George lay motionless on his stomach, panting for what seemed hours. His leg throbbed and he was having trouble catching his breath. He found himself spinning into uncontrollable coughing fits, which left his throat sore and raw. Laying his head down against the wooden floor of the raised observation room, George tried to concentrate on something other than the pain in his chest.
It was then that he got his first good look at the now zombified Oscar. The first thing he noticed was the hanging entrails that swung with each breath Oscar took. Bloody handprints from where the zombies tore at Oscars exposed belly were stamped around the entrance wounds. George guessed that Oscar, being as large as he was, couldn't stop the smaller animals from trying to eat him when everything around him went to hell. It almost made George feel sorry for the beast that was now trying to kill him.
With that thought, George subconsciously looked up at Oscar's chosen weapons: his tusks. The gnarled remains of what were once well maintained ivory weapons didn't come about from any transformation from the virus, but from misuse. When he first saw the tusks, George thought that the virus had taken its toll, but instead he now knew that they were really just splintered and deformed from the constant destruction of zoo property.
Oscar snorted and turned around, once again facing the fence, trying to figure a way around the problem. After a few seconds of thinking and getting steadily frustrated, Oscar resumed his barrage on the gate. The loud banging knocking them all out of their collective stupor; Kevin coughed.
"Well, we better get out of here before that noise attracts any of the other infected." Kevin's voice was shaky but he tried to cover it up by making his voice deeper than it needed to be. Cindy held her hand out to help George up; he took it graciously but kept most of his weight to himself as he hoisted his nearly exhausted body up to his feet. The short rest he had on the train was almost completely used up already and they still had to find the coins for the mechanism in the director's office.
With everything seeming to collapse after what seemed the end of their worries, George began to feel as if they would never make it out alive. Perhaps it was the sheer exhaustion intoxicating his will to survive or the countless near death experiences –which he had been able to avoid up until this night–but George's will power was waning quickly. A depression that could cost him his life was threatening to overtake him. However, when he stood up and looked into Cindy's face he smiled, trying to belie his true emotions. Thankfully she returned the smile, he wasn't sure if he could withstand anything else from her.
Using the control panel to help him catch his breath, George panted while cursing the fact that he hadn't gone to the gym more often. David snorted slightly and gave some remark that George didn't hear. Ultimately, it seemed that they were all just keeping each other going. None of them wanted to show any weakness nor did they want to show any of the stress that was about to make them all crack. After a bit of nervous, self-conscious laughter, Kevin cleared his throat and opened the door to the rest of the raised platform. Outside, George could see that a set of stairs connected to the ground below just beyond the cage. He mustered up whatever strength he could and started for the door.
Before they could make it to the door, a bright blue, yellow and red blur shot through the opening from the stairs. A disheveled bird perched itself on a set of boxes that were piled up in a misshapen pillar. It let out a high-pitched caw that sounded reminiscent of the crows. George started to take off his jacket, but realized that the fabric wouldn't hold together with a bird that size. He wondered why it hadn't attacked yet, from his right he could see that Kevin was reaching for his pistol. The bird squawked loudly, opening it beak and snapping in the direction of his hand. Globs of drool and blood dripped continuously from the powerful mandibles. Pus filled liquid secreted from the bird's tear ducts, causing its eyes to gloss over slightly, giving the illusion that the bird had a form of cataracts. When Kevin had replaced the pistol to its holster, the bird stopped squawking and began to ruffle its feathers. When any of them would move, it stopped pecking at itself and watched them with one of its eyes. The bird never moved its head as it watched them; instead the eye that was monitoring them would swivel in its socket, moving between each of them just underneath a shelf like bone protruding from its forehead.
"Well, what now?" Alyssa asked curtly. George cast a wary glance in David's direction; he could see that the plumber already had his hand on the pistol in his tool belt. He looked over to Kevin, who still had his hand on his pistol as well. If George was fast, he could distract the bird enough for David or Kevin to get a shot off. The only problem he could see is if they didn't realize what he was doing.
