When they got back to the main area, everyone else was already there. There was a schematic of the facility on the wall, and Bill was pointing out various routes on it. Francis tossed Louis the other bag of chips and sat down. Bill was loving this he could see; he got to do a mission briefing.
He repeated the advice that Francis and Zoey had already given, a bit less dramatically. "If you pick up any weapons, don't use 'em unless you have to. We're gonna be assuming you're unarmed and we'll be standing in front of you. We're going out via the simulation area. It's about the only place that doesn't have any infected right now."
Slater stepped forward, "We're avoiding the facility on the surface for now. We all know we're not infected, and putting you all in quarantine will help no one, and it will leave DELPHI blind. The survivors have a jeep, and they'll take one of you back to get more transportation for the others. So you'll have a couple of hours waiting outside." He gave an oddly schoolboyish smile, "So, hats and sunscreen everyone." There was a polite chuckle from the group.
"We're leaving in fifteen minutes, so do what you gotta," Bill said. The group scattered fairly fast, people grabbing coats, and laptops, and all of them making a trip to shake Slater's hand or even give him an awkward hug. For all their hope and excitement, there was a fair amount of fear in the room too.
Louis ate from the chip packet Francis tossed him, offering some to Bill politely. Bill didn't strike him as a consumer of junk food but hey, beggars couldn't be choosers, right?
"Remember when finding a vending machine was like Christmas?" he asked the others. Zoey laughed quietly and nodded.
"After so much canned food, yeah," she smirked, "Maybe they took pity on us for complaining about the canned stuff so much."
"Man it's too weird to think about it that way," Louis said, "They were goin' for authentic zombie apocalypse. I'll leave it at that."
So long as their simulation was as authentic as it ever got, she was happy to leave things be. She felt for the researchers as they milled around, but every step forward would chase the fear away just a little bit more. That's how it had been for her, though she supposed being armed had helped a bit with that. Still, they were in good hands.
"Are we goin' back the way we came in?" Francis asked Bill.
"I'd like to, all things considered, but according to the cameras the army's still there. I ain't real keen on being shut up in quarantine either. We're takin' the lift up, but we're not going all the way. The floor below seems fairly clear, and we can take the stairs up and into the simulation area." Bill shrugged, it was the best they could do. There didn't appear to be a lot of infected, but as Slater had mentioned, they loved climbing into ducts and vents, and there were no cameras there.
Bill gave them their fifteen minutes and then rounded them all up. Slater shook the survivor's hands again. "Thank you for doing this. As long as my people are safe, I'll be satisfied. Good luck, all of you."
"You too, man," Louis said, giving Slater a firm shake, "Stay safe in here, all right?"
"Thanks for everything, Mr. Slater," Zoey said, smiling at him. Maybe it was a little bizarre, thanking him, but he'd done a quite a lot for the four of them. He deserved a thank you. She turned to the others and grinned a little, "All right, Autobots. Time to roll out."
Louis grinned and nudged her a little.
"Zoey, Francis, you're in front. Pick 'em off before they get close, if you can, Zoey. We're bein' extra cautious this time." They weren't likely to run into many infected on this level, as they'd cleared most of them out just getting in, but Bill was making sure that their charges knew where to stand and what to do before things started getting really hairy.
Bill and Louis would watch the back and sides and hopefully they wouldn't run into anything bigger than the ordinary hordes. Bill had given them strict instructions to throw themselves flat if a tank showed up. Hopefully the gunfire would distract it if the researchers kept their heads down.
Zoey couldn't help but feel at least a little tingle of excitement as they started out. Though escorting people who were probably not immune was going to be something of a challenge, it was something new, something to test herself on. She hoped their nervous charges kept all that they'd watched in mind as they wound their way through the corridors and back towards the lift. Except for maybe the telling jokes part, because they really ought to minimize talking and listen out for orders. Then again, maybe keeping things relatively light hearted might lessen the oppressive cloud of fear that seemed to be following them around.
While Zoey and Francis forged ahead, Louis kept a wary eye on the vents and ducts. Nothing could screw things up more than surprise attacks, and so he focused on minimizing the chance for surprises.
The infected still trapped in the locked rooms cause some consternation among the researchers, and they tended to bunch up on the opposite wall, even though there was no chance of the infected getting out. Bill didn't think that was a bad thing. All they could do was try and keep out of the way.
One or two infected managed to stagger out from somewhere, but they were easily dealt with. When they got to the elevator, they were faced with a different problem. A quick head count confirmed ten researchers and the four survivors. Quite a squeeze, in that elevator. Bill frowned.
"Okay, listen. The elevator noise gets 'em riled up, as you know. So we're goin' first. We'll clear out whatever gets attracted, and then we'll send one of us down to get you." He handed the blonde researcher a pistol. "Shoot 'em in the head. I'm not expecting anything, and if you see something bigger than normal run back to the nearest doors." He nodded at the camera, "Slater's watchin', he'll take care of ya."
The elevator was still on the ground floor, and it opened as soon as he pushed the button.
