could have an unwanted surprise.

In another part of the house, Walt and Cheryl heard the unmistakable sounds as someone, or something, walked around. They both looked at each other and knew their time was running out.

“We’ve got two choices,
”
Walt whispered as they crouched down against the wall. “We can play it safe and slowly make our way down the hallway and check every door…”

“Or?
”
Cheryl asked.

“Or we run like hell and hope there’s no surprises in any of the rooms,
”
Walt said.

“I wanna get the fuck out of this house,
”
Cheryl said.

Walt checked to make sure the duffle bag was secured on his back and gripped Stevie tight in his hands.

Noises began popping up all around them, but they still couldn’t see anything.

Walt watched Cheryl as she stood and knew she was getting that rush of adrenaline she loved. She told Walt on numerous occasions how much she loved that initial rush as the adrenaline flooded into her. She told Walt stories about her MMA fighting days, and how the adrenaline would begin coursing through her as soon as she entered the ring. Walt knew some people couldn't handle the adrenaline and became unfocused and jittery.

Not Cheryl.

Cheryl had told Walt how much she thrived on it and how it helped her focus as she beat down her opponent.

Walt knew it was time as Cheryl glanced at him and nodded her head.

Cheryl raced as fast as she could down the hallway and ignored the doors as she ran past them. Walt saw how focused she was as she set her sights on the common room.

Walt watched as Cheryl slowed down as she approached the common room. She didn’t want to run into a room full of those bastards.

With the wooden legs raised up, ready to strike anything in her path, Cheryl jogged into the common room. She spun around to make sure nothing was behind her. When she looked up she saw the hole in the roof the infected made in their earlier attack.

Nothing stirred in the room.

Walt anxiously waited until he saw Cheryl give him the ‘thumbs up
’
sign.

“Guess I’m up,
”
Walt whispered to himself out loud.

Walt saw Cheryl’s thumbs up and knew the common area was safe for now. He dug his right foot behind him as he readied himself. He gritted his teeth and tore ass down the hallway.

Walt couldn’t help himself and looked through the windows of the doors as he ran by. He saw nothing moving in any of the rooms.

As he passed the fourth door he caught some movement ahead. Before he could adjust his direction, a door on the left flew open and one of the infected jumped out of the room and tackled Walt to the ground.

Walt lost his grip on Stevie from the impact and hit the floor hard, knocking the breath out of himself.

Stevie landed on the floor with an audible ‘thud
’
as its nails dug into the floorboards. Walt reached for Stevie and got his hand around it, but he didn’t have enough leverage, and couldn’t pull it free from the floor.

The zombie that tackled Walt was thin but strong as an ox. Walt gave up trying to pry Stevie out of the floorboards and slammed his right forearm under the zombie’s neck and pushed upwards. This allowed Walt to keep the creature away from his body and also kept his arm away from the bastard’s throat.

He knew Cheryl was on her way to help him, but he was worried he wouldn’t be able to hold the creature back much longer.

As Walt rolled from side to side, he felt the syringe of Haldol he put in his pocket when they were in the pharmacy. He pushed against the zombie as hard as he could, and with his free arm pull the syringe out of his pocket.

Walt pulled off the syringe’s cap with his teeth, and as he spit the cap away he jammed the needle into the creature’s shoulder and injected the drug into the bastard.

The zombie felt nothing, but after a few seconds, Walt could feel the creature begin to spasm.

Cheryl ran up to Walt and kicked the zombie in the ribs. The monsters flew off of Walt and bounced against the wall.

“That was easier than I thought,
”
Cheryl said as she helped Walt off the ground.

Walt pried Stevie out of the floor and heard Cheryl gasp.

“What the fuck is happening to that thing,
”
she said as she watched the zombie spasm and tremble uncontrollably.

The zombie tried to stand up but was unable to control any of its muscles.

The creature stared at Walt and Cheryl with death in its eyes. It felt the compulsion to eat and infect, but it had no control over itself anymore.

The zombie watched as Walt brought Stevie down on its head and crushed its skull.

“What the hell happened to that thing?
”
Cheryl asked.

“It had no control over its muscles,
”
Walt said as he smiled.

“So it worked?
”
Cheryl asked.

“Yes,
”
Walt said. “It looks like we have a new weapon to fight these pricks.”

They both knew they were far from being safe. They heard as the noises in the house grew louder and more aggressive.

“We’ll celebrate later,
”
Walt said as he secured the duffle bag on his back. “Right now, we need to get the fuck out of here.”

“Let’s start making our way to the gas station,
”
said Cheryl.

