"This is no good, man…no good at all," Jim said, shaking his head. He stood at the metal door sealing them in the narrow alleyway, his anxious eyes peering out at the mass of zombies milling about the front entrance. The wail of the fire alarm allowed them to speak freely, but Cindy wondered if it was worth it. Her ears would be buzzing for a month after this, she thought. At least the fall into the dumpster wasn't as bad as she had expected.
"I know it looks bad, but we've seen worse," encouraged Cindy. But for the first time, she doubted her own words. Had her own optimism finally run dry?
"Yeah, and Yoko's got all the prime hardware," Jim whined. "We don't stand a chance with that bunch out there," he said, thumbing towards the restless mob beyond the gate.
"For the moment we're safe and that's enough," said George, his voice showing signs of weariness as he fell into a pile of garbage bags. Cindy looked at him with concern. Jim appeared disappointed for a moment before turning back to look through the gate at the crowd of undead.
The trio was lost in their own thoughts. Had one of them looked up at that moment, they might have seen through the black smoke something crawling furtively into the window.
The smoke from the fire was beginning to fill every room, seeping under the door of the office Alyssa and Yoko hid in. The thin smoke was hard on the lungs, but bearable. The young girl grimaced once again, bringing to her face the wet towel she had prepared earlier with her torn sleeve and a dying water fountain. Alyssa wrapped her own wet mask around her head with a safety pin, the damp towel already beginning to dry. The logon sound dinged, and the two women huddled around the computer terminal, the Search function highlighted.
"What should we try?" asked Alyssa.
"Suzuki, try the name 'Suzuki'," urged Yoko. Alyssa's fingers flew across the keyboard, punching in the name and beginning the search. After long moments of chugging, a list of hits appeared on the screen, numbering in thehundreds.
"Suzuki motorports, Suzuki console electronics…dammit, we should narrow down the search," bemoaned the anxious girl. Alyssa turned to her as the lights above them flickered.
"No time, kiddo. The power's gonna go any minute now. Let's just pick something that looks good...and let's do it fast, alright?"
As the thousands of words scrolled across the screen in a flurry, Yoko dimly recalled her days in college, learning speed reading to facilitate research. Of course, the research! She stopped Alyssa when she saw the words 'research' and 'Suzuki' linked, and opened the first article she saw.
The article was a short one, something about a research grant, but it featured a large photograph of a scientific research team. The dozen faces all meshed into one with the grainy picture quality and fuzzy monitor, so she quickly read through the names in the caption: John…Greg…William…Rebecca…nothing familiar.
"Who are those people?" asked Alyssa, pointing to the background of the photo. Yoko squinted, looking past the head researchers, and saw what looked like a blurry man talking to another man. Something was off though, even in the distance she could make out the dark eyes of one of the men. How could she not, as impossibly large and black they were…no wait, those weren't eyes, butsunglasses. She was sure of it. Why would a scientist wear sunglasses in a research facility?
The screen flickered once before turning black, the click of static cracking once before the entire terminal abruptly shut down. Alyssa glanced at Yoko, expecting to see a devastated look on the girl's face. Instead, she saw a confused and thoughtful look, as if she were still struggling to process what she had just seen, unaware that the image on the screen had disappeared along with any hope of seeing it again. She rose from her seat, grabbing Yoko and pulling her out the door and into the smoke-filled hallway. Alyssa was somewhat thankful she had spent so many late nights in the news office, because she could barely see a dozen feet in front of her with the limited visibility from the fire. She squeezed Yoko's hand tighter, making sure the still-pensive girl stayed close.
What surprised her more than anything about the fire was the noise; Hollywood had led her to expect a quiet tranquility to the inferno (or maybe it was just a lack of a musical score?), but all she could hear was the pounding roar of the blaze. Through it all, she somehow still heard it, that unnatural sound of long labored breathing, the throaty exhale of something not quite human. She looked back to see Yoko still wearing her makeshift mask, her head ducked low seemingly with no trouble breathing. Through the thick haze of the swirling heat waves and thick smoke, Alyssa saw it behind them clinging toa wall. It looked almost human, stark naked and sleekly muscular, thin about its waist. But the similarities stopped there; the head was dog-like with a partially exposed brain and angular snout with invisible eyes. It craned that awful looking head now, side to side, seemingly confused by the activity of the fire, before finally dropping to the floor with a soft thud. Hearing the noise, Yoko looked back, and reflexively screamed, the sight of a skinless drooling monster on all fours somehow still surprising. The creature turned towards them now, screeching before charging at them.
