Impact (7 page)

“The corridor is a zombie-fest!” Nick said.

Jackie frantically looked at him. “But it’s our only way out.”

I swallowed hard. “What are we gonna do?”

“We need a game plan, people!” Nancy screamed. 

Nick reloaded his weapon. “If that’s the only way out, we have no other choice but to fight our way past them.”

“There’s a hall to the right, about 100 feet away,” Jackie said. “If we can get to that hall, there is a double-door at the end. Hopefully, there’s no one on the other side.”

“What if there are more waiting for us?” Buddy asked. “What then?” 

“Then we fight like hell,” I said.

We crept forward, wading through the sea of dust. I was careful not to trip on the uneven remnants of the floor. The smell of death and decay assaulted my nose, a foul stench that clung to the back of my throat. When I heard the sounds of heavy, raspy breathing, I froze.

I
knew that sound, the erratic breathing of the undead. My hand shook as I shined the flashlight into the darkness. I couldn’t see anything through the cloud of dust surrounding us, but I knew something was close, because I could clearly hear its shuffling footsteps and gurgling breaths. My eyes scanned the darkness as I aimed for my undead target.

Nick stopped and held a hand up for all of us to halt. “Watch out for an ambush,” he whispered back to us.

We all peered around in the darkness, searching for the creature we knew was lurking in the shadows. My throat tightened, and droplets of sweat rolled down my back. Suddenly, my light beam illuminated a short zombie with a droopy face and a crooked nose.

“Zombie!” I said.

“Boy, somebody needs a nose job,” Lucas said, grimacing at the putrid thing. 

“Allow me to perform the surgery,” Nick said, positioning his axe. As soon as the thing lunged at him, he swung. The blade sliced through the top of its head, down into its decaying flesh, past its neck and into its chest. Nick tugged, but the axe was stuck. He kicked the zombie to the ground and pried his axe back.

Another zombie hissed, and I turned to meet its ghostly white gaze. It was dressed in torn, blood-splattered clothes, and its hair was dusty and tangled, like a mangy dog’s. I cringed at the deep bite marks lining its tattered face. The hell-spawn reached for me with bony fingers. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger, but it hissed and continued walking toward me. I took aim and unleashed another bullet. That one imbedded in its head, sending the vile demon crashing to the ground. My relief was short-lived, though, because in an instant, another zombie moaned from the left. 

I delivered four more carefully aimed shots into the quartet of ghouls heading toward me. When Jackie screamed, I turned and saw that one of the monsters had her pinned against the wall. I aimed at the back of its rotting skull and fired. Gore exploded as the zombie slumped over, freeing my girlfriend from its grasp.

“Behind you!” Jackie shouted.

I turned and saw four more coming at me. My gun clicked empty after only a couple more shots, and I cursed under my breath. I reloaded while Jackie fired off shot after shot. As soon as I had ammo in my weapon again, I turned and took careful aim at the closest zombie. It had frizzy black hair and a huge gash across its nose, as if it had gotten in a fight with an angry lawnmower. I fired, it fell, and I bolted down the corridor and turned the bend.
They sure weren’t kidding about there being too many,
I thought. I pointed my gun and began blasting zombie after zombie as we entered the hostile corridor.

Claire squeezed the trigger and fired off a full magazine into a group of stumbling zombies. The long burst of automatic fire rang in my ears, but she took a good number down. The others joined in, until the gunfire reached a loud crescendo that temporarily deafened us all.

“We’re almost there!” Jackie yelled. “Keep going!”

I could barely hear her through the crackle of gunfire, but I tried to nod at her to let her know we understood.

BOOM
!

A jarring noise pierced the air as the ceiling caved in on a group of stumbling corpses. It was a bittersweet thing; while the crumbling block took out several of our adversaries, it also blocked our path to the hallway.

As I shined my flashlight through the new pile of debris, fingers wrapped around my ankle. I kicked the zombie’s head so hard that it cracked like a soft-boiled egg. It loosened its grip, and I took off, climbing over rocks.

“Stop!” Jackie said, pointing. “The doorway should be here.”

Unfortunately, the door was buried beneath several layers of plaster, metal, brick, and concrete. We all began grabbing armfuls of rubble to clear a path. Nick and the other men helped me move a long metal beam out of the way. Meanwhile, Claire and Jackie kept firing down the hall at the oncoming face-munchers.

