Outbreak (Book 2): The Mutation (29 page)

The soldiers heard the gunshots in other parts of the clubhouse and knew the others were fighting for their lives as well.

This also meant Wilder and Butsko were on their own.

Wilder caught movement in the distance from the corner of his right eye. He twisted the head of a zombie with such force that it almost came off in his hands. As the zombie dropped, Wilder saw what had caught his eye.

Down the corridor that led to the pro-shop, Wilder saw six to eight more zombies headed to the foyer.

“We’ve got more company,
”
Wilder shouted to Butsko.

Wilder pushed back thoughts of where Mears, Fisher, Cain, and Vasquez might have gone. He didn’t have time to mourn.

The new arrivals ran right into the fray of the battle, and Wilder and Butsko knew this was it for them. Even the most skilled fighters would fall to sheer numbers.

Wilder knew this was it and decided, with one final push, to try and take down as many of the bastards he could.

“Wilder! Butsko!
”
a familiar voice boomed over the noise. “Get your asses down!”

Butsko turned to find Mears standing about thirty-feet away shooting zombies in the head. Vasquez and Fisher stood next to him, all shooting in different directions.

Butsko welcomed the help, but he knew the zombies had them all outnumbered. There were just too many of them.

Wilder heard a loud noise from outside and tried to fight his way to the door to see what was happening.

Wilder was trapped and couldn’t move. He fought the creatures around him as he heard the unmistakable sound of an engine turning over.

Before Wilder said anything to the others, one of the Growler jeeps crashed through the front doors and plowed down four zombies. The Growler got stuck a quarter of the way through the door and Wilder saw more movement around the jeep.

Wilders eyes grew wide as he turned to the others. “Everyone take cover now!
”
Wilders shouted.

Butsko dove behind an overturned couch while the others crouched down behind marble columns and overturned tables.

The zombies started to chase after the humans as they hid but they didn’t get very far.

The roar of a fifty-calibre machine gun filled the room as it spit out over five-hundred rounds of death a minute. The gun sprayed back and forth as the infected were torn in half and chopped into hamburger meat.

Wilder and Butsko crawled as close to the ground as they could and got out of the way. Whoever manned the machine gun wasn’t very experienced, and the two veterans were afraid of becoming a victim of friendly fire.

Wilder heard the machine gun land on an empty chamber.

“Fuck!
”
shouted the familiar voice on the Growler. “How the hell do you reload one of these things?”

“Hold your fire!
”
shouted Wilder. “Hold your fire!
”
Wilder scanned the room, looking for movement. A few zombies writhed and crawled on the floor, but there were no more immediate threats.

Wilder looked back to the area where he’d last seen Mears and the others and squinted his eyes to try and get a better look.

Vasquez slowly stood and distracted Wilder, but he could’ve sworn he saw yellow eyes looking back at him. But whatever was there was long gone.

“Is it safe to come in?
”
the familiar voice from the Growler asked.

“Yeah, it is,
”
Wilder answered. “The only things left in here are bloody stains and the smell of rotten flesh.”

The figure crawled onto the hood of the Growler and slid into the foyer.

Melvin stood there and looked around at his handy work.

“Did I do all this?
”
Melvin asked.

“Watch where you walk everyone!
”
yelled Wilder, his voice echoing through the quiet foyer.

“Get over here you crazy son of a bitch,
”
Wilder said to Melvin with opened arms.

“I know we’re in a shit storm and all,
”
said Melvin as he embraced Wilder, “but
that
was really fun.”

Butsko walked over to Melvin and Wilder and patted Melvin on the back.

“Did you guys think I abandoned you?
”
Melvin asked.

“Not for a second, Melvin,
”
said Butsko as he winked at him.

Vasquez and Fisher joined Wilder, Butsko, and Melvin while Mears crushed the skulls of the crippled zombies around him.

“You guys okay?
”
Wilder asked.

“Barely,
”
Vasquez answered. “You aren’t going to believe what happened back at the pro-shop.”

“Where’s Cain?
”
asked Fisher as she looked around the room. “He was right behind us when we left the pro-shop.”

“Oh my God,
”
Melvin said, “I didn’t kill him, did I?”

“Mears!
”
Wilder shouted to the soldier. “Any sign of Cain’s body out there?”

“No, Sir,
”
Mears replied. “Nothing out here but the infected.”

They all became quiet as they heard gunshots ring out from around the dining room area.

“That must be Mane and his group,
”
Butsko said. “Mears, Vasquez, you two head down there and see if you can help them. But be careful. Melvin won’t be there with the fifty-calibre.”

Mears and Vasquez didn’t get far from the group before they stumbled upon something that stopped them in their tracks.

“What the fuck is that?
”
Mears said as he stared at a pile on the ground.

Vasquez ran back toward the others.

“Sirs!
”
Vasquez called to Wilder and Butsko, “I think you need to see this.”

Wilder, Butsko, Fisher, and Melvin joined Vasquez and Mears at the strange pile on the ground.

“What the hell is that?
”
Fisher asked.

The group stared at an unknown pile of something they believed was once alive.

“I think it’s some kind of animal,
”
Melvin offered as an explanation.