In the din of the fire and the haze of swirling smoke, Alyssa thought the creature lurching towards them a hound from hell. Hellhound or not, though, she wasn't the type to go down quietly. Pulling Yoko behind her, she raised her Beretta carefully, firing a sure flying bullet at the creature's exposed head. Before that first bullet connected, her second round had already left the barrel, traveling just as true. To her dismay, the well-placed bullets richoceted harmlessly off of the hardened clear membrane covering the creature's brain. It wasn't a completely meaningless effort, though, as the monster recoiled, buying them enough time to escape to the stairs.
The smoke wasn't nearly as dense in the stairway, courtesy of the semi-functional ventilation system. Alyssa was thankful for something finally going their way as they ran across the short hallway, skidding to a stop when she turned the corner. Clinging upside down above them, another creature blocked their escape route, the window above the alleyway dumpster. Its blind eyes turned quickly back and forth, as if trying to smell its prey. Turning back, Alyssa could see the stunned monster recovering and steadily making its way towards them. The only way to go was down the burning stairs to the main lobby. Alyssa began to pull Yoko down the stairs, but by this time the fire had raged its battle for too long against the old building. Wooden rafters from the ceiling began to fall, flaming L-shaped chunks of wood raining down before them.
"Go," Alyssa whispered through her teeth as she chambered another round into her handgun. Yoko looked at her, stunned, but recognized the situation. She ran down the stairs, diving and crawling underneath the one small space available inthe burning rubble. She feltthe singe of fire against her back and legs, but she pushed forward on all fours with a wordless desperation before finally rolling down the rest of the stairs and into the deserted lobby.
"Come on!" yelled the young girl as she stumbled to her feet. But Alyssa didn't move, her eyes flipping from one approaching monster to the other, her gun poised and ready to fire. "Alyssa!"
"Hit the fire shutter switch," ordered Alyssa. "It's above the vending machine!"
Yoko hastily turned to the smashed vending machine, probably looted earlier by Cindy from the looks of the lock. But she dismissed the thought, hurriedly pushing a small step stool towards it so she could gain a better look at the control system.
"I can't!" cried Yoko. "You'll be stuckup there!" But Alyssa couldn't hear her, the sound of her handgun screaming hot lead upstairs.
"JUST FUCKING DO IT!" Alyssa yelled angrily, turning to meet Yoko's tearful eyes for a brief moment. "Do it, kid," the reporter mouthed, her words silent. Yoko closed her damp eyes, resigning herself to the hopelessness of the situation. She pressed the button, bringing down the emergency shutter.
The two skinless freaks hung just above her on the ceiling, howling at her in pain as her bullets found their mark, one round after another leaving smoking holes in their flesh. Alyssa heard the dry click of her handgun and made up her mind in the same moment. Without turning, she crouched downwards and pushed backwards and away from them with all her considerable leg strength. From the top step, she guessed the flight of stairs to be about thirteen or so steps, most of which were afire. She imagined the oddest sensation of flight, her body hanging impossibly high above the ground, instead inhaling the piercing taste of smoke and feeling the sear of the inferno around her as she spun downwards.
Her left hip slammed into scorching charred wood, her body bruising and burning in the same instant. Luckily, she felt no bones snap as she tumbled down the last few steps, but she was sure she would feel it for quite a long time (if she even made it out of here alive). In her whirlwind of sights, she could see one of the creatures hanging in midair as it leapt after her, the fire shutter closing down on her just as she rolled underneath its steel jaws. Alyssa felt the hot breath of the creature just behind her, and heard the soft squish of the shutter closing shut on the creature's slimy neck. The spray of arterial blood would bother most women, but Alyssa hoped the creature was alive just long enough to feel the pain as it gurgled its last breath.
Alyssa felt the coolness of the imitation marble floor on her cheek as she lay in the lobby, and knew she had somehow made it. Her whole body aching, she wondered if it was worth it. Yoko climbed down from her makeshift stool, elated at Alyssa's survival. As the young girl opened her mouth to speak, her expression turned to shock.
"You trying to kill me, kid," joked Alyssa, her face wincing as she shakily got to her feet. Yoko ran to her, and began slapping her all over with her towel. "Hey, what are you doing, are you crazy?" howled Alyssa. "That hurts!" Yoko grabbed her and looked her directly in the eye.
