Red leaned back and looked down the hall, turning with a grin back to Tessa. “She’s right. It’s white out there.”
“Good.” Dodge nodded. “Good. That means we can move everyone in here safely. We don’t have to worry about what the hell else they were testing.”
“It’s going to be tight,” Tech pointed out.
“I don’t care. You saw the way those things were out there,” Dodge snapped. “They are gonna work their way over the wall soon.”
“What’s going on out there?” Simon asked. “How will they get over?”
“By trampling each other until the pile of bodies is tall enough that they can get onto the wall.” Dodge answered grimly. “We’re going to need to be safely down here by the time that happens. Tech, you keep working on the communications log. Try to find a way to communicate with someone outside these walls. Everyone else, it’s time to let the others know we found a safe house.”
“There won’t be enough beds,” Tessa pointed out quietly.
“Yeah.” Dodge sighed, wiping a hand over his face. “And we’re only going to be able to have food that doesn’t need refrigeration.”
“There’s a walk-in cooler in the lab,” Simon told Dodge, “there’s even some food in there. I guess those people didn’t know they were sick when they locked themselves in here.”
“Good, that will make things a little better.” Dodge’s face flooded with relief. “Tech, will you be okay here alone?”
“Yeah,” Tech answered distractedly. He continued fiddling with the computer.
“Good, I am going to need everyone to help get as much food as we can in here. Once those things breech the wall-” Dodge stopped, obviously looking for a good way to say what he was thinking.
“Once they breech the wall, we’ll be trapped down here,” Simon finished for him, not at all happy about the idea, but it was best to be honest about their situation.
“That’s about it.” Dodge nodded grimly. “But we’ll be alive.”
“Some of us,” Simon said. Dodge looked away, wiping his mouth with his hand before turning back to Simon.
“I’m really sorry about Zeke, kid. I liked the guy too; he was good people for sure. I wish we had time to do something nice for him like we did with Noah.”
“Thanks.” Simon stood. “He was my best friend, the only one I remember having.”
“I get it,” Dodge said. Simon believed him.
With a sigh, Simon started for the door. “No sense wasting any more time now though, huh? Soon I’ll have nothing else to do but whine about how much I miss him.” Simon glanced back to see Dodge smile.
“That’s right.” Dodge followed Simon, slinging an arm across his shoulder and giving him a brotherly squeeze. “Come on people. Let’s get moving.”
Simon could tell something was wrong as soon as they opened the hospital doors; there was something different in the atmosphere, a feeling he couldn’t quite place. The air hung heavy, like right before a thunderstorm. It put everyone immediately on edge. Simon glanced at the others, feeling his heart hammering in his chest. He was glad to see they all looked as freaked out as he felt, but wondered if his eyes looked as feral as theirs, wondered how far gone they really were. Not for the first time, he wondered how the virus might have changed them all.
22
Haven Medical Base
As they approached the rec center, Simon could see the gate to the base. The pile of bodies reached halfway up it, and the zombies who had climbed to the top now were able to reach the top of the gate. It wouldn’t be long before they were through. As they hurried toward the doors Harper, the boy who had been smoking with Matt, came running around the corner.
“Dodge,” Harper shouted. He looked terrified, but relieved to see Dodge and the others. “They’re almost over. We pulled everyone from the walls because they were close enough to reach us. We couldn’t even shoot them; it would just help them get over faster.” Harper stopped, breathing heavily as his eyes darted around trying to watch every direction at once. He still looked high and utterly terrified, his black hair matted to his head with sweat.
“Where are the others?” Dodge asked as he stepped through the door into the gym.
“Here,” Harper answered right behind him. “I was out looking for you. Where the hell were you all?”
The room was alive with voices; they echoed off the high ceilings and doubled their volume and size so that the whole room was a cacophony of fear right down to the cries of the smallest child. They had the look of trapped animals. A few kids quieted when they spotted Dodge, but most of them didn’t even notice. Instead of answering Harper, Dodge slipped his fingers into his mouth and gave a piercing shriek of a whistle. The room fell quickly into silence. Even Dodge looked surprised by the sound he had made.
“Listen up everyone.” Dodge’s voice was loud and commanding. Up close, Simon could see him sweating, his neck tight. “We’re gonna move out. We found someplace that will be safe even once those things are over the wall.”
“It’s safe here,” Matt called, recovered from the knockout he had received that morning. Beside him, Lara nodded. “You going to take us somewhere that’s any safer? They can’t open doors, scrab.”
“And they can’t climb walls either,” Dodge replied sarcastically. “We don’t have time to argue. Stay if you want to, but anyone who wants to come with us needs to grab as much food, clothing, and bedding as they can and follow me.”
Most of the room began to scramble, gathering the few belongings they had, stuffing them into stolen backpacks and duffel bags. Simon and Tessa headed for the pantry, stopping only briefly to grab duffel bags. Others followed them, and soon a whole group was stuffing anything they could find into bags and pockets. When there was no more room, they loaded their bare arms with goods.
“Remember drinks and try to get more than just junk,” Dodge called as he pushed through the throng to start filling his own bag. Soon, half the shelves were empty and no one could carry any more.
Dodge led the way back through the gym. Simon was dismayed to see five kids had decided to stay with Matt and Lara. They sat nervously as Matt looked smugly at Dodge. Dodge hardly glanced Matt’s way, too focused on getting his group to the relative safety of the underground lab. Simon and Tessa stayed at the door ushering everyone out. Simon kept half an eye on Matt’s group, hoping they would change their minds.
