Chapter 10
"We've lost way too many men," stated Miller. "Brandon, get on the radio and call for help, we need immediate evac. Now."
His cry for help was answered by an inaudible gurgle over the static across the communications device.
"It's down sir," replied Cooper. "I'm gettin' nothin'… "
Miller's face contorted a bit, different possibilities and scenario's cascading in and out of his head.
"Y'know why, right?" interrupted Bill. "Because the whole damned base is crawling with the dead!"
"Wire could be down… " Said Ben.
"No fuckin' way! The connection's encrypted!" exclaimed Connors. "They said it themselves that it wouldn't be down."
Miller thought to himself. He knew Ben couldn't be serious. His reply was merely a statement that was based only on hope. A hope that their HQ was still up and running. But somehow Miller doubted that by now. Their last transmission was a brief conversation which was cut short due to power failure. Their main head quarters were located somewhere in Berkeley, and the last report was that the city was barely being contained by the viral outbreak. Seventeen hours had passed since they landed in the city, and the giant plumes of smoke around the urban jungle created a sense of despair; a feeling as if you were stuck in a sort of Hell with every demon bearing down upon your position. Only now would the wings of an angelic figure take them away to a safer solitude; preferably a helicopter.
"Well, it is. Somehow." Answered Ben.
"Everyone; spread out and look for an entry." Commanded Miller.
Ben began to walk, looking around the rooftop for a possible means of entrance into the building that they had trotted upon. He saw a ventilation shaft that was their current means of entrance. Ben walked over to the shaft, followed closely by Steve and Aya. The rest of the squad had took it upon their selves to survey the surroundings, going to different parts of the roof and peering out over the edges.
"What kind of building do you think this is?" inquired Steve.
"Hmm, I'm not sure… " Answered Ben.
Just then Steve spotted a heliport on the far end of the building, opposite to where they were standing at.
"Wait a minute – could this be the hospital? I think it is."
Ben averted his eyes towards the source of their suspicion. Indeed it was the Hospital. The building itself spanned across a city block, with the emergency room and parking garage on the other side of the heliport, overlooking the court yard and recreation area. The place had to be teeming with undead life, if you could even phrase it that way. A large column of smoke rose up from one side of the building, on the opposite side of the heli-pad. A fire undoubtedly had to be spreading through out the building, taking note that the group had to be quick in their efforts to escape. But that would seem utterly impossible, since they were in the hospital, and every citizen of LA would've rushed to the hospital in hopes of containing their infections.
Looking over the ledge of the rooftop, Steve saw the employee parking lot, and the placed looked somewhat normal; cars aligned in their proper spaces, parking lot free of any wandering trash. Save for a few corpses lying here and there.
"Look, we can gain access to the sewers from down there." Steve pointed.
In the midst of the cars in the parking lot, there was a manhole, slightly ajar from its hinges. If they were to gain entry into the sewers, they would bypass any obstacles in their way, inanimate or not. This, of course, would involve them going through the hospital; something Steve and Ben weren't willingly ready to do. Regardless of how they felt, they had to think of the survivors that could be trapped inside the confines of the building, praying for some form of help.
"Well, if we're going to go, we better go now." Stated Aya.
Ben walked to the other side of the building, looking back out onto the street. A moving sea of people seemed to pound against the building in panic. The smell too, was overwhelming. The pales hands of the creatures embraced the air, aware of the squad's presence. Their lifeless eyes held some form of lower intelligence. Some form of motor function that allowed them to move about, as if free of rigor mortis that always accompanies a dead body after an allotted amount of time.
Ben thought as he perched over the ledge. He remembered watching the reports over the television and the little information the news had given them about the virus and its effects. He watched the undead closely. The virus seemed to become more advanced itself, and it had somehow delayed the effects of decay. The skin still began to rot, but not as quickly. The infection looked as if it had somehow binded itself not only to the brain, but to the limbs as well. This, in turn, would cause the host to have almost, if not all, function of the arms and legs, making the zombie itself quicker and faster. The brain seemed to develop and adapt to situations at hand. For example, if the zombie saw a window, it would began it's effort to destroy the man-made barrier.