"You're on fire, Alyssa," the girl said calmly, before swatting at the patches of burning cloth again. Alyssa looked at her clothes, or what remained of them, and realized Yoko was right. She immediately dropped to the floor, rolling her body back and forth, extinguishing the last flames. She lay there for a moment, exhausted and aching, trying to yet again catch her breath. The air was much better now that the shutter was down, she thought. As Yoko crouched over her, Alyssa turned away, looking at the creature's exposed and still jittering head with a satisfied look on her own pained face. Yoko followed her eyes and cringed at the sight before her own scientific curiosity got the better of her and she began to cautiously approach it.
Alyssa felt the dryness of her throat now, and tried to yell a warning to the inquisitive girl. Journalistic curiosity had fueled her career, but there were always limits. This was one of them. She began to crawl towards Yoko, her hand raised insilentdesperation.
"No, stay...away," she croaked hoarsely. Yoko turned back to look at her, but was still moving towards the head as she shook her head. The mouth of the beast suddenly dropped open, and an impossibly long strip of flesh, which only could have been its tongue, lashed towards the surprised young girl with blazing speed.
Alyssa had twisted her body the moment she saw the creature's mouth open, swinging her foot to kick out Yoko's feet from under her. She hit the area behind the girl's knees, instantly bringing her down into a heap as the steel-like tongue passed by overhead. But luck was not completely on their side as the tongue tore into the soft canvas material of Yoko's backpack, spilling their ammunition and supplies across the floor. Yoko's hands sought out and grasped the handle of her shotgun as she fell, thrusting it against her hip as she fired a flailing shot from her crouched position into the beast's face. Most of the buckshot lodged into the metal shutter, but enough found its way into the dog-like skull that the flickering tongue fell lifelessly to the ground. She rose to her feet, stepping on the long appendage in curiosity and rolling the blue-ish black thing back and forth, marvelling at its length and thickness.
"Like they say, it's not about size, but how they use it," said Alyssa, her voice still hoarse. "Not me, though...I like 'em big," she added, winking at the young girl. Yoko handed her a bottle of water, and she accepted it eagerly, ripping off the top and taking long pulls of the tepid water before voilently coughing it up onto the floor. Yoko patted her on the back as a red-faced Alyssa took smaller sips. Again, she coughed badly, the taste of smoke still in her mouth.
"You might have smoke inhalation," Yoko said. "Try inhaling through your nose, holding it in your lungs, and breathing it out of your mouth," she suggested, shouldering Alyssa into a seated position.
"Sure thing, doc," Alyssa said, her entire body aching badly. "Gotta say though, I feel more cooked on the outside than the inside," she tiredly joked.
"We'll need George to treat these burns," the young girl said as she pressed moistened towels against her burnt flesh, Alyssa grinding her teeth against the pain.
"Does it really matter at this point," the reporter asked. She looked over at their only exit, the main door, as a horde of zombies lazily pounded at it. "It's just a matter of time for us, really...although I'm glad the alarm stopped at least," she said, her voice falling as she lost consciousness.
Yoko said nothing, the enormity of their situation snapping her to her feet. She collected the spilled supplies on the floor, quickly reloading her own shotgun and Alyssa's pistol. She was grateful she'd had the foresight to wrap George's last chemical bomb in a towel before storing it away. She laid that aside with the rest of the ammo they would be able to carry in their hands, but she wondered how far Alyssa would get in her condition. Yoko noted the stillness of the siren, glad to have some quiet to gather her thoughts. Grabbing the last canister of First Aid Spray, she looked over the directions, hoping it was as simple as George had made it look. Shaking the can, she popped the cap off and lightly sprayed it along the worst burns on Alyssa's legs and side. Most of them appeared to be no worse than second degree burns, but she knew from her days in the lab that those were the most painful type, as the nerve endings still remained intact.
Alyssa groaned in response to the cooling aerosol spray, her blistered skin bubbling under the white oxidizing agent. The soft and tender flesh of her injuries seemed to harden under the wispy white spray, her bleeding wounds slowing and the inflammation subsiding. Yoko wiped away the dribble of excess medicine, rubbing it gently onto other damaged areas. It seemed to relax Alyssa, so Yoko tucked her rolled up jacket behind her head and continued to prioritize their supplies.
She stuffed her Umbrella ID card into her back pocket, certain they would need it if they ever made it to the facility. Even though she knew little to nothing about knives, she tucked the survival knife into its sheath and strapped it to her pants, the shaft of hard leather poking uncomfortably into her right thigh. She filled her pockets with the few remaining shotgun shells, hoping she'd be able to reach them in time if necessary. Looking sadly at her torn knapsack, she felt a certain nostalgic connection to it. She wondered if someone important had given it to her; it was definitely old enough to retain some value. Ignoring the feeling, she ripped the bag into pieces, searching for another hidden compartment. Having forgotten about that little detail, it was possible there was something else of use in it. But she found nothing. Frustrated, she tossed the remains aside.
