Zombie Infestation Read online

  Working in tandem, two of the martial artists knocked down zombies with their wooden bokken swords, while another attacker used a blood soaked katana to split the temporarily dazed zombies like soft butter. Intrigued, the commandos watched the skilled fighters. Ignoring the conflict, Jacques grabbed a teargas grenade from his vest. When the team noticed, he tossed it toward the fence full of zombies climbing over one another to get to the top. When the canister hit the ground, it hissed. As the tear gas released, it drew even more zombies. However, the stinky sugar white wall of smoke enveloped the fence, and the wall of climbing zombies crumbled and fell.

  Nate was obviously excited by the gesture. “Good play brother, you are as mean as a wet panther.”

  When they turned the corner to proceed down to Prince Street, they all stopped simultaneously. Gathered in the park at the end of the street, was an entire football team worth of zombies. With the benefit of their night vision binoculars, they noticed the crash site. The damaged Blackhawk helicopter was parallel to the ground, but leaned to one side. When Rose motioned, the group proceeded down the street toward the crash site. There, they set up a natural perimeter around the charred chopper without any need for discussion. “Cover me, and I will go in and check it out,” said Rose as she adjusted her night vision goggles.

  “I’ll be on your six,” said Ray as he followed her inside the chopper.

  Inside it, the smell of burnt oil and hair was hard to bear. Nearly every breath was a challenge. Tar black left from the internal fire, made it immediately clear the bird had not crashed due to an attack. Likely, it had been violently forced to the ground because of it. Except for the two pilots still strapped into their cockpit seats, it was empty. One was charred beyond recognition, and the other was barely moving.

  Rose said, “Sir, can you hear me?”

  When the pilot spun his head, she gasped and then gagged back vomit from the rancid smell. Crimson ooze dribbled down from what was left of his eye sockets and cheekbones, then dripped off his chin. His face had obviously been chewed on. The one denim blue eye he had left locked onto her. Merciful, she drew her silenced side arm and double tapped his forehead.

  Then she said, “There is one is else in here, and their gear is gone too. So, they are probably close by.”

  The team scanned the area for any clues as to where the targets could have gone.

  After they exited the chopper, Ray looked over at Rose and said, “What now?”

  She searched the area for a building that she would pick if she was in the same situation. Only there were far too many to choose from.

  Stealing their attention Jacques said, “The parade over there is on its way, and fast. We need to find somewhere to be besides out in the open.”

  Ray interjected. “We could use that scaffolding over there to survey the surrounding area. The targets must be close. It’s a nice temporary vantage point. If we are quiet, those things won’t even notice us up there, and just run right by.”

  When the team looked over at him, he pointed to the L shaped hospital building with scaffolding hugging the side of it. Then at the roll of rope on Rose’s back.

  Rose rolled her eyes. “Seriously not a good idea. The last place you showed us sucked balls.”

  Around fifty zombies were running at them at full speed and the snarls and howls were getting louder. As they approached, other zombies joined their group.

  Nate pointed at the night vision shadows of another horde climbing over the partially destroyed makeshift wooden barricade and said, “More meat bags on the way.”

  Without any words, the team sprinted away from the crash site. Then cut a block over to the nearby hospital.

  Chapter 14

  The hospital had two midsize buildings covered with shiny foam white tiling connected by an elevated skyway. Its massive parking lot was filled with undamaged parked cars and a ruined ambulance turned on its side at the entrance. The scaffolding appeared sturdy and structurally sound. Except the bottom two rungs were missing. Scanning the area Jacques said, “Now what?

  Not far away, the temporarily confused mass of zombies meandered around the crash site. Rose grabbed the rope and grapple hooked on her back. Without announcing it, she unfurled it and swung the rope. When the grapple connected onto the scaffolding, the clank alerted the team. After testing it, she climbed up, and stood on the plank of the scaffolding.

  “Glad you kept that,” said Jacques.

