Suzanne Robb - Contaminated - A Zombie Survival Novel

Last he checked, space rocks and testing on human subjects had no connection, so why stick him in here unless they wanted to, or were using the samples he’d gathered for other purposes. He heard Smith lose it again and he went into the hallway to try to calm her down.

“Hey, you’re forgetting the doors to go down don’t open. He couldn’t go to get you, so he probably went up to get help for us.” Arthur put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

“Alright, we’re done here folks. Let’s move up to the next floor. We need to assess the situation and decide what we’re going to do,” Dixon said.

As they started to move, Arthur glanced around. “Where’s Benson? He was supposed to clear out those offices over there.” Arthur pointed down the hall on the left side.

“I saw him go down there, but not sure what happened after. I was checking bodies for--” Smith choked out.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. He’s a big boy and can take care of himself. Dixon and I will go find him.” Arthur smiled.

Dixon sighed, but followed behind the scientist.

“You cleared the ones on the right side?” Dixon asked.

“Yeah, only discovered one contaminated. You took care of the break room, bathrooms and all that, right?” Arthur countered.

“Uh huh, you know that Benson guy rubs me the wrong way. Not sure what it is, but I don’t trust him,” Dixon said as he peered around the corner into one of the offices.

Arthur looked over his shoulder and saw Benson leap up from the chair he was sitting in. The glare of a computer screen lit up his face.

“What the hell are you guys doing? I thought we were meeting out front?” Benson asked, as he moved around the front of the desk.

Dixon put a beefy hand on the smaller man’s chest. “Why don’t you tell me what you were doing?”

Arthur ran around the desk to see if he could catch a glimpse of what Benson was doing, but nothing remained but a C: prompt. He awkwardly typed in a few commands, but everything came back as “invalid search.” He felt his stomach sink and wondered what new level of impossible Benson had just initiated into them.

“I was checking to see if there was an internet connection so I could send an SOS,” Benson replied with indignation.

“Funny, considering there isn’t even basic power. I don’t believe you. From now on, you stay where I can see you.” Dixon released the man and exited the room, waiting for Benson to follow.

Arthur went last and noticed Benson made some additions to his backpack, then again, Arthur did as well, so he couldn’t say anything about it. Though he knew, Benson did it for ulterior motives, unless he worked for a government agency that performed good deeds and protected people. Arthur had to stifle a laugh at the thought as they met up with Smith.

The three went up the stairs with heavy steps; all of them knowing someone was likely going to die on the next level if what Dixon said was true. Arthur stared at the door then at Dixon. A security floor he’d called it. Dozens of armed men in full gear. Why all the firepower and personnel for this place? Arthur’s mind kept circling around the possible reasons this facility had been built. His need to survive and escape renewed with each new bit of information he gathered.

When Dixon cracked the entryway, the danger was tangible. The emergency lights weren’t lit on this floor, not even a flicker or spark.

“Well, that’s not a good sign,” Dixon said, as he shut the door and leaned against it, a thoughtful look on his face.

The contaminated inside must have seen the sliver of light from the stairwell, because they started scratching and groaning on the other side of where Dixon’s back was. The handle started to turn and both Dixon and Arthur put their full weight into bracing it.

Smith sat on the stairs and stared into space, thoughts of her husband taking over, Arthur suspected. Benson watched them, and when he made eye contact with Arthur, he shrugged. “What, there’s not enough room for me to help,” Benson said defensively.

“Dixon, how many grenades do you have?” Arthur asked.

The big man shook his head. “Not enough to knock any sense into that idiot,” Dixon said with a smile.

“Just give me a number,” Arthur said in an impatient voice.

Dixon raised an eyebrow, but answered, “About seven, give or take.”

“That’ll work, and how well do you know the plan of this floor?”

“The part we’re about to go into is a changing slash ammo storage room. On the other side of the door, there’s an open room with several monitors watched by security personnel, as well as anywhere from twenty to forty men in full gear. As soon as the lockdown was triggered, they would have taken defensive positions,” Dixon answered.

“Any of those safety protocols, or whatever you called them, on this floor?” Arthur asked.

Dixon shook his head. “Not until Level 12.”

Arthur nodded. “We can do this, just need to think about it. Who has a flashlight?”

“I do, but I can’t get it right now.” Dixon let his bag fall to the floor.

Arthur glanced at Benson and wrote him off. “Smith, open the bag and pull out the flashlight and five grenades.”

Smith did nothing at first, but after a few seconds of patient prodding from Arthur she was more herself and opened the backpack. She set the items on the floor beside the two men.

“Smith, I need you to take over for me while I do something,” Arthur said as he readied himself to swap places with her.

Smith nodded with a serene smile, which scared Arthur more than her staring off into space. He grabbed the flashlight and Dixon’s Sig, using strips of gauze from a first aid kit in his bag to attach it to the end of the weapon.

“We go in this room and hope there are minimal bad guys. Dixon you’re going to have to do most of the work since there’s only one of these.” He indicated the flashlight in his hand. “And you have the best aim, so…”

“No way, we’ll be sitting ducks,” Benson said in a high-pitched voice.

“Relax, tough guy. I don’t think he’s expecting you to come in, right?” Dixon looked at Arthur with a knowing expression.

“Just clear the first room and we can deal with the second one, trust me. We’ll use the grenades as distractions. They follow sound, so all we do is toss them in multiple directions. As soon as they go off… we make a run for the door,” Arthur explained.

Dixon sighed as he strapped on his Sig. He flipped on the switch for his makeshift light and opened the door. Arthur watched him go, wondering if he would see the man again.

The sounds of Dr. Covington and Smith blocking the door were easy to identify. The things they heard scratching at the door earlier seemed to have gotten bored and moved elsewhere, but Dixon heard footsteps shuffling towards him.

He took calming breaths in an effort not to freak out, but when he turned the light on, one of the morbid faces of the things they were fighting snapped at him. The thing scared him so bad that Dixon almost pissed his pants. A noise to his left caused him to fire while turning, the thought of survivors long gone as his basic survival instinct now ruled him. The short burst blew open the neck of a guard and the head flipped to the side held on by a few strands of muscle and flesh. The body hit the ground and Dixon put a round in its head for his own peace of mind.

A moan and he fired as he spun once more. This time, he hit one of them in the chest, knocking it back a few feet. He fired again, turning its head into mist. A quick sweep revealed two more, their milk colored eyes focused elsewhere, even though they made a beeline for him. He fired into the head of the closest one ignoring the gore that splattered him and covered the thick clear plastic of his mask.