"Yeah, that color didn't suit you at all," said Alyssa, her eyes half open. She returned Yoko's smile with her own tired grin. "How long have I been out?"
"About half an hour," Yoko replied, looking over her shoulder. "The glass on that door is tougher than it looks," she said thoughtfully, wondering if Alyssa was mistaken earlier. Maybe they could hold out longer...
"I told you before, this whole building is soundproofed. That glass is a stronger than most...but it won't last forever," she said. Looking at the mutant tongue laying across the floor, she added, "Especially if there's more of those tongue licker freaks."
"Can you stand," the young girl asked, her eyes showing nervous concern.
"Don't worry, kid, I wouldn't strand you here even if I couldn't," answered Alyssa as she got to her feet. "We just gotta find the others and get out of here," she said, laughing to herself. "Yeah, it's just that easy too..."
"How do we find the others, though?"
"Leave that to me," replied Alyssa, limping to the far wall. Before her, on the wall, sat a thin black panel, almost like a painting. But as she pulled a latch and pushed it to the side, Yoko realized it was a small window.
"Hey, boys and girls," Alyssa whispered through the window into the alleyway.
"Oh shit!" Jim cried at the sudden sound of Alyssa's voice behind them. George leapt from his bed of trashbags instantly, Cindy quickly turning from the gate as well.
"I didn't even see that window there," commented Cindy, a broad smile spreading across her face. She ran to the window, peering intently through it and smiling down at Yoko. "Are you both--?"
"We're both ok, Cindy," Alyssa said, flattered byher genuine concern.
"Damn, you're really going for the April O'Neil look I see, huh," said Jim, his eyes grazing over what little remained of her clothes. Alyssa opened her mouth to retort, but realized she had no idea if it was an insult or compliment. Judging by the grin on his face, it was probably the latter.
"Those burns need to be treated," George muttered from behind them. Even in the shadows, she could see his dark eyes examining her intently, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was the doctor or the man looking over her exposed skin.
"Don't worry, doc...your apprentice took good care of me," Alyssa assured him, throwing her arm over Yoko's shoulder as the girl blushed at the rare praise.
"That's good to hear," said Cindy, her voice growing with energy. "We should get moving sooner rather than later, though," she added brightly.
"There is one thing you should know," began Yoko. "My backpack ripped, so we're only going to be able to take what we can carry ourselves."
"How the fuck does your backpack get ripped like that," asked Jim, his gaze passed them and settling on the remains of the tattered bookbag. Yoko shrugged.
"Monsters," replied Alyssa, herself shrugging. She pushed the assault rifle clip through to George and a couple handfuls of handgun ammo to Cindy. Jim stuck his hand out, but all she had to give him was the last flashlight.
"You give them bullets but me a fucking flashlight ," Jim whined in disbelief. "Typical."
"This isn't enough to make a stand here," George said from behind the group, examing his one extra clip of ammunition. "We counted about thirty undead by the front door."
"Leave that to me," said Alyssa, looking down at the anxious Yoko. "I mean, leave that to us."
"What do you have planned?"
"Oh, you'll see...just be ready to bust through that gate, and keep your ears open for instructions."
Alyssa limped over to the front door now, Yoko looking curiously at her companion, who was suddenly reinvigorated with energy despite her physical injuries.
"Here's the plan kid," she began, as a hungry zombie threw itself against the door, the gaping sores on its face dripping pus down the glass. "Lovely," said Alyssa, her eyes never leaving the door. "Anyways, here's what we do..."
They were as ready as they would ever be. The main door was slowly giving way, the window pane cracking slightly down the middle. Yoko triple checked her supplies one last time, pushing her fatigue to the back of her mind. Alyssa's hand strayed to her pocket, the touch of her zip disk comforting her, giving her strength. On that disk was everything she'd experienced in the past three months, and all the information she had on the outbreak. It was enough tomake some noise, but only if she got out of there.
"I still can't believe you have one of those and didn't use it earlier,"Yoko said suddenly.
"A good journalist never gives away the best stuff in the beginning," shot back Alyssa.
"What are you talking about? The very first sentence of a news story gives everything; that's why they call it a 'lead'," replied Yoko, tucking the last bit of cloth into her ears.