“Are you sure you want to stay?” Simon asked as the last kid stepped through the door. Tessa was already halfway out.
“No, we’d much rather come with you to your fag party,” Matt sneered and laughed. The boys around him laughed uneasily. Simon tried to catch Lara’s eye, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“Matt, whoever stays here is going to die, even you.” Matt was a scrab, but his death would weigh heavy on Simon’s conscience, and he wasn’t sure he could handle anymore guilt.
“Simon, come on,” Tessa urged, glancing worriedly toward the gate. The zombies were almost over.
“Yeah Simon, go on,” Matt teased.
“Please,” Simon begged the group. They turned away. Tessa took his arm and pulled him out the door. As it shut behind him, Simon felt a familiar sense of failure set in. He pushed it to the side, turning to run after Tessa. He heard the door open and close, and when he glanced over his shoulder one of the boys was running after him. Just one, but it was enough to boost his spirits. Then he got a look at the gate.
More than a dozen zombies were over the wall, already lumbering toward them. The zombies outside were no longer silent. They made a wild, wordless chattering sound, like there were a million giant gnats flying around the base. The boy caught up to Simon and both boys doubled their pace to catch Tessa as she rounded a corner onto the road to the hospital. Behind them, the zombies closed the space between them.
The street in front of the hospital was chaos.
Another group of zombies were advancing on the others. Tessa skidded to a halt, almost dropping her duffel bag. Simon and the boy ran past her. “Keep going.” Simon called.
Tessa snapped out of it as Dodge emerged from the hospital, bat in hand. He cracked open the skull of the nearest zombie and grabbed Red’s arm, shoving him toward the door.
“Everyone get inside and follow Red.”
Red stumbled to the door, the other kids following on his heels. Someone screamed. Simon turned to see a small boy get swamped by three zombies. Rage filled him. He plowed through the crowd, shoving his way inside and diving for the waiting area chairs and the remaining weapons hidden there. Only one more bat remained; they’d left all the guns below. He snatched it and went back outside.
Simon slammed the bat down on a zombie reaching for one of the little girls. The sickening crack reverberated through his arms and turned his stomach. The thing fell to the ground. Someone took the girl’s hand, pulling her toward the doors. Almost everyone was inside. He spotted Tyson helping the boy who had run out after them. The kid’s leg was bleeding badly.
“Tyson, watch out,” Simon yelled as a zombie lurched toward Tyson. He spun, letting the other boy fall as the zombie latched onto his arm. Tyson screamed.
Simon ran for him, absently slamming the bat into a zombie’s face as it reached for him. He leaped over the injured boy crawling for the door and cracked the bat into the back of the zombie’s head. It let go of Tyson and turned on Simon. He took another swing and it fell.
“Get Tyson,” Dodge ordered, stooping to lift the other boy. Simon helped Tyson toward the door. They made it through the front door and Dodge slammed it shut behind them. The zombies pressed against it, fists pounding. “You okay?” Dodge breathed heavily, supporting the other boy.
“Yeah.” Simon wiped snot from under his nose, refusing to let go of Tyson or the bat to do so.
“Let’s get downstairs before they get through the door.”
They hobbled through the double doors, finding Tessa and a few other stragglers ahead. A weight lifted from Simon at the sight of Tessa.
“We’re coming, wait for us,” Simon called.
Tessa’s head snapped around at the sound of his voice and she nodded. The others went on ahead. When they reached Tessa, Simon noticed her limping. She pushed away Dodge’s arm when he offered it and continued on, teeth grit in pain.
The five of them slipped through the door behind the shelf. Simon’s heart pounded. For a moment he was sure they would see the lower door already shut, but Red stood on the lower level, holding the door open and waiting for them. Relief flooded Simon. He began to cry silently as they worked their way down the stairs. Up in the lab, Simon heard footsteps.
Fear slipped icily down Simon’s spine. The zombies were inside.
As they reached the floor, the chattering sound again reached Simon’s ears. He knew at least one zombie had managed to follow them, but he didn’t dare to look back. He saw Red’s eyes widen and knew whatever was following them was bad. Red reached out and pulled Simon roughly, dragging him and Tyson through the door. The other three hurried through and slammed the door firmly in place.
Tessa dropped to the floor, holding her ankle and crying in heaving bursts. Red helped Tyson while Simon dropped his bag, somewhat surprised to find he still had it. He leaned against the wall, slowly letting himself sink to the floor beside Tessa. Tears blurred his vision and he willed them away, embarrassed. They didn’t slow. He couldn’t stop thinking about Zeke, or Noah, or how close he had just come to death. Not his fault, not his fault, Simon had to keep reminding himself that it wasn’t his feelings for Tessa that had brought them to the edge of death. He knew everyone stood around them, but couldn’t bring himself to look up. Dodge squatted in front of him; Simon wiped at his eyes and looked away.
“Hey.” Dodge leaned down trying to see Simon’s eyes. “Are you okay?” Simon nodded silently. “It’s a real mess out there.” Dodge stood, clapping Simon on the shoulder as he did. “Glad we made it in time. Alright everyone, keep on moving into the lab. We gotta get this food put away; give them a minute to collect themselves.”