"Such service," Zoey said, stepping inside and looking up at the ceiling of the elevator. It looked sturdier than most, but she didn't fancy getting a metal grate and a hunter dropped on her head, so she kept to the side.
When the doors slid closed Louis fidgeted with his rifle a little, anticipating what would greet them when the doors opened again, "Hope they're okay down there."
"They should be," Zoey said, "I'd worry more about us."
Her biggest concern was completing the unspoken infected Bingo card. Part of her had been expecting to run into larger groups of the more advanced infected, but perhaps even the people here felt it was best to keep them to a minimum. If she never saw a witch again, she didn't think she'd be terribly disappointed.
Bill didn't need to tell them to brace themselves. All the infected that would be drawn by the arrival of an elevator would be waiting for them as soon as the doors opened. Francis crouched down at the doors next to Louis, his eyes on the display above as it counted up. They were only going up twenty-six floors this time. Slater had told them that the levels directly below the simulation grounds tended to be little more than holding pens and ducts for the various feeds from the simulation. The holding pens were empty. All the infected had been cleaned out once the survivors had been sent home, and now that the simulation was over, there would have been minimal staff there.
The second the elevator let out a pleasant and mild ping, Louis lashed out with his rifle, shoving the gathered infected back and away from them. Too many bodies crushing in on them would force them back, and though the elevator wasn't small, every inch counted. Zoey was already firing into the crowd, her rifle rounds lancing through more than one infected the way they were all stacked up, and he started to fire as well, aiming for legs in the hopes of keeping the mob somewhat at bay. Corpses weren't much more than stumbling blocks to the other infected, but there was a method to the madness here. Even though he hadn't liked leaving the others down there, he realized now that they'd only been in danger if they'd all squeezed inside.
Even though he'd been waiting for it, Francis was still staggered by the press of infected bodies. Gross. He started firing, at this range he turned limbs into mince meat. Four guns firing on one elevator was deafening. He pushed dying infected off him as the corpses started to pile up, and reloaded. He could hear Bill firing over his head, and he wiped gore out of his eyes. Not that there was anything to see. Just a mass of bodies.
"Pipebomb?" was all Zoey asked, shouting over the din. It was impossible to tell how many damned infected were crowded in this hallway, but it would take ages to shoot through all of them. Though they were well stocked, it didn't hurt to be cautious with their ammo.
"Toss it!" Bill ordered. Hopefully they wouldn't be swarmed by so many again. Francis ducked beside the wall in anticipation of detonation.
"Fire in the hole!" she shouted more out of habit than necessity. Though some of the closer infected were too fixated on them to peel off, those that didn't have immediate access to a warm body turned and charged the beeping tube. It exploded shortly afterward, the cramped space erupting into a shower of gore that left bits plastered to the ceiling, blood and chunks dripping off in the aftermath.
"Gross," Zoey observed.
Louis felt sorry for the researchers more than anything. Nothing allayed fear like slogging through blood and guts in a narrow hallway, right?
Francis laughed. "Awesome!" Now that was far more exciting that using them to shift hatches. He straightened up and started kicking the corpses out of the doorway. They still had to get the lift moving, after all.
"You go down and get 'em, Francis," Bill said. He stepped out into the corridor, ignoring the light rain of gore that splattered his shoulders and hat. The hallways in both directions looked pretty clear. On the bright side, the elevator had probably brought everything nearby out of hiding. He nodded at the camera, which was panning the corridor, apparently undamaged.
As soon as the doors were clear of corpses, Francis punched the button for the ground floor.
Louis offered Francis a wave as the doors closed and did his best to avoid getting dripped on with minimal success. Zoey had her hood up, a disdainful expression on her face.
"Which way are we going?" Zoey wondered, brushing off a particularly big chunk that landed on her shoulder, "Eugh, I never thought I'd be scrubbing zombie off of me ever again."
Bill just pointed silently down the corridor.
When the lift doors opened Francis was surprised to get a gun shoved in his face. "Oi!"
"Sorry!" Matt quickly pointed it away and handed it back with an apologetic look. "We weren't sure what was coming down in the elevator."
Francis gave the blond researcher a dubious look and waved them inside. "Well, here's the thing. The infected can't open doors, and they can't use elevators either." They were halfway up when he remembered the gore. "Oh yeah, there's a lot guts and stuff out there, so, uhh, just warnin' ya. And if ya gotta puke don't do it on me."
When the doors opened he stepped out smartly, just in case. None of the researchers were sick, but a few were looking rather green by the time they all stumbled far enough down the corridor that they weren't being dripped on.
"No problems?" Bill asked. Francis shook his head. "Let's keep moving, people. We're goin' down the corridor here then left, and up one flight of stairs. And then out through the nearest holding pen. Slater's got the doors, so we won't be locked in." And that was that, Bill herded them as effectively as any sheepdog and nodded at Francis and Zoey to get the peculiar procession started.
They hadn't gone more than fifty yards when they heard a familiar sobbing sound. Francis held up his hand to call a halt and looked at Zoey with raised eyebrows. "You hear that?"
"Witch," she whispered back, her eyebrows doing the opposite of his. Zoey flicked her light off and started to move forward, tentative and careful. She was the quietest, and she'd peered around more than one corner without getting her head ripped off.
