The Zombie Chronicles - Book 4 - Poisonous Serum (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (14 page)

“
Are you sure it was even a zombie?” asked another man, who suddenly joined our search party out of nowhere. “Don’t mean to play devil’s advocate here, but maybe you guys made a mistake. It was so dark, and—”

Nick squared his shoulders. “I know what I saw, and now we’ve got some hunting to do.”

“
We’ve already searched this place with a fine-toothed comb,” the guy said. “How could a zombie have gotten in?”

“
If there’s an opening, we’ll find it,” I said.

“
All right,” Val said. “Let’s do another top-to-bottom search.”

“
Hey, is Nick down there?” a guy called from down the hall.

“
Yeah,” I shouted back. “Why?”

“
Lucas sent me to find him. You’re never gonna believe what they found downstairs!”

Chapter 10

We hurried downstairs to a room in the east wing. Shafts of light burst through the gaps of broken wood. There was a gaping hole where something had broken in through the window, and rain and wind were gushing inside. Instantly, a bunch of questions entered my mind:
Did the zombie break in? Does it really have more brainpower than the others? Maybe somebody let it in…but why? Who would be that heartless, that stupid? If somebody broke in here to steal our supplies, I guess the zombie could have followed. What is going on? No zombie, no zombie body, and… What if Asia was mistaken and only imagined a zombie going for her gun. It could’ve been trying to take a big bite of her arm and caused her to drop it
. It was such a mystery, and we were all clueless as to what had really happened. None of it made much sense, and all the unanswered questions did little to calm our nerves.

“
We’ve gotta patch that hole ASAP!” a man said, rushing in the room with hammer and nails.

“
At least we know how it got in,” said a stick-thin woman.

I shook my head. “Uh-uh. A zombie couldn’t have done this.” It’s just not possible. They can’t even open doorknobs, let alone have the sense to break through our blockade.”

“
Yeah,” a tall man with a moustache concurred. “It’s pretty obvious that someone either let it in or it came in after somebody else made the hole. When I find the jerk who did this, I’m gonna rip him in two—or her.”

I looked up to see Jackie and Claire approaching, and I quickly filled them in.

“
Maybe it was someone looking for shelter,” Claire said.

Jackie cocked a brow. “Then why wouldn’t they block it up after they came in? I mean, what good is a shelter if you leave a door open. It’d be a freaking dinner invitation.”

Nick met my gaze. “Jackie’s right.”

“
Maybe someone was just after our supplies,” Lucas said, confirming my earlier suspicions. “If they just came in to take our stuff, they wouldn’t have cared if they left the hole open or not. They’d just wanna get in, grab all they could, and get out. Maybe a zombie followed them in.”

“
Very plausible,” said a man with dark, bushy hair. “A human broke in, was too dumb to cover the hole, and a zombie followed.”

The blonde cocked a brow. “Maybe it was a survivor, running for dear life, who didn’t have time to cover it back up. If a zombie was coming, the last thing you’d be thinking about would be a hammer and nails.”

“
I’m inclined to believe that,” the bushy-haired guy said.

Nick’s finger ran over the wood. “One problem with that theory.”

“
What’s that?”

“
Look at the way the wood is cut.”

Lucas walked over and examined the window. “It looks like someone was trying to break out, not in. The wood is chopped from the inside.”

“
Exactly.” Nick peered out the window. “Look! One of our axes is out there in the grass, and I know we brought them all inside.”

As I looked out, the flashlight beam glinted off the blade, and I swallowed hard. None of it made much sense, but the little bit that was coming together was entirely unnerving.

“
Who would try to break out?” Claire asked. “We’ve already got an exit, and it seems like any member of our group would have had enough sense to re-block the window once they crawled out.”

“
We searched this place from top to bottom,” the woman said. “There was nobody here.”

“
But we spotted that disappearing zombie,” I said, helping Val patch the window.

“
Ya think it was the zombie trying to break out?” Jackie asked. “Maybe that’s why we can’t find it.”

“
What are you saying?” Lucas asked. “A zombie somehow hid from us while we did a sweep of the building, then attacked Howard, hid his body, and escaped? Maybe it took Howard with him. Maybe we’ll be getting a ransom note from a zombie.”

Nick let out a sigh. “That’s outrageous.”

“
My point exactly,” Lucas said.

“
Well, something happened to Howard,” Claire said. “That much is obvious.”

“
Let’s gather everyone up and do an organized sweep of the building,” Lucas said. “We’ll at meet back in the lounge afterward.”

A lady ran up to us in a panic, flailing her arms. “Now Judy’s missing! We can’t find her anywhere. She’s the skinny lady with the long, blonde, curly hair.”

“
I remember her,” I said. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep a lookout.” I was trying to remain calm so as not to incite a mass hysteria, but I was struggling to make sense of any of it, and I couldn’t believe yet another person had gone missing.

“
Thanks, guys,” the woman said.

Jackie shook her head. “What’s going on?”