A heavy hand was placed upon Ben's shoulder, shaking him of his newly found observation. It was Steve.
"Come on man. We've better get going."
Ben brought himself up from the ledge. A loud shatter had perceived the ear of the patrons, confirming Ben's suspicions. The crowd down below had infiltrated the first floor of the building they were on, if they weren't already inside the hospital to begin with.
"Shit.. They've breached the lobby." Said Steve, glancing down below as he watched the frenzied crowd pour into the building.
"Here," replied Ben. "Take this."
He handed him his sidearm; a 9mm.
"Sorry, no hollow points. Not going to be as effective. Thanks to the goddamn Geneva Convention."
Steve took the gun, wondering where the hell this had been when he needed it most. He nodded towards Ben, an unspoken word of "Thanks". Aya hung close to Steve's side, eyes resting on the gun. She didn't know anyone else as well as him, so his presence was warming.
"Don't leave me, okay?" she whispered.
"Okay." He replied.
By this time Miller was at the ventilation shaft, prying the metal vent cover open. He worked vigorously with a look of anxiety across his face. His hands shook somewhat, followed by the sweat that trickled down his brow. Finally, the vent cover popped of with a loud clank! as it slammed against the cement roof.
"Let's go. Quickly." Miller jumped into the darkness of the shaft and slid down, dust obscuring the rest of the view. A few seconds went by, followed by two rounds of semi-automatic gunfire coming out from inside the vent shaft. Then silence.
Ben brought his face close to the opening and began to speak.
"Captain… Cap—"
"It's clear!" a small, disembodied voice rose up from the darkness and the dust. "Hurry now! Get down here before they come!"
"They? Who's they?" asked Aya as she clung close to Steve.
"I don't know." Answered Steve, but as he finished his sentence, he saw a dark green talon clutch the side of the roof.
"Hunters." The Captain's muffled voice echoed back up to them, but barely loud enough for anyone to hear.
Slowly, the clawed hand pulled itself to the ledge of the roof, revealing a somewhat muscular arm covered in dark green scales. The unidentifiable shape let out a small groan in exertion as it hefted itself onto the roof. The remaining few upon the roof had watched in a horrid captivation as the creature came into view. It was so off-worldly that the mind didn't register what it was at first – or what it could've been. Beady eyes swirled with viral-like constellations. It's lower mandible stuck out farther than the upper part, decorated with rows of razor-like sharp teeth. It looked like a skinned gorilla covered in passive scales and secreted a slime-like ooze—possibly used as a function to cool itself. As far as Steve and Aya knew, it could've been someone like themselves, caught up in the advanced stages of viral infection. Hesitation took place as Miller began howling after them down below.
"Aya. Go. Now." Steve muttered, not taking his eyes off the unfathomable creature.
Without hesitating, she pulled herself up into the vent shaft, a small squeal issuing from her lungs as she went down into descent. Steve raised his 9mm eye-level, taking aim as his hands shook slightly. Looking down his sights he fired. His bullet hit the thing in the neck just before the thing dashed into its motion of quickness. He hadn't fired a gun no more than a dozen times in his life, but the simple mechanics of squeeze-and-fire were really user-friendly, and his fair share of video-game experience had of course came into play, helping him a bit more. Joey Connors had his gun raised only a spit-second after Steve, and he had already pulled the trigger and began to pump another round into the shotgun. His buckshot round sprayed the area right behind the creature as it let out something that sounded like a high-pitched grunt.
Steve's eyes grew wide and his mind starting racing. Thinking quickly he turned around and jumped through the shaft, calling up to Ben and the rest of the squad.
"C'mon let's go!"
Ben jumped through the shaft after Steve. Followed by Bill. Joey fired off another round of his 12 gauge before jumping through the vent shaft. Brandon was the last down, firing his gun as he slid through the vent, trying to prevent the thing from following. It let out a shrill cry as it jumped into the ventilation shaft, only to get stuck. Brandon hit the floor with a harsh thud, the screams of the creature following down after him. He looked around and saw the rest of everyone else, including the new surroundings.
"A kitchen? Great."