George began to whisper, straining his voice to keep it low so the bird wouldn't be alerted and yet loud enough that they would hear. "Get ready to sh-"
Before he finished speaking, the bird's head shot in George's direction, no longer fluffing its feathers, the bird kept its eyes trained on George. They weren't the eyes of an annoyed bird, but more the eyes of a predator watching its prey. George realized that it was now or never, the bird was going to stay in their way until it attacked. He just wanted it to be on his terms and not the bird's. Shifting his weight, George's hand found its way into his messenger bag, gripping his own pistol. As he took hold of his pistol, the bird took flight.
Time seemed to slow for him, he could see the bird diving in his direction, but he could also see Kevin and David both pulling up their guns, hoping to get to the bird before it got to George. Ever so slowly, George fell backwards, hoping to evade the bird's attack as well as the gunshots. Instinctively, George threw it arm in front of him, trying to cover his face from the bird.
Before anyone could do anything, the bird latched onto George's arm. Pain spread through his arm like an electrical shock. Wings flapped as the bird screeched and bit at George's arm. Blood cascaded freely down his arm as George tried to pry the bird from his arm, but the bird had a vice-like grip on his forearm, preventing him from pushing it off. David and Kevin stood helplessly over him with their pistols trained on the bird, but since George was in the way, they wouldn't risk the chance of shooting him. Hands were flying in front of his face as the others tried to help him extricate the bird from his arm.
Grunting, George pushed them away and took his own pistol in his unhindered hand. Putting the pistol against the bird's head, he squeezed the trigger. A single gunshot rang in the small hallway. Bits of tiny brain matter exploded through the fresh hold in the bird's cranium, raining down on George's face. Quickly, he wiped at his face, smearing the gore with his sleeve in an attempt to wash his face off. Cautiously, George looked at his arm. There was a small puncture in the sleeve of the rain coat, and George could suddenly feel the pain that was blocked off by his mind. Searing stabs of agony ran through his arm up into his shoulder, he knew that the beak had pierced the skin without even looking, but he had to see for himself. Pushing the sleeve up, George saw what he didn't want to see. Blood cascaded down his arm in rivulets, mixing with the sweat on his arm, gathering everything up in a tiny stream along his arm.
Fear unlike any George had ever known suddenly welled up inside of him. He wanted to scream, but chocked it off in his throat, only letting a moan of agony escape. As if instantly aware, George could feel the virus crawling up his arm, ripping through anything in its way. He could feel it snaking its way into his shoulder and into his chest. Wriggling around inside of him like some sort of parasite. Before he knew it, he was panting, unable to catch his breath. If he weren't already on the ground, he would have fallen over.
Somehow Cindy had come to his side; she placed her hand over his forehead. "George, relax, I need you to relax or else you're going to send yourself into a panic attack." George couldn't hear her; he was focusing on the virus threatening to overtake his body. He could feel it moving through his body, finding all of the nooks and crannies inside of him. Unable to do anything he started to breathe harder, the fear was taking him. Quickly, he was spiraling into an abyss he didn't know how to escape; the darkness of his inevitable death flew up around him swallowing him into the belly of his fears.
Unexpectedly, Cindy pulled him close to her; she shushed him like a child. Her chest rose and fell with each breath she took. She began to whisper words to him that he couldn't understand, but he latched onto them nonetheless. He could hear her heart beat rapidly, his breathing almost matching its pace. George listened to her heart as he tried to slow his breathing. His head was becoming cloudy and light, but he fought the feeling, instead concentrating on deciphering Cindy's words. At first it was difficult to shut out the feeling of total abandonment, but George persevered, navigating the labyrinth of his mind until he came to the realization that there was still time. He thought about David and Mark, about how they too were infected and yet they were still among the living.
But for how long?
Long enough he thought to himself. Slowly, George began to get control of his breathing. He mentally shrugged off the paralyzing fear, latching on instead to the hope he finally saw. If they could find a cure then he would be able to survive. If David and Mark could survive this long, then he could too. The world suddenly started to seem brighter to George.
"It's okay George, we'll find a cure…we'll find a cure." Cindy's words were clear to him now. He could hear the sadness in her voice, seeping through when she spoke. He felt something wet hit the side of his forehead and roll down the side of his face, falling onto his coat from his chin. George wrapped an arm around Cindy's waist, giving her a gentle squeeze of thanks before pulling himself away reluctantly.
"Thank you Cindy, I don't know what happened there, I just…saw the only outcome of this as my death and I shouldn't have. I know we'll find a cure," He looked at David and Mark "We have to."