  The rest of the team looked up at her in awe.

  She said, “Get up here quick before they see us.”

  The team went up the rope faster than a drill sergeant showing off at boot camp. When everyone was on the platform, Rose pulled the rope up, but left the grapple affixed. Then the team followed her up the snaking scaffold to the upper plank, only to find the scaffolding did not reach the top of the building. From there, Jacques climbed up the pipe array just above it, then bent and held his hand out.

  He pulled Rose up first. As the team mimicked her maneuver, she turned to attack two the zombies who seemed to move toward them in slow motion. Unlike the hard to kill level 1 zombies they had encountered before, these level 4 class zombies were vanquished without much sweat. After a quick scan, she was confident the rooftop was clear.

  Walking over to the center of the building, they looked through the massive glass skylights down into the main area of the hospital below. Hundreds of zombies in bloody nurses’ scrubs, or filthy white coats, mixed with their half naked former patients. All of which, meandered through the common area below convulsing like currents were pulsing through their bodies.

  The smell of the burning buildings next to the hospital was becoming intolerable. Nate glared at Ray and said, “Well this place is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.”

  Rose glared at Ray.

  Combined with the carnage from the twisted medical chopper on the helipad, the rooftop was more cluttered than expected.

  Pragmatic, Jacques inquired. “Why did you pick this as a survey point?”

  Ray responded. “There isn’t much else around here, and we are close to the target area. It is just to buy us some time. As soon as we identify their location we are out of here. Why didn’t you say anything before?”

  Angry, Jacques grit his teeth and clenched his weapon. Sensing the two were about to argue, or maybe even fight, Rose intervened. “This shit box is probably heavily infested. Jefferson and I will survey for the targets. If you guys can make sure no zombies come through those doors, we will be fine.”

  Jacques glared at Nate.

  Rose said, “Seriously, cancel the hissy fit, and make up. We’ve got work to do.”

  Ray looked annoyed that his judgment was being questioned again, and it was becoming clear that Jacques had lost faith in him. Annoyed, Jacques pondered as he examined the giant opening. The double doors had been blown away, and a van could probably drive through it. Seeing all the zombies below, it was logical to expect it was only a matter of time before the rooftop would be invaded by one of the many swarms of zombies within the building.

  Jefferson was already at the corner of the building. Leaning on an out of service elevator that looked like an oversized telephone booth with its door open. With his night vision, he scanned the nearby area. Rose looked over that the rest of the team and said, “What the hell are ya’ll waiting for? Make sure no zombies come out the door.” While Rose and Jefferson surveyed all of the buildings near the crash site, Ray, Nate, and Jacques rushed over toward the bent double doors that barely hung off flimsy hinges. Nate and Jacques paused and stared at the piles of corpses and scattered body parts in the stairwell. This was obviously the scene of a courageous last stand.

  Annoyed, Jacques paced back and forth.

  “I am going to find something big to blockade the entrance with.”

  Ray and Nate scanned the debris filled area.

  As Jacques turned to walk away he said, “You guys make sure no
thing comes out of that entrance.”

  He stopped and turned his head.

  Then said, “Don’t fuck it up.”

  Chapter 15

  Noticing the blackened walls inside, and the state of the dismembered corpses, it was clear explosives were detonated. Ray looked over at Nate. “You should put a couple of claymores on the stairwell so we don’t get any surprises.”

  Nate flipped his night vision goggles up. “You are crazier than an outhouse rat and gotta be twice as nutty as a squirrel turd if you think I am going to do that.”

  Nate shook his head with disgust, then walked over and began to drag a large chunk of twisted metal over. Then Jacques walked over and dropped a giant pile of debris on top of it.

  “Help me grab some more of this burned out chopper debris to block the entrance.”

  In full agreement, Nate did not hesitate to assist.

  It only took a few moments for the two fit men to nearly plug the entrance with a sizable pile of debris without any gaps.