Miller lay against the double doors of the kitchen, his chest rising and falling quickly. He had his gun drawn and his eyes glancing back and forth quickly. He grabbed a fire axe out from the emergency box and stuck it through the handles, preventing anyone or anything from entering. Heavy hands fell against the door as Miller scooted a metal table in the way, further preventing the dead's access.
"Good, now we have hunters to deal with. And we're surrounded." Breathed Miller as he propped himself against the table to catch his breath.
"Okay, so we went down the vent shaft. That takes us to… what floor?" asked Steve.
"Hmm.. The psychiatric ward is on the 12th floor… and if I remember correctly, the Kitchen is on the 10th floor. The hospital itself consist of 14 floors. " Answered Bill.
"There's a service elevator somewhere on this floor. If we can get to it, then we'll be set. That thing will take us to the basement, and from there, the sewers."
"But how many are we talkin'? How many of those things are beyond those doors?" asked Joey, pointing the barrel of his shotgun towards the barricaded doors.
"Well I haven—" began Bill, but was cut off.
"The hallway is full of 'em," interrupted Miller. "It's completely inaccessible. To go out there would mean certain death."
Ben walked towards the window on the far side of the kitchen. He took another glance around so he could take in his surroundings. On the opposite side of the wall was the double doors, barricaded, blocked away from the crowd of dead people. To his right was another door, possibly leading into a pantry or storage room of some sort. To the left, on the other wall, another set of doors could be seen, with a bloody hand print decorating the circle window on the door. In between Ben and the rest of the group were a few utility tables with cutlery and an island where the sink and dishwasher stood. Nothing seemed out of place. Nothing as of yet. Save for that smudge on the window. And the loud noise that consisted of a concoction of decayed fists beating down upon the door that they had barricaded.
Taking one final glance out of the window, Ben was now overlooking the rear parking lot, the area that was mostly zombie-free was now overtaken by the dead. The dead people down below must've somehow slid through the emergency room doors, which were suppose to open by a motion sensor, but the power grid for this block was lacking electricity.
Steve walked to other set of doors—the one with the hand print—and peered out through the window. He had barely a second to react to what he saw. One of those things—"hunters"—were staring right back at him. The creatures face itself was hard to see, because the room beyond the door gave off little light. A deathly sneer with glowing green eyes, followed by a wet squeal.
"Oh shi—!"
A clawed hand swiped at the door with immense strength and quickness. This in turn had caused Steve to fall back on his rear, who followed up with a flick of the wrist, a raise of his arm, his gun going eye-level with the Hunter. Everyone's head jerked in the direction of the monster, faces twisting in disbelief that they were always in the way of trouble.
Steve was the first to squeeze the trigger, his 9mm jerking violently as depleted shells shot out of the chamber. The hunter was screeching ferociously as it jerking opened one of the doors, ripping it completely off its hinges. Three rounds penetrated the hunter's shoulder and bicep, causing the thing's whole left side to jolt back in a dazed fashion, but quickly recoiled from the shots and began its advance upon Steve. He ejected the whole clip—all 18 rounds—into the things torso. The creature's reaction was somewhat surprising. The hunter absorbed the shots, and what Steve thought was a grimace, spread across its demonic features.
A dark and bloody talon was the raised above Steve's head, who put his arms out in an effort to consolidate the hunters attempt in striking him.
Joey raised his shotgun as Cooper came up and grabbed Steve's collar, pulling him out from under the hunter. A deafening blast filled the room along with bright light. Then silence. The hunter fell back as a crimson flower bloomed across the whole of its mid-section. The shotgun was cocked once as a shell fell to the hard surface of the floor, giving off a resonating clink! that sounded off in the wake of the shotgun blast. That's when the creature started its variety of high-pitched squealing from the flat of its back. This was ended abruptly when Joey walked up over the demonic hybrid and ejected one last shell into the its cranium.
"Where in the hell did that come from!" exclaimed Steve, who accepted a fresh clip of ammo from Ben.
"Well, my guess is from that room." Said Joey, pumping the shotgun once while pointing the tip of the barrel through the doorway, which was now minus a door.