She gave him a tight lipped smile and pulled out some gauze from George's bag. "We'd better wrap up that arm though." As Cindy went about wrapping up his bleeding arm, Kevin admonished him for doing something reckless. When Cindy finished wrapping his arm, George looked at Kevin and the others.
"I guess we'd better be off then." George suggested adding a smile to show them that he no longer was lost to them. Alyssa was the first to start the decent further into the zoo. The narrow set of stairs was made of concrete which made each step audible throughout the surrounding area. Moans echoed in response to their noisy journey. George idly readjusted the bag on his back in order to stop himself from readjusting the fresh bandage on his arm that was irritating his skin.
At the bottom of the stairs, the path branched off into two different directions. Off to the left, it circled back around to where George hoped was the viewing area in front of Oscar's new cage. Eric seemed to be leading them off to the right thankfully, but George was never sure if they were ever leaving the frying pan and jumping head first into a blazing bonfire. He hoped that they were going someplace safer this time, but he refused to hold any hope of that until they were out of this wretched city and into a more serene environment.
Cautiously, Eric pulled the large wooden door open in two labored pulls as the bottom of the door remained in its place while the rest acquiesced to Eric's strength. With the door open, he peered through allowing only his eyes to peek out from behind the door. Whatever he saw or didn't see made him sigh in relief and pull the door open the rest of the way and motioned the others to follow him as he went through into the darkness beyond.
Light seemed to gather in only a few places in this desolate looking themed attraction. Plants of all nationalities spawned all along the walls and in some areas just beyond what looked like a poorly lit stairwell. Little lights hung just above posters, illuminating the posters and a small portion of the walls. Each poster looked to be of a different creature in the park, ranging from exotic insects to the native birds of the city. George gaped in wide-eyed astonishment. The sheer number of creatures that were shown in these posters would have to be in the zoo. If they all reacted the way Oscar reacted to the infection, then they might be in for more trouble than they bargained for.
Eric stepped in front of the survivors, trying to address them all. "This is where I think the first coin might be hidden."
"Coin?" Yoko asked before she realized that she spoke aloud. She covered her mouth and looked at the others upon realizing.
"Yeah, apparently we need some sort of coins in order to get out of here. It's all some sorta Umbrella contraption." Mark quickly filled the others in. Knowing grumbles were the only response.
When no one else said anything Eric continued. "We need to look for anything out of the ordinary, anything that might seem like it doesn't belong. Look for a switch that is alone and away from a control panel or a hidden lever or something."
David put his hands on his hips. "So you mean to tell us that you don't actually know how to find these coins?"
Eric's brows drew down. "I thought that was clear by me not just getting them for you." David started to speak, obviously angry by Eric's flippant tone, but Alyssa put a hand on his shoulder.
"Is there anything you could tell us that might let us know which one to look for? This zoo is chock full of loose knobs, switches and levers." Alyssa sounded more level-headed than George remembered. He thought that it might just be the reporter in her coming out.
"I wish I did, I'm sorry but I just know that this is one of the areas that the director frequented the most." Alyssa nodded, a frown growing across her face, she stroked her chin in thought as she backed away from David.
"Is there anything we can do about the lighting?" Kevin asked pointing to one of the lampposts. The light above them flickered as if suddenly beckoned by its mention. Eric shook his head.
"Even if I worked in this area, I only tended to the animals; I wouldn't have touched the electrical things. So, I couldn't tell you the first thing you'd need to know to fix them up so they stay on."
George inwardly groaned; it was bad enough that they had crazed animals attacking them from all angles, but to try and find a way to locate a coin that may or may not even be in the area, but to do it with poor lighting was not only nearly impossible, but recklessly dangerous as well. They weren't sure if the area was devoid of zombies, any one of those undead monstrosities could be hiding behind a corner or in some of the grass and they wouldn't know it until it bit them.
Regardless of their current predicament, they weren't going to get anywhere unless they found these coins, like it or not they had no choice in the matter. Eric turned from them and started his search among some of the posters along the wall. Before they could even start to search, Eric stopped them once more.
"Oh, be careful around some of these plants, they secreted a poisonous toxin when they were unaffected by whatever it was that happened here. It was only toxic to the insects that tried to eat them, but God knows what it could do now. So, if you see any plant that looks odd, just steer clear of them until I give the okay, alright?"