With a lot of manpower, we finally cleared enough of the debris away to get the door open. We all pushed on it, and with one mighty heave, the door was ajar. 

Just as we were about to exit stage left, something sprang at me, and I fired, dropping the zombie onto the pile of garbage. I frantically looked around to survey the situation. It looked clear, except for a straggler or two, nothing we couldn’t handle. The zombie closet to me let out a long, painful moan. Greasy hair hung in tendrils, its dirty clothes were loose on its thin frame, and its ankle was bent in some unnatural contortion, likely a result of the ceiling caving in. I took aim, but someone grabbed my arm.

“Don’t shoot!” she said. “It looks clear. No use drawing any more of them here.”

The flesh-eater held out its skeletal hands, and Asia quickly ran over to it and bashed it in the head with a bat. “Batter up!” she squealed as the thing spun and fell, with a dazed look on its rotted face. “What do ya know? A grand slam,” she said, looking at us with a satisfied grin on her face, as if she’d just won the World Series.

“Asia!” Claire said. “What happened? Where were you?”

“I had a few hybrids to finish off,” she said, “and I had to fight off Jim and his men.”

I was glad to see her, but we had no time for war stories or a happy reunion. Vibrations shook the walls, and hissing and crackling filled the air, like the sound of ice melting on a hot bed of coal. More dust and plaster rained down on me. With my eyes wide, I glanced up. “This place is coming down!” I said.

“Let’s go!” Jackie said, motioning for us to follow her.

More uneasy noises echoed in the air, and pillars began to crack and wobble before finally collapsing. I zigzagged as glass shattered all around us. My boots struggled against the shifting rubble and debris, and when Claire stumbled, I helped her get her balance.

Suddenly, from out of the dusty shadows, fingers closed tightly around my throat, and a zombie tried to take a humongous bite out of my shoulder. Instead, I fed it a bullet when I shoved my gun in its open mouth and pulled the trigger. I shoved the pitiful creature away from me as black gore sprayed everywhere.

“Dean!” Val said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, sis.”

Coughing and gagging, I could hardly breathe the dust-filled air. More plaster fell from the ceiling, and everything crumbled around us. The building creaked and groaned and even started to sway. As if we were caught in an earthquake of biblical proportions, the floor started to shift. I stumbled again, almost losing my balance. The ceiling started to give way, and more giant chunks crashed to the floor around us. I sucked in a trembling breath, fearing the worst, but then I saw it, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. “Up there!” I said excitedly. “I see daylight!”

“Come on!” Jackie shouted, grabbing my hand.

We ran as the ceiling crumbled, chunk by chunk. A piece of plaster slammed into my shoulder, but I ignored the pain and forced my legs to keep moving as fast as they could. We bolted out the door with the others in tow.

I looked around behind me to make sure everyone else made it out, and I sighed in relief when I saw my friends’ dirty faces. The building had hung on for as long as it could and finally collapsed. Little pelting stones hit my back as we fled to safety through the dust and crumbling mortar. When we were far enough away, I looked at the field of rubble and couldn’t believe we’d made it out unscathed. Kate had a little knot on her head, but she was conscious. Val hugged each and every one of us. I did the same, because I’d never been so happy and relieved. Nick held Claire tight, and Val, Lucas, and Asia kept guard while the rest of us had our guard down.

I wiped a layer of dust off my face. “Boy, that was a close one.”

“You’re telling me,” Buddy said, rubbing his head. “I still say we shoulda—”

Val cut him off. “Frankly, Buddy. You’re out, you’re safe, so please shut up about it. Mission complete.”

He nodded, then went over to sit on the grass.

Jackie jumped in my arms, and I spun her around. No words were needed between us. We just clung to each other, happy that we’d escaped death, beaten the odds yet again. We dropped to the grass and lay on our backs, gasping for breath. The sun and fresh air had never felt so good.

Jackie turned her head to look at me. “Never a dull moment, huh?”

“Never,” I answered, brushing the hair out of her face. “I can’t believe you went in there.”

“I had to. If there’s even the slightest chance we might get our world back, it was worth it, unstable building or not.”

“You’re amazing,” I said.

