Part 11 (1/2)
Up on the fourth floor, Jonathan stepped through the open door from the stairwell and was astonished to see the amount of blood as he moved the light around. It was dried to everything in sight. The air was stagnant and thick, making it hard to breath. It was like breathing in swamp water. Across from the stairwell they had come out of there was a security station. Behind that was an open security door that led to the emergency stairway to the fifth floor.
”Make this fast. I do not like this at all.” Jonathan moved out into the hall.
”Yeah, I hear you there. We should search this guard station for anything useful.”
Jonathan opened each drawer at the desk while Guillermo watched his back. He tried to open a metal cabinet in the corner quietly, but the bottom corner stuck. The loud clunk echoed down the hall as the door came free. Jonathan grabbed ahold of it to stop it from vibrating.
As the sound faded away, the two men could hear a new sound. This sound didn't come from either of them, and it caused them both to hold their breath and listen as close as they could. The shuffle of feet was undeniable. Soft moans followed, but nothing was seen. When the noises died down, Jonathan checked the cabinet, once again he found nothing.
They decided to check the fourth floor first, hoping to remove the source of the earlier sounds. Moving through the b.l.o.o.d.y hallway, they entered the first lab. Guillermo stood guard at the entrance of the lab where he watched the hall. Jonathan quickly picked up some research note books and stuffed them into his pack. He knew it wasn't what he was looking for, but there may be something to learn, and he hated to pa.s.s up an opportunity to learn.
After double checking the lab, the two moved back into the hall and down to the next room. Two fiends turned as they heard the duo enter. The lab was dimly lit, but the fiend's didn't seem at all hindered by the lack of light.
Neither of the fiends were employees here judging by their cloths and backpacks. A group of scavengers must have made the mistake of entering this forsaken building. One looked younger than the other. He wore a San Francisco 49ers Jersey, and from the looks of it, the blood all down the front was fresh. The other man was wearing a blue b.u.t.ton up s.h.i.+rt with tan khakis, also covered in fresh blood.
They both moved toward Jonathan and Guillermo. Guillermo grabbed ahold of Jonathan and stepped protectively in front of him. He advanced toward the fiends with a flashlight in one hand and his lawnmower blade in the other. Moving slowly, the fiends would prove easy enough for Guillermo to take on his own.
Guillermo swung his blade hard into the younger fiend's neck, the boy's head rolling on the floor before his body fell. The next fiend continued forward with his arms outstretched to grab ahold of Guillermo. With his powerful arms, Guillermo swung upwards, splitting the fiend's face in half from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead.
The undead man moved forward without any notice, so Guillermo swung one last time. This time Kadavre entered the side of the fiend's head, stopping halfway through. Pressure from the impact caused the right eye to bulge out. All the way to the floor, the fiend continued his attempt to reach the two men. At the moment the dead man hit the floor his body went limp.
”Looks like it's all clear.” Guillermo turned to Jonathan, who's amazement at how Guillermo handles the lawnmower blade was evident on his face.
”Thanks. You are like a lawn mowing ninja. These poor guys were definitely here to find whatever they could to survive; this backpack is full of stuff. Look at this! These Doritos expired 9 months ago. Bottled water, are you thirsty?” He handed one of the bottles to Guillermo although they each brought water with them. ”The other one is empty, however. I am ready to get out of here,” Jonathan said as he stood up with his new pack of supplies. ”What is it?” He asked, noticing the look on Guillermo's face.
”Step slowly to me and don't turn around. Quietly.”
A knot formed in Jonathan's throat, and his muscles tightened. He managed to move forward, more with a slide than a step. Once he was beside Guillermo he turned to see the naked boy standing in the hallway just outside the door. The boy's gray eyes were beaming into Jonathan's. His skin was pale where it wasn't stained brown with the dried blood of what were surely his victims.
”Oh G.o.d,” Jonathan said. ”I know who that is. Uh- Sam. Sam is his name.”
”Did you know him? I hate to see the little ones like this. It is hard, but I'll take care of him,” Guillermo said stepping forward, blade in hand.
”I did not know him. He was the first one to come back, according to my father's notes. My father and another scientist brought him back to life, but they did not expect what happened next.”
”Oh. Well I need to do this. I would recommend you look away if you want to.”
Guillermo stepped slowly toward the young boy. His hair was very thin, just a few strands remained on his head. Skin hung down off of his sunken face just above his left eye where it looked as if he had been hit with something hard. His dirty, stained skull could be seen, and it was cracked slightly. Guillermo figured from the looks of it, the boy had been beaten by one of his last victims.
Before Guillermo stepped through the door, the boy took off running down the hall. Neither of them had seen one of the fiends run so fast. The boy's bare feet echoed as they slapped against the floor.