Cheryl was ready to leave the house but saw Walt unsling the duffle bag and remove several syringes and vials.

“Help me,
”
he said to Cheryl. “Let’s fill up a few syringes.”

They each filled five needles with various antipsychotic drugs and were ready to go.

Walt fixed the duffle bag back on his shoulder and grabbed Stevie.

“Ready?
”
asked Walt as he nodded towards the front door.

“Nope,
”
Cheryl said with a slight grin on her face.

“Me neither,” Walt said as he opened the door, and without looking, led the way.

Walt and Cheryl fled into the darkness of the night and the cover of the woods.

2

Lago Vista Golf Club

Lago Vista, Texas

Trunst’s and Hall’s screams died out long before the soldiers locked down the clubhouse. Everyone stood silently with their weapons ready.

No one dared breathe.

Wilder stared at the ceiling and listened to the infected running back and forth across the roof.

“Those bastards are looking for a way in,
”
Wilder said.

“Let’s make sure we don’t give them one!
”
Butsko fired back.

Mears ran towards the front door.

“It sounds like they’re ransacking the trucks, Sir,
”
said Mears.

“Nothing we can do about that right now,
”
Wilder said.

“Mears!
”
barked Butsko. “Take Vasquez, Cain, and Fisher and head over to the pro-shop. That room has the most windows and doors leading in and out of it.”

“On it,
”
Mears said as the four of them ran off.

“Mane, Wallack, Steele, Megan!
”
barked Butsko. “Start patrolling down here. Make sure there isn’t so much as a hairline crack these bastards could squeeze through.”

“We got it,
”
Mane said as he got together and ran back into the dining room with the others.

“Luckily there’s no second floor in this building,
”
Wilder said as he turned to Melvin and Jones.

“We need to make sure this front door stays secure,
”
Butsko said.

“Come with me, Melvin,
”
said Jones. “We can grab more heavy oak tables from the dining room.”

As Jones and Melvin ran into the dining room, Butsko and Wilder stood silently in the foyer.

“This isn’t good,
”
Wilder said. “Something feels off.”

“How do you mean?
”
asked Butsko.

“Why didn’t the infected storm the front door when it was open?
”
Wilder asked. “There was more than ample opportunity.”

Butsko’s gaze shot up as heavy footsteps ran across the roof.

“If I didn’t know any better,
”
Butsko said, “I’d swear those bastards were surrounding us.”

“I was thinking the same thing,
”
Wilder agreed. “Shit is getting out of control fast.”

“Wilder,
”
said Butsko as he turned to face the man. “The only thing that matters is that one of us has to get to Schoepke Springs.”

Wilder knew what Butsko meant. Come hell or high water, either he or Butsko would have to make it, regardless of whatever happened.

“I hear ya, Sir,
”
Wilder said, “but let’s make sure it’s all of us who make it there.”

Before Butsko could say anything, both he and Wilder jumped at the loud cracking noise from the front door.

“What the hell is that?
”
asked Wilder as he leveled his carbine toward the door. “Are they using a fucking battering ram?”

The loud noise struck again just as Jones and Melvin came back into the room carrying a heavy, oval table.

“Put that down, guys!
”
Butsko barked at Jones and Melvin. “They’re almost in.”

Jones motioned to Melvin to help him carry the table to the left side of the door. They set the table on its side and huddled behind it.

Wilder and Butsko overturned a large wooden coffee table on the right side of the main door and hunkered down. Their guns were cocked and ready.

*****

As Mears, Vasquez, Cain, and Fisher reached the pro-shop, the blood in their veins turned icy as they heard windows shattering, followed by the all-too-familiar sound of the infected.

The pro-shop was the size of the average gas station convenience store. There were racks of pants and collared shirts with the Lago Vista Golf Club logo on it, rows of golf clubs, and every accessory you could need out on the greens.

Mears didn’t hesitate as he ran into the pro-shop firing his carbine. He aimed for the chests of the infected with the hope of slowing them down. When he had the opportunity for a head shot, he took it.

Vasquez ran the opposite direction from Mears and fired her weapon. She gritted her teeth as she ran through the maze of clothing racks.

Vasquez was fast and a top marksman. She always had some of the top scores in her unit, and Mears was glad to have her with him.

Fisher watched as Mears and Vasquez disappeared into the pro-shop. Fisher may not have been trained for combat, but she sure as hell knew her way around a gun. Fisher had grown up on a farm in West Texas with five brothers. Hunting, fishing, and roughhousing were in her blood. She was no stranger to the feel of a rifle or pistol in her hands. Fisher’s father had even taught her how to hunt with a bow and arrow when she was young.