She cupped my face. “So are you.”

“We’ve got company!” Lucas said, pointing and breaking up our reverie. “I don’t recognize the vehicle.”

“Take cover,” Nick ordered.

Jackie and I quickly ducked behind a red pickup, and Asia hid behind a blue Mazda and pointed her weapon.

“Could be the gang,” Buddy whispered. “This might be the perfect chance to take ‘em out.”

We all aimed, pointing our guns at the car from our respective vantage points.

“Wait! It’s just Max!” Val shouted. “They musta snagged a new car.”

Max hopped out, and my sister ran over to give him a hug. He wiped the dust off her face, then cupped her cheeks. “What the heck happened here?” he asked in a worried tone.

“The place caved in, but we got out.”

“You’re a true survivor.” He hugged her tightly and let out a long sigh. “What were you thinking, Val? You were supposed to be with Team Four.”

“I know, but I switched when you left. I couldn’t let my brothers go in there without me.”

“I told them just to check out the perimeter,” Max said. “I never ordered anyone inside that hellish place.”

Val squeezed his hand. “You know Nick. Nobody’s gonna stop him when he’s got his mind set on something. I had to go in with him and Dean.”

“I don’t want you taking risks like that.”

“I had to help,” she said.

Suddenly, Buddy ran up to Max to tattle. “Why the heck are you working with an imbecile like that Nick for?” he complained. “The kid’s crazy. He and that Lucas almost got us killed! He’s insane and oughtta be locked up. He knew the building was caving in, and he had no regard for our safety or anybody else’s.”

Max cocked a brow in confusion and glanced over at Nick and then Lucas.

“You’re still alive, aren’t you?” I asked. I then held up the bag Lucas had given me to carry. “Not only that, but we got what we came for.”

“Really?” Max asked, flabbergasted, his eyes widening. “You got the notes, the research?”

Nick nodded. “Yup. Humanity finally has a real glimmer of hope now. We just have to get this to the right people.”

“How can we ever thank you?” Max said. “Had you not went in, we wouldn’t have these notes. It was a huge risk, but it paid off. You’re heroes, all of you. Your names will go down in all the history books.”

Nick’s gaze narrowed. “No, that title belongs to the scientist who created the cure, back in Ohio.”

I nodded. “Yeah, he’s the true hero. None of this would be possible without him.”

We all nodded in agreement, knowing that Doc had made the real difference in the battle against the zombie virus.

“There couldn’t be better news,” Max said.

“What about the gang?” Asia asked. “Are they still messing with you?”

“Nope. We wiped most of them out,” Max answered. “There are a few left, but we’ll regroup tomorrow and come up with a plan to get rid of them. For now, I think a celebration is in order.”

We hurried into our vehicles and drove back to the apartment complex, excitedly rehashing our victory stories and enjoying the music someone was blasting from a CD player. There was laughing and crying, and we all had a few battle scars inside and out, but it was a day no one would ever forget. In the end, every bruise would be worth it, because we had, for all intents and purposes, saved humankind. It was only a matter of time before the world would be healed. 

W
e sat outside at picnic tables, ready for a celebratory feast.

Max walked toward us, carrying a lopsided cake. “Today isn’t just about our victory,” he said. “Today is all about Dean.”

Heat rose to my face, and my cheeks burned red. I didn’t want the limelight, and certainly not when we had so much else to celebrate besides my eighteenth birthday.

Max began lighting the candles. “Happy birthday, Dean,” he said. “You’re a man now, and not just because Uncle Sam says so. You’ve proved it in every way.”

“I really thought everyone would forget,” I said sheepishly.

“Not a chance,” Asia said, smiling. “How could we, when cake is involved?”

Kate hugged me. “We’d never forget your birthday.”

Val kissed me on the cheek. “Happy birthday, little brother.”

I smiled. “You guys shouldn’t have. But how’d you manage to make a cake?”

“I made it!” Grandma said, giving me a big hug. “Can you believe I actually found some vanilla frosting at the market? Sorry ‘bout the candles,” she said, pointing at them. “They only had a few, and none of them matched.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “You’ve really outdone yourself.”

“It even surprised me,” Max said.

“You know the drill. Blow ‘em out and make a wish,” Claire coaxed.