"Everyone shut up," Louis said quietly, resisting the urge to suggest that they just hold their collective breath until Zoey found out where the damn thing was. It was usually her and Bill that scouted out witches, the two of them being rather stealthy individuals. Francis couldn't help being loud, and Louis knew he was too damned twitchy to properly stalk.
Zoey got to the end of the corridor and paused, back to the wall, listening. It was definitely around the corner, or at least in a room very near her, and with an almost painful slowness she started to peek around the corner.
Louis held his breath. If she pissed off the witch, there was a chance she could throw herself flat and Francis could just blow its damned head off before it got her. Goddamn, he hated witches. He hated all infected, really, but right now witches were the worst.
They could only watch Zoey as she went forward to scout. Their charges were inexperienced but not ignorant, and at the mention of witch they all grew gratifyingly quiet and still. They'd seen what had happened in the simulations.
The witch was several feet from the corner. She had an assault rifle next to her, and wore the tattered remains of uniform. She looked up sharply when Zoey looked around the corner, her cries hiccuping into a growl. She had her back to Zoey, however, and hadn't spotted her.
Though her instinct was to yank her head back, she retreated slowly and pinched her finger and thumb close together to indicate that the witch was very, very close to the corner. She didn't dare move until the growling subsided and cautiously retreated back to the group. Their options were very limited in such close, cramped quarters, and it was the only way they could go, so they'd have to think of something quickly. The longer they lingered, the more likely more infected would start popping up.
Hit and run wasn't viable, not in such cramped quarters and with a gory, slippery mess on the escape route. That left the two less desirable options, however. Firing Line or the Francis Manoeuvre. The former involved just hoping the witch died before she got to them, and the latter depended wholly on Francis' ridiculous luck when it came to just charging into things and aiming for the head. Both had the potential to go horribly, horribly wrong.
"Plan?" she whispered, mostly to Bill.
Bill glanced at their charges who were huddling up against the wall. He couldn't risk having the witch run by them. Even if they were only clipped by her claws it could be enough to infect them. He sighed and nodded at Francis. Francis grinned back and made a show of checking that his shotgun was loaded. Trust the big idiot to enjoy this sort of thing.
Because he couldn't see exactly where the witch was until he went around the corner, there would be an uncomfortable amount of guesswork involved. Bill moved around the group of researchers, lining up a clear shot should Francis miss, because guaranteed he'd end up with the witch on top of him. At this range there was nowhere to run.
Francis didn't wait around long enough to think about it. He raised his gun and strode around the corner and fired twice. The witch screamed and growled horribly, but didn't fall silent. Two seconds later Francis hit the wall behind him as the witch hurled herself at him.
Louis spoke for all of them with an, "Oh, shit!" before opening fire, Zoey chiming in with a, "Francis!" for good measure. The response to seeing a witch on any of them was immediate and urgent. A hunter was one thing, their razor sharp claws could do serious damage if they really got going, but a witch had the potential to eviscerate, to horribly maim.
Crowded hallways weren't the best for getting a good shot with a scope. Zoey set her jaw and took aim, wary of accidentally blowing the biker's brains out if either party jigged around too much in her sights. She fired, and the witch dove for Francis, and she made a substantial hole in the wall.
"Fuck," she hissed, forcing herself to focus, to readjust her aim. Goddamn Francis and the stupid Francis Manoeuvre-!
Zoey reacquired her target and fired again, and this time the round sank into the infected's temple instead of the wall.
The witch finally fell silent, and Francis used his shotgun to shove her off. "Never mess with a woman in uniform," he groaned, examining various gouges in his arms that were bleeding freely. She'd taken a swipe at his face too, but had mostly missed, so it looked like someone had drawn lines on it with a red pen.
"Is it dead?" one of the researchers asked shakily, "because we need some help." The gunfire had brought another infected down the corridor from behind them, and Matt was fending it off, swinging his laptop bag gamely every time it ran at them.
Louis was on it quickly, jogging up alongside Matt and giving the infected a solid shove before he put a few rounds into it. He looked at the man with concern once he was certain the thing wasn't going to get up again, "You okay man?"
With Louis on the case, Zoey turned her attention to Francis with a raised eyebrow, first aid kit already in hand.
"That was pretty smooth," she teased. Lecturing about safety at this stage was a bit stupid. They were in a government complex crawling with zombies, there really wasn't anything remotely safe about what they were attempting to do. He'd lived, and that's what counted, even if he had gotten the crap slashed out of him.
"N-no," the researcher replied, staring at Louis with wide, terrified eyes. "He- it came up behind us."
Bill had been watching Zoey patch up Francis but at that tone of voice he turned and joined Louis. "What happened?"
"It bit him," one of the others said.
He turned and presented his shoulder. Blood was seeping through his shirt in a nice bite-shaped pattern. "I...gonna sit down." He didn't, but he did lean against the wall, while the other researchers simultaneously tried to cluster around and lend support and give him space.
"Hell," Bill said quietly.
Francis peered around Zoey, wondering what the fuss behind her was about. "Tough crowd."