When he received a nod from everyone, he went back to his search. Great, just one more thing to worry about in this God forsaken place George thought to himself. Progress was slower than he had expected as he found himself feeling the walls for any of the objects Eric had listed. The whole thing seemed ludicrous to him as if the night's events were just registering to him. He found himself cursing the creators of the puzzles and secret compartments that they had to search for.
The search went on for a few more minutes until they heard Jim saying something. George abandoned the walls and went through the pathway between the posters and a little dead-end walkway that terminated into a large plant that blocked the last few feet of the passageway. As he continued around the path, George walked into where Jim stood. Plants lined the edges of the little outside garden; a square walkway was in the center which allowed the guests an uninhibited look at all of the exotic plants and insects. Jim stood holding what looked like a yellowish piece of metal in the darkness.
"Is this what you're looking for?" He asked, holding the coin out to Eric's impatient hands. Eric snatched the coin and gave it a quick look over, holding it close to his eyes and moving back and forth to catch a small sliver of light. With a nod Eric put the coin in his pocket.
"Yes, that's it; I guess we didn't need to look so hard in here after all." Eric's voice betrayed his surprise, but George wasn't so sure about what he had said. Finding the coin was a relatively simple matter, something so important wasn't going to be just lying around. "I guess the director had gone through this area when he was trying to escape. He must've dropped the coin or something."
Skeptical eyes peered back at Eric from every member of the survivors, they had been through enough this night to not just accept anything that comes too easy to them. No one said anything though, silently hoping that it really was that simple and dry cut. "Only three more then."
"So, we have to go to the elephant's cage and the lion's den next?" Mark asked Eric as Eric slipped the coin into one of his many pockets. Eric gave a nod.
"The only problem is that they are on opposite ends of the zoo, we'd have better chances if we split up." Eric looked at David and George.
"So…are the lions still here?" Kevin asked, hoping to get an answer that wasn't potentially lethal.
"I really can't tell, I haven't seen them or heard them, but it would be difficult for them to get out of here." Eric shrugged in apology that he couldn't give a definitive answer. Kevin sighed and stroked his chin.
"Alright, but why can't we just stick together."
Eric shook his head. "We can stick together, that's up to you, but personally I'd like to get out of here as quick as possible."
Kevin groaned his understanding. "I think we should split up, the faster we get out of here, the faster we're back on the train and getting the hell out of this place. I'll volunteer to go to the lion's den."
As much as George wanted to go to the elephant's cage, he felt like he shouldn't say anything. Kevin waited a few seconds for anyone willing to come forward and join him, when no one did he asked instead.
"Anyone going to come with me?" He pleaded.
"Look, it's nothing against you, but that sounds like a death sentence." David reasoned with him.
"That may be, but we have to do this don't we?" Alyssa almost sighed in frustration and walked up next to Kevin.
Two people were willing to risk dying just to get out of here, why shouldn't George?
"I better go too, just in case someone gets hurt, you'd need someone who can help." George said as he walked up to the group forming a few feet away. Cindy began to follow, but Jim stopped her.
"Hey, wait. If George is going with that group in case someone gets hurt, then shouldn't the other group take the only other person who knows something about medicine?" He sounded annoyed that Cindy might take away his only chance at medical attention.
"That sounds logical to me." Yoko chimed in. Cindy's eyes caught George's gaze, silently she pleaded to go with him, but she eventually saw the practicality in their reasoning. Cindy stepped a few feet away from George and the other group to start the group going for the elephant's cage. George was inwardly relieved. He had been hoping that Cindy wouldn't go with him to the lion's den. George was glad she wouldn't be in anymore danger than she needed to be.
Yoko was the last person to decide to join in for the lion's den. The other five people shuffled towards Cindy, bidding everyone a goodbye and good luck. George shared one last look with Cindy as the others walked off into a different direction, Eric catching up with them after parting instruction on how to get to the lion's den to Kevin.
The world seemed darker to George for some reason. He knew he should be happy that Cindy wasn't going to what looked like certain death, but he missed her presence. Something about her manner helped alleviate the fear that threatened to choke him almost constantly. Sighing, he fell in line with the group as they made their way to the door closest to them.