CHAPTER 25
Institute, WV
“Henry! Henry!”
Someone was screaming as he gawped at the window above.
“Get down here!”
He didn’t want to move, but someone was pulling him away. He resisted.
“He’s gone, Henry! Come on, Lover, we’ve got to move on!” Tori said, tears streaming from her eyes.
They both limped towards the ladder. Tori grunted with every step.
“You okay?”
“Just my ankle.
THUMP!
A zombie dropped from the window and crashed on top of the roof.
THUMP!
Another followed.
“Get down, Tori!” he said, looking down the ladder. Rudy and Weege were down below, shouting at him.
“BAWK! COME ON!” Rudy cried.
He spotted two 4-seater utility vehicles and Security Team One. They were all waving him on. The moans behind him became even louder as one zombie rose to its feet in pursuit.
“GERONIMO!”
One of the biggest men he ever knew was jumping from the window. A sickening crunch followed as Rod landed on top of the zombie. Henry rushed over and pulled the man up from the ground. The other zombie was crawling, dragging its busted legs behind it. Henry kicked away its outstretched hand. As the pair of men stumbled to the ladder, the zombies began jumping from the windows like the building was on fire. Henry watched in awe as Rod slid down on the outer rails of the fire escape.
“MOVE, HENRY!”
Rod caught him as he leaped down the last ten feet.
“OW!”
“You’ll be okay,” Rod said, dragging him towards the awaiting vehicles.
“Thank God you’re alive!” Henry exclaimed.
Rod didn’t reply as he looked upward. Tori, Weege and Rudy were screaming. The zombies were scrambling off the top of the roof.
Rod shouted, “Get us out of here, Doug!!”
“Where? There’s nowhere to go!”
“Just go! We’ll think of something on the way.”
The Gators sped off.
Doug, Henry, Rod, and another security member were in one Gator. The Weege, Rudy, and Tori were being driven by another member. Everyone had pulled the mesh masks up from their faces. Henry almost enjoyed the cold air on his as they sped through the thick fog.
The complex had the feeling of a haunted village now. The contours of the buildings were distorted, and the blacktopped roads were hidden. All of the lampposts that littered the compound were dark, and most of the emergency lights were dim. Henry tapped Doug the driver on the shoulder.
“Stop. Let’s regroup.”
The other Gator pulled along their side. Every face was wide-eyed with horror. They were beside a small chapel that was covered in ivy. A small cemetery was nearby. Rudy retched over the side of the ATV as Tori climbed over into the seat beside Henry. Everyone was looking back and forth at one another with heads craning for any sounds of pursuit.
Weege was the first to speak.
“We have to find the director and Alice, Henry. They’ll know what to do. Let’s go to his quadrant.”
Doug was loading shells into his shotgun as he said, “Nope. We checked, or at least the other guys did. They’re either sealed up somewhere or on the run. Probably dead.”
It didn’t seem likely to Henry. Alice had to have been in on something. His gut told him that much. With so many personnel at the Zombie Conference, it didn’t seem likely that they’d leave the director behind, unless they wanted him gone as well. As for Alice, she was too much of a suck-up to be black listed. If anyone knew what was going on, he was certain that she would. In the meantime, he had to find a way out of this trap.
“Anybody have any ideas?” he said, looking around.
“More ammo. We couldn’t check the munitions depot. They might have heavier stuff in there,” one security man said.
“Some armor-piercing rounds would be nice. It’s the only thing that’ll bust through those metal skulls. Man! What’s going on here, Henry? Somebody let those zombies loose … didn’t they?” Rod said, letting out a painful groan.
“You okay?” Tori asked.
“I’m torn up. Busted bones.” Rod pulled off his mask and spit blood. “I’m still a man, though.”
Henry put his hand on the man’s shoulder and said, “Rod … everyone … I can’t say what’s going on, but it looks like the WHS is up to its dirty tricks.”
“What do you mean?” one guard asked.
“Without getting into detail, I have knowledge of experiments of theirs. There’s a formula that was supposed to cure the zombies, but instead it just sped them up. They were testing it on children, but now they’ve moved on to adults. I think they are making zombie soldiers.” He ran his fingers back through his hair. “And their first war is with us. A bunch of nobodies. Casualties of the greater good, I’d assume.”
There was silence. Only the chirping of nature's creatures remained. Henry felt like he had sucked the hope from each and every one of them. Every face was sweaty and drained. Even his own hands were trembling. He started to continue, but Rod’s powerful voice cut him off.
“I’m not dying for nothing. I’m not a victim. If it’s a fight they want, it’s a fight I’ll give them.” The man was looking at the cross on the roof of the small church. Rod groaned as he left the Gator and said, “Everybody gather around … I want to say something.”
Henry thought he knew what the man was doing, but he didn’t think the others would respond. They all gathered in.
“Everyone hold hands and bow your heads.”
Henry grabbed Weege on his left and Tori on his right. The small circle was complete. He glanced up at the old metal cross that was illuminated in the pale moonlight.
Rod said, “God … please help us get the hell out of here alive. Amen.”
A few others mumbled the final word as well.
“Henry. Henry,” Weege was squeezing his hand.
“Yeah.”
The little man’s eyes were feverish with excitement.
“I have an idea."
“I’m all ears.”
So was everyone else.
“We need blood. Lots of blood.”
“What for? We—”
“Ssssh!” Tori said. “Do you hear that?”
The sound was very distinct.
“Numma-numma. Numma-numma ..”.
And getting louder.
“Get back in the Gators!”
“Henry, listen to me! Let’s head for the gym! I have an idea. We have to get blood!”
Not a second after they started moving, the zombies erupted from the fog like rabid dogs.
“GO!”
The zombies were blocking their path.