"Oh yeah, you're right...screw it, I was never good at those anyways," Alyssa said, shaking her head. With a slight nod to signal the others, she brought the butt of her handgun against the corner of the glass, cracking it and forcing a small opening. The shiftless zombies responded to the crash, beginning to shamble over.
Alyssa grinned, pulling the pin of the flashbang she had filched from a dead SWAT team member earlier in the day. Sliding it through the opening she had created, her and Yoko ducked behind the thick wooden doors.
The loud crack of the flash grenade could be heard for dozens of blocks, even with the city being the warzone it was. Despite the stuffed cloth in their ears and the soundproofed doors, the muffled sound wave rattled their ears. The two stood up, seeing the zombies stunned and off balance, but they were still blocking the doors.
"Get behind the counter," instructed Yoko. Alyssa looked at her doubtfully, hoping she didn't think her shotgun could move the half dozen undead keeping them from opening the doors. Instead, the young girl wordlessly picked up a large bottle filled with a viscous gray substance, hefting it and feeling its weight. Alyssa opened her mouth to say something, but figured time was of the essence. She ducked behind the oak counter, hearing George's assault rifle firing one careful round after another. He was conserving his bullets justlike he said he would. She just hoped he was as good with a rifle as he was with a scalpel.
She felt this explosion down into her bones, the blast of force sending a shockwave that jarred her teeth. She felt Yoko's hand tugging at her, and she blindly followed her through the smoke and splintered wood chips that was once a heavy set of doors. Her left leg felt incredibly stiff now, and she felt herself slowing. George and the others were storming out from their own dead end, Jim's gun blazing (a bit needlessly, she thought, as most of the zombies were still confused) and Cindy running straight for her. Still, the sheer sight of Jim running up to every zombie before him and blasting it in the face point blank was almost worth it.
"Suck it, bitch!" he would yell after each successful kill, leering over the fallen.
"Alyssa, we gotta move!" Cindy yelled, ducking under the reporter's arm to shoulder her up. Wrapping her right arm around her, Cindy began to hustle the injured Alyssa along.
Manuvering through the mass was harder than she would've expected. Most of the undead were out of it thanks to the flashbang and explosion, but many were new arrivals looking for a hot meal. One had to be able to move quickly in any direction and make snap judgments to make it through.
"There's too many!" squealed Jim, sliding a fresh clip into his handgun.
"He's right," George agreed. "We can't make it any further this way!"
"What do we do then," asked Cindy, pulling Alyssa suddenly to the left as a zombie lunged at them. More and more of the undead were beginning to recover now, turning their hungry attention to the survivors.
"There," Alyssa pointed weakly at a short dark building a half block down the street. Her strength from earlier was nearly gone now, but the constant movement and the encouragement of Cindy kept her semi-conscious.
Jim sprinted down the sidewalk, yelling at the others to pick up the pace. Ducking into the alcove of the entrance, he readied his pistol to cover the others. George reached it next, pressing the stock of the assault rifle into his shoulder and aiming carefully. Yoko stayed close to the other women, her shotgun blasting away at anything that moved towards them. What was once an immensely overweight man stumbled in their direction, shrugging off her last shotgun round and falling upon her as she struggled helplessly against it. The small girl fell back, holding the shotgun across her chest against the much heavier monster as its ravenous jaws snapped open and moved for her throat. Cindy grabbed for her handgun, fumbling with her left hand, as Alyssa broke away from Cindy's support and drew her charged stun gun, the flashing voltage arcing directly into the zombie's head. At first the zombie didn't seem to react, but as Alyssa dug the glowing prods fiercely into its flesh, the zombies' eyes bulged grotesquely before bursting, everything within the zombie'sskull exploded as if under an immense pressure. Brain matter shot out from its' ears, the rest oozing through eyeless sockets. Yoko pushed the utterly deadcreature aside, getting up to shoulder the weakened Alyssa and pushing forwards.
"I'm out of ammo, Cindy…cover us!" yelled Yoko over her shoulder. She dragged Alyssa as hard as she could, but she herself felt drained from her desperate struggle with the obese zombie. Cindy was able to this time draw her handgun with her right hand, and began to fire at the group of undead closing in on them. The rattle of George's automatic rifle dropped a few more, as Jim's sure shots popped a few heads. But seeing George slide his last rifle magazine into place, she knew they wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
Reaching the alcove, Yoko threw her body into the door only to bounce off an unyielding resistance. The realization hit her like a punch in the stomach.
"They're locked," she wailed, pushing fruitlessly against the doors. The others looked at her in disbelief, but there was no changing this fact as the hordes of zombies slowly closed in on the cornered survivors.