The unknown pile was a heap of glistening blood, flesh, and pulverized bone.

Fisher turned her head and gagged.

“Oh my God,
”
Melvin said as he closer studied the pile. “I think this was Cain.”

“What the hell makes you think that?
”
asked Wilder.

“Look right there,
”
Melvin said as he poked the pile of gore with the barrel of his carbine. “That looks like Cain’s tattoo.”

Wilder and Butsko leaned down for a better look. Underneath the fresh blood and pieces of flesh and bone was the unmistakable tattoo of the seal of Colorado. Butsko saw the “eye of God
”
triangle and underneath it the Roman fasces, followed by the three snowcapped mountains, and the axe pick and sledge hammer.

Cain had been born and raised in Colorado and took great pride in his home state.

The pile of gore at their feet was indeed Cain.

“What the fuck could’ve done this to Cain?
”
cried Fisher.

Butsko realized this was the location where he felt he was being watched not too long ago.

This was also the spot where he thought he’d seen those yellow eyes.

“The others need help!
”
shouted Butsko as he broke the silence.

Mears ran over to the Growler, grabbed the last ammo box for the gun, reloaded the fifty-calibre machine gun, and strapped it over his shoulder.

“Let’s go, Vasquez!
”
Mears shouted as he ran down the hallway.

The two soldiers ran toward the gunshots.

“What the fuck could’ve done this?
”
Butsko said out loud to no one in particular.

*****

Mane, Steele, and Megan kept their tight “V
”
formation as they quickly made their way down the hallway. Mane was reluctant to enter the kitchen. Kitchens were tight spaces full of equipment. It was an ambush waiting to happen.

“The kitchen doors are straight ahead,
”
Mane said to others as he put his fist in the air and signaled for Megan and Steele to stop moving.

There were two doors in front of them. One door was set off to the right and led into the kitchen. The other veered to the left and took them to what Mane assumed was the dining room.

“I think we should head into the dining room,
”
Mane said. “There’s open space and less chance of getting trapped out there than in the kitchen.”

Megan and Steele agreed, and the three headed to the dining room door.

A small square window was their only view into the dining room, and Mane glanced through to see if the room was overrun.

In the middle of the large dining room was a zombie huddled over a body. The moving figure looked like a wild animal as it clawed and tore at the creature beneath it.

Mane couldn’t get a good look at the body that was being ripped apart.

“It looks like there’s only one zombie in there,
”
Mane reported to the others.

“How is that possible?
”
Steele asked. “Those fuckers were everywhere just minutes ago.”

“You two stay here,
”
said Mane as he thought about what Steele had pointed out. “I’ll take care of this one.”

Mane slowly opened the door to the dining room. Mane was a big guy, but when the time came for it, he could be as quiet as a rabbit surrounded by wolves.

Mane looked all around the room and made sure that no zombies waited in there to surprise him. He kept his Beretta pistol at arms-length, fixed on the creature.

Steele and Megan looked on from the doorway and made sure nothing crept up behind Mane.

The zombie on the ground shifted to the left and gave them a good look at the body it was tearing apart. They could clearly see the face and didn’t recognize it as one of the group.

Mane stopped about ten feet from the zombie. He began to squeeze his finger on the trigger when the zombie stopped tearing apart the body and turned its head around.

The sudden movement of the creature didn’t shock Mane, but what he saw as the zombie turned around did. Staring at him was something new; something he hadn’t seen before. This monster had bright, almost glowing eyes and looked different from the others. This creature had no wounds on its body, and it almost looked human. Almost.

Except the eyes. Those feral, yellow eyes gave it away.

Mane hesitated for a second as he studied the zombie in front of him, but that was all the monster needed.

The creature leapt off the ground and charged after the stunned soldier. Mane fired three nine-calibre rounds into the creature’s chest, and the bastard didn’t so much as slow down.

Mane’s eyes grew wide as the zombie ran into him. The force of the impact lifted Mane off his feet as the two fell to the ground.

The air was knocked out of Mane as his back slammed against the hard wood floor. Mane’s weapon slid across the floor.

Steele and Megan saw what happened and ran toward Mane.

The creature sat on Mane’s chest and watched the two humans approach it. Without taking its yellow eyes off the approaching figures, the monster swiped its hand across Mane and tore out his throat.

“No!
”
shouted Steele.

The monster sat on Mane’s chest and watched the two figures approach. When they were about five feet away, the zombie stood and ran off with such speed that it left the approaching humans even more confused.

“What the fuck was that thing?
”
Megan shouted. “What was wrong with its eyes?”

The creature ran toward the far side of the dining room. The door that led out to the foyer crashed open, and Steele and Megan saw Mears walk in with a machine gun slung over his shoulder.

“Over there,
”
Steele said as he pointed to the zombie running away.

Mears aimed the fifty-calibre weapon toward the creature and fired.

Four bullets ripped through the creature’s back, but didn’t so much as slow it down. Before the thing ran around the corner, it stopped and looked at Mears.

Vasquez ran into the dining room and immediately fired off three shots at the zombie. The bullets missed as they slammed into the wall next to the creature.

The yellow-eyed zombie disappeared around the corner, and the others ran over to Mane’s dead body.