“
That straggler zombie is still here,” Nick said. “I thought it left through the hole we found, but if people are coming up missing, that leaves me only one conclusion. Clearly—”

“
It’s still here,” Val finished for him, the color washing out of her face.

“
Maybe this will get Nick off the hook. I’m tired of people whispering behind our backs that Nick executed Howard in a jealous rage over me,” Claire said, rolling her eyes.

“
Hopefully,” Jackie said. “This totally throws out the jealous boyfriend scenario.”

We searched the building three times and found nothing. Lucas and I decided to take a pit stop and visit the room where Asia had been quarantined. Two men and a woman were guarding the door.

When we walked in, Asia was under the covers in the second bed, by the boarded-up window. “I suppose you’re here to question me,” she said.

I smiled. “We’re just trying to figure out this mystery, that’s all.”

“
Can I look at the wound?” Lucas asked.

“
First, answer a question for me.”

“
Anything.”

She tapped her chin, “Why did Nick kill Howard?”

I rolled my eyes. “Nick didn’t kill anyone, and for your information, another person’s missing.”

“
So Nick’s some kind of whack-job serial killer?” she asked. “Staying in this room all by my lonesome is giving me the creeps, big time.”

“
No!” I said. “How could you even say that?”

“
Can I please see the bite?” Lucas asked.

“
Only if you promise to give me your honest opinion—even if I hate it.”

“
I won’t lie to you,” Lucas said.

She held out her arm, and he examined it. It wasn’t red or puffy, and when I did a double-take, I noticed that it wasn’t as swollen as before. The signature zombie-bite green pus was not present.

Lucas shook his head. “This is no zombie bite.”

“
What?! You’d better get some glasses, Doc,” Asia said. “I’m telling you that a zombie bit me. It smelled like death, was missing half of its nose, and had those awful-looking, dead eyes.”

Lucas met my gaze. “It couldn’t have been—”

“
What do I need to do, give you a detailed description of its green, droopy skin and skeleton face?” she asked.

Lucas cocked his head, pondering. “Tell us what happened, Asia—
exactly
what happened.”

She crossed her arms. “You don’t believe me! You know what? I’m not saying another freaking word. I don’t think there’s any point if you’re just going to accuse me of lying.”

“
We’re just gathering the facts,” I said, smiling. “I do believe you. How could I not? I saw the zombie myself.”

She smiled back.

“
Now, can you tell me what happened?” I asked.

“
For you, I’ll do anything.” She batted her eyelashes.

I grinned, finding it funny that she was suddenly flirting with me. “What did you see, Asia?”

“
I heard this weird scratching. When I went into investigate, a zombie jumped me and deliberately knocked the gun out of my hand.”

“
But zombies can’t do that,” Lucas insisted.

She let out a huff. “That one did.”

Lucas sat on the bed. “It was dark, and our nerves were on edge. Are you sure it was a zombie? Could’ve it have been another person, a stranger?”

“
Nice try,” she said. She then turned her gaze on me. “It must suck that your friend doesn’t believe you either.”

“
I believe a zombie was spotted,” Lucas said.

“
Good. In that case, we’re moving in the right direction. Now spill it. Tell me what you’re thinking…and don’t hold back.”

“
I’m wondering if you really fought a zombie, because that bite came from a human being. Also, you said the intruder knocked the gun out of your hands. A human would do that in a fight, but not a zombie. Maybe you fought off a human intruder that bit you and your imagination got carried away. It wouldn’t be unthinkable with all the stress we’ve all been under. I’m not saying you’re lying—just that you might not be remembering things correctly.”

“
How do you explain the zombie Nick and Dean saw?” she asked.

He cocked a brow. “I believe it somehow got in and attacked Howard, but the facts clearly state it didn’t bite you.”

“
Get out!” she yelled. “Just get out!”

“
Thanks for your time,” Lucas said. He patted my back. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

I nodded.

“
Can I leave now if this bite isn’t infected by zombie drool?” she asked me desperately.

“
Soon,” I said. “We have to discuss our findings with the others, and I’m sure you’ll be out of here in no time.”

Val walked in with bandages and other supplies. “Hi, Asia. Remember me? I’m Val.”

“
Are you plannin’ to patch me up?” she asked.

“
Yeah, if you don’t mind. My fiancé used to be a doctor, so I’ve had some experience with this kind of stuff.”

“
With zombie bites?”

Val bit her lip. “Unfortunately, yes. I helped my fiancé out when the zombie outbreak first happened. I can’t even tell you the number of dressings I changed at the clinic.”

“
So…you’re kind of like a nurse?”

Val snapped on a pair of latex gloves that she’d found at the nurses’ station. “Kind of. I found some bandages in the supply room. Is it okay if I dress the wound for you?”

Asia nodded. “Sure, as long as your bedside manner is better than that Lucas who was just in here,” she said, scowling at me.

“
You’re in good hands with Val,” I assured her.