  A moment later, Ray appeared on the other side of the small barricade. To refrain from screaming, Jacques grit his teeth. Then exploded.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  Ray had no response and ignored him as he bounded over the top of the barricade. Visibly enraged, Jacques glared at him. Yet Ray remained indifferent as he joined in hauling debris.

  Upset, Jacques grabbed his arm. “Seriously, what the hell were you doing?”

  Ray broke free as he responded. “Back home, we loosen soil with claymores. The walls are already blackened from an explosion, so it ain’t gonna hurt anything. She said don’t let anything come out of the stairwell.”

  Nate locked eyes with Jacques, now they were both angry. Just as Jacques reached for his pistol, Jefferson and Rose appeared.

  Jefferson said, “It looks like they chose a bank as their stronghold. We can see some portable lights on the top floor, and have identified the sniper on the rooftop as one of our targets. It’s on the other side of the parking lot about a block down and it has two entrances.”

  As usual, Rose identified the brewing conflict, and confronted it. “What the hell is going on over here?”

  Nate and Jacques kept silent.

  Ray said, “Were rarin to go.”

  For a moment, Rose read the team, then mentally calculated the potential variables. She put her hand on her hip and said, “You are our lock pick Ray. Do you think you can pop the back door of the bank?”

  Jacques scowled at Ray as he responded. “Bank locks are wimpy. It’s the alarm systems that’s got the teeth. Since there is no electricity, it probably won’t even take five minutes.”

  The white noise from the gathered zombies on the floors below was more noticeable. Jacques clenched his fist. From the skylights, they could all witness the heightened activity.

  “I hope they don’t trigger my claymores,” said Ray.

  Enraged Jacques shouted, “What claymores?”

  Ray’s brow crinkled as he responded. “What are you so mad about?”

  Jacques eyes went wide. “You had better be joking.”

  Rose’s eyes went wide with surprise. When an explosion shook the roof, everyone stared at Ray.

  Jacques drew his weapon.

  Then shouted, “You god damn hay seed. I should just kill you right now.”

  Reacting quickly, Jefferson grabbed him and held him back. “Cool it.”

  The compact stairwell amplified the collective groan of the disabled horde on its way. The team looked at one another, then over towards the scaffolding they had used to enter the roof. Rushing over, they peered over the edge, and simultaneously noticed it was all gone. The rumble of the explosion, had made it crumble into a pile on the ground below. When the next Claymore went off, the rooftop shook again. Rose inquired, “What the hell have you guys done?”

  Chapter 16

  While Rose paced back and forth, the team rallied on the South edge of the building. She stopped as if her ankle was bound. “Unfortunately, we have no way out now, besides going through this zombie hotel.” The mix of moaning and howling coming from the nearby shuffling horde that clogged the tight stairwell got louder as the mass attempted to break through the weak wall of debris.

  Rose said, “I think our only option is to hand out samples of hell. Any one got any other ideas?”

  Jefferson’s glared at Ray with pure rage. “If I can pop the lock at the bank, can I just kill this motherfucker now?”

  Jacques added, “I vote yes.”

  Ray aimed his weapon at Jacques and backed away as Rose said, “If anyone puts us in danger again, I will kill them myself. Right now, getting the fuck out of here comes first, and we are doing that as a team.”

  There was a long awkward pause.

  “Those explosions have likely attracted every zombie in here to that damn stairwell. I say we create a thin entry point so we can take em on one at a time.”

  The team looked at her as if she had told them their birthday got changed.

  Jefferson said, “A bottle neck is only a temporary solution. We don’t have enough ammo or energy to kill them all.”

  Rose pointed to the silhouette of the elevator outcropping on the other side of the building, then at the flash bang grenades on her belt. Then she said “There is no reason why these blessings won’t work the same on those things as living soldiers. First, we get some exercise piling them up, which will shrink the bottleneck. Then we flash bang and sprint to the elevator shaft and slide down its metal chords to lobby.”