Flashlights clicked on, pointing towards the open space that led into the next room. Overturned tables lay here and there, and a rotting corpse sat in a slump, as if they had fallen out of there chair. Gore littered the area that accompanied the dead body. There was a large hole where the head should've been, and the torso was shredded, obviously by the large claws the 'hunter' had.
Steve rose to his feet, still suffering from a fit of anxiety.
"Damn that thing almost had me…"
He entered the room slowly, flanked by Bill with his flashlight, bathing the rest of the room in the military issued soft-blue pubescent light. The remaining part of the room obscured from view came into sight, showing several more bodies heaped in a corner, ridden with the tell-tale signs of struggle and battle that ultimately ended in a horrific death.
"This never gets old, does it?" breathed Bill, his adams apple bobbing up and down.
"Yuck!" sneered Aya, covering her nose up with her sleeve. She walked in stubbornly behind Bill, grasping Steve's shirt and pulling him along.
"That smell! I mean, you could smell 'em before you see 'em." Reused Cooper.
The rest of the group filed into the room, illuminating what darkness remained. Droplets of blood dotted the landscape of the room. Several overturned lunch tables were scattered throughout the room, one splintered in two. Signs of battle were even more prevalent as they gazed upon the half-destroyed room. Down on the other end of the room, a set of double doors swayed back in forth, giving way to more darkness. In front of the doors, a ventilation shaft lid was on the floor, a possible entrance to where the Hunter had gained access. Everything was silent, save for the heavy pounding of bloated, decayed fists on the main entrance doors. Miller walked towards the front, his equipment clinking as he went.
"I want an ammo check on all—" Bang! CRASH!
The barricaded doors came falling down, the objects used to barricade the doors being pushed aside as the victorious grunts issuing forth from the dead crowd. The doorway to the cafeteria, inside the room they were previously in, became packed like a can of sardines as the crowd surged forward, dashing madly over the clutter in the entrance and towards the living entities in the other room. Light poured in from the blocked entrance, showing the sheer amount of creatures that were desperate for a fresh meal.
"Fucking shit!" one of the soldiers screamed.
Steve didn't recognize who said it, because he didn't have time to really think about it. He raised his gun as the first creature ran full sprint towards him. Amazing how the human body was still able to function like it did, even after hours of decay. Aya cowered behind Steve, a small, almost inaudible yelp issuing from her.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Steve's pistol sounded off, the first bullet hitting the zombie in the shoulder. The impact caused it to stumble back somewhat with it's right side jerking violently to absorb some of the shock. Regardless, the zombie kept running, intent on Steve's destruction. His second and third bullet found its mark, decorating the doorway with the inside of the zombie's cranium. The rest of the squad joined in, the room becoming filled with a staccato of gunfire. Ben reloaded his M4, his ears ringing from the sudden explosion of deafening sound.
"Get the hell outta here!" Miller shouted over the loud concoction of gunfire.
He turned on his heel and sprinted for the other set of double doors, the rest of the squad falling back as well. Brandon turned a bit to provide some cover fire. To his frightened disbelief, the M4 didn't respond when he squeezed the trigger, and the unreliability of the rifle came into play as the M4 jammed. To his amazement, the zombies were quicker than he. They were on him before he could even turn a full 180°. He fell to the floor, his gun finally responding as the bullets tore through the nearest creatures abdomen. They were on him and snapping away before Steve could do anything. Steve had craned his neck in mid-run to see what had happened. He began to turn as well, but Aya grabbed his arm and urged him on.
"Steve, I know it's not right, but we can't save him. Keep going!" yelled Aya.
Steve followed Aya, his neck craned in Cooper's direction. His screams echoed off the walls as he remained conscious through it all. The reflex in his hand kept squeezing the trigger before the clip went empty, cutting off his gunfire. Screams followed the remaining survivors hard footsteps that slammed against the linoleum tile, Cooper desperately trying to wriggle free. After what seemed like forever, he finally lost consciousness, then lost vitals.
Connors, Miller, Aya, Ben, Bill, and Steve ran into the solitude of the next room, unaware of what dangers lay ahead.
Several minutes later, Cooper's eyes opened, his gaze dead and lifeless…