Guillermo just stood there, s.h.i.+nning his light up and down the hall. ”Where did he go?” He looked back at Jonathan with a bewildered look on his face.
Jonathan tried to speak, but no words could be found. Instead, he just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. From what he understood of these people, they were dead. His research on the girl in the yellow tank top told him that they didn't have the muscle required to move quickly.
”I guess we get back to work,” Guillermo said, as he turned back into the room. ”I wonder why he ran and didn't attack us.”
”That was definitely strange. He moved so fast, too. We will have to watch out for him. I do not think any of them have the ability to think rationally or even plan anything out. He displayed an impressive amount of control.”
The two stood in place for a few more moments, not sure if they felt comfortable letting their guard down knowing that one of them could move that fast. Finally, Guillermo went back to his watch by the door while Jonathan picked through the various cabinets and shelves of the laboratory. Nothing they could use was found, so they readied themselves and set out to the next lab.
Chapter 18.
Moving to the third floor, Roger and Deacon had found a bag of b.u.t.terscotch candy, a gym bag with clean clothes, a towel, running shoes that fit Roger perfectly, and a set of keys labeled ”Maintenance”. The third floor was far messier than the second, yet the sun managed to s.h.i.+ne in a little brighter. Several scattered body parts lay about the hallway.
Sam stood at the end of the hall and watched the two as they moved along. Roger noticed him first as his light fell on the boy, and he signaled for Deacon to stop. The boy shrieked loudly, but he did not move. Deacon stepped into the nearest room and pulled Roger along with him. Checking quickly to make sure the lab was empty, they both turned to face the door and prepared their weapons to counter-attack.
After a minute of waiting, Deacon peeked out into the hall. ”It's empty,” he said as he turned back to Roger. ”That boy was freaky as h.e.l.l.”
”I agree. I've never heard one scream like that. I'm amazed he didn't attack us.” Roger's voice was bit shaky, revealing that there was a human in there, after all.
After taking a few more moments to collect themselves, they began to search the lab. Finding nothing, they moved along. After searching three other labs, nothing was found that they could use. The last room, however, was a supply closet. The door had been busted, and many of the contents were missing.
”Jackpot!” Deacon said, smiling at Roger.
Roger simply nodded in agreement, and then a look of confusion washed over him as he looked inside. The supply closet had been cleaned out except for some paper towels, light bulbs, a mop and bucket, and two tin containers labeled ”Methyl Ethyl Ketone a Highly Flammable.” Deacon grabbed the containers.
”I wonder what they used this for.” Deacon looked at Roger hoping for an answer.
”I'm not even sure what it is,” Roger replied.
”I can't imagine they use something this strong for the floors,” Deacon said.
”How do you even know what that is?”
”We responded to a chemical fire a few years back in Los Angeles. A combination of heat and poor ventilation caused a can or two of this to combust. It was a pretty big fire but thanks to this stuff it burned hot and fast. It was over in the matter of a few hours when normally we would have fought that all afternoon.”
They turned back down the hall toward the stairs. Neither of the men had let the boy slip to the back of their minds. Their flashlights beamed into every door as they pa.s.sed by on the way down the hall. Roger watched their backs as they moved.
”Do you mind if I ask you somethin'?” Deacon asked. ”And I mean no harm by it.”
”Might as well,” Roger said. A hint of impatience could be heard in his voice.
”What's your story? I mean, you seem like a really good guy. You're here with us, risking your life an' all. We all appreciate that by the way, but you seem so down all the time. I know the world is s.h.i.+t right now, but you can still be happy and make the most of what we got. You have a family in us, mate. Ease up a bit and smile.”
”If you knew what I've done you wouldn't even be here with me. The only way we can stay civil and work together right now is for you to not know more than you already do.”
”Alright, perhaps later than. You can still smile every now and again, though. Instead of always looking like you want to kill everyone.” Deacon smiled when he said this. ”Let's go through here.”
The remainder of the fourth floor was proving to be a waste of time for Jonathan and Guillermo. ”I think it is time to head up to the fifth floor. Nothing else here is useful. What a disappointment. I hope it does not turn out I risked your lives for nothing,” Jonathan said, s.h.i.+ning his light around the room one last time.
”Si, I hope the others are doing alright. I'm sure there will be something to make this trip worth it. Don't feel bad.”
”I am surprised that most of the stuff is gone. I mean, realistically I cannot imagine a whole lot of people would want to come into this place and scavenge for anything. I hope the research notes are intact up on the fifth.”
”Do you really think he wrote all that down? I mean, you said what he was doing wasn't sanctioned by the facility. Why would he keep records of that? I'm not scared or anything. I just don't want to waste time,” Guillermo said. Jonathan could hear the slight tremor in his voice as he spoke, and he was also scared.