  Everyone except Jefferson groaned.

  Jefferson said, “She’s right. Before we came over to update you, we checked the elevator. It looks like it is stopped on the second floor. Most of the meat sacks below have already made their way to the stairwell. We all have gloves on. If we slide down the cable, we can break out from there.”

  Then he smirked as he pointed to the grenades strapped across his chest.

  “We got this shit.”

  Hearing the snarls of another new wave approaching, the team ran over to their makeshift barricade. The howls and groans of the zombie horde grew louder, which meant the stairwell was nearly full. When they heard the metal of the feeble debris pile squeaking from the pressure, and also saw it flexing from the weight of the crowd behind it, they rushed to brace the shoddy barricade.

  Jacques looked over at Jefferson and said. “The structural integrity of this place has been compromised. So, don’t even try to fuck around with the grenades. In fact, at this point, one of those might be enough to bring the building down on us.”

  Rose interrupted. “Ray, open a space for them to come through.” Ray looked at her like she threw a full glass of urine on him.

  “Do it. Then back up.”

  Reluctant, Ray peeled back a part of the debris. In the space of a breath, several zombie arms and hands shoved through the opening. In unison, the team backed away and aimed their weapons at the gap. Jefferson said, “We just took out a football team of zombies ancient gladiator style. These ones are no different.”

  When Rose signaled, Ray pulled away a larger chunk of twisted metal and created a thin entryway for a few of the gathered zombies to rush through.

  Like the rest of the team, Ray backed up as he aimed and fired. Rose said, “The barrier is weak enough for them to break through. When I toss the flash bang break for the elevator one at a time.”

  Their precision shots ended several eager zombies, who soon clogged the slender pathway. When the next wave emerged, they climbed over the pile of undead corpses, but were stopped by a headshot.

  Rose held up a flash bang grenade and said, “Get ready.”

  When she tossed it, the team looked away. Ray, and Nate were the first to run to the elevator. As soon as they slid down the cable Rose, Jefferson and Jacques arrived to do the same. When another dirty wave of undead hospital staff attempted to climbed over the corpses and braided junk
, the crumbling wall of debris finally collapsed. Alone, Rose tossed another flash bang before she ran over and slid down the cable.

  Standing on the roof of the elevator, Jacques peeled open the top hatch. Before anyone could move, zombies rained down the elevator shaft and crashed into the ceiling of the stalled elevator. One by one, they dodged falling zombies, then dropped down into the elevator. Only Rose and Jefferson remained to slay the temporarily blinded zombies laying on the top of the dented elevator.

  The doors were slightly ajar, and enough for Jacques to peek through to inspect the area with his night vision goggles. When Rose and Jefferson dropped down into the elevator Jacques said, “There a few level one zombies in the hallway. They are moving slow. If we are quiet, we can assassinate them and sneak toward the exit.”

  Behind him, Jefferson jerked the ceiling hatch closed. “That was fucking brutal.” The sound of falling zombies was arresting.

  Rose said, “It ain’t over, we need to get a move on, or this shit will be over faster than a knife fight in a phone booth.”

  Jacques balanced on the railing in the elevator, as he secured the hatch, then bent the handle so it couldn’t open. The sound of falling zombies increased.

  “Let’s peel those doors open,” said Rose.

  When the team peeled the metal doors open, just a few stiff zombies staggered toward them. Their skin was pale, and a steel yellow mucus flowed from all of their noses, ears, and eyes. When Jacques and Jefferson raced to decapitate the first zombie, it strained to lift its hands to block the blow. Defenseless, and weak, it was decapitated in a single blow. The next one went down just as easy.

  As they stopped to catch their breath, Rose walked over toward the wide stairwell that led to the area below. Above it was the skylights they had looked through before. Even from there, the sounds of zombies pounding on the elevator hatch was noticeable.

  “More of those things are dropping down the shaft. Keep moving, once we get outside, we only got a block to go.”