Impact (2 page)

“I can’t believe you guys are doing this,” Asia said. “Max is gonna be furious!”

I sighed. “We really didn’t have any other choice. But how did you know we came in?”

“One of the guys who told me you were in here ran off to go find Max.”

“Good. We can use his help.”

“Let’s keep moving, people,” Nick said.

“This way, guys,” Jackie said.

Shining our flashlights ahead, we started walking.

Claire glanced over her shoulder at Asia. “Why aren’t you with Max?”

“I drove here as fast as I could to tell you that some survivors of Z’s gang are ticked off, bent on revenge,” Asia announced grimly. “Max’s guys took care of most of them, but some escaped. I thought I should warn you that we might have company.”

“Great! We’re already dealing with a crumbling building and zombies,” Buddy said. “Now add pissed-off comrades to the mix.”

Asia looked at him. “Calm down, Buddy.”

Buddy was always complaining, and I hated getting stuck with him.

“You sure revenge is all they’re after?” I asked, staring at Asia hard.

“What else would they want?”

“Charlie’s notes.”

She blinked. “I don’t think they’re that smart. Heck, I doubt they can even read. I’m sure in their Neanderthal minds, they can only comprehend payback, since we offed so many of their friends.”

We turned the bend, and Nick flashed his light beam into the darkness. “We can’t assume anything. Let’s just get what we came for and get the heck outta Dodge.”

We all feared what would happen if the notes fell into the wrong hands. They could be misused, lost, or accidentally destroyed. We were on a quest to save all of humanity, and Nick wasn’t willing to take any chances. We had to make sure the research was put in the hands of the right people, scientists who could help get the cure underway so we could get our world back.

The building started to creak and moan as we continued to walk into the darkness. I didn’t like that one bit. The foundation was barely holding on, and the place was unstable, which meant we could be crushed at any given moment. More creaking, cracking, and popping sounds told me a collapse was imminent. It was going to happen whether we wanted it to or not.

“The building’s talking to us,” Val said. “It’s warning us to leave while we still can.”

I stared straight ahead as dust swirled in the path of my flashlight beam. Her words chilled me to the very bone. I knew we should turn around and leave. That would have been the smart thing to do, but we only had one shot at getting those notes on how to create the formula that had cured Jackie. As risky as it was, we were there for all humanity, and the cause was more important than our own fear.

Kate frantically looked around. “We have to turn back. It’s getting way too dangerous. If this place caves in—”

“We’ll be long gone by then,” Nick said, shaking his head and cutting her off. “We just have to move faster,” he coaxed, more determined than ever to get what we came for.

“Well, I don’t know about you people, but I’m not about to die for some scientist’s stupid scribbling!” one of the men retorted. “There are other scientists in the world, and they can figure it out without me getting my head smashed in.”

“You know where the exit is,” Nick said flatly. “Do whatever you want.” My brother had one mission on his mind, and he wasn’t going to bend for anyone.

“I’m not trying to wuss out. You know that’s not me,” Kate said, “but we have to think of our own safety. It won’t do anyone any good if this hospital becomes our tomb.”

“Just concentrate on what’s important,” Nick said, stepping over concrete and metal.

“I’d put living at the top of that list. How do you think I’ve survived so long?”

“Think of all the people we can help,” I chimed in. “The stuff worked for Jackie. It’s a miracle, a potential cure, Kate, something that may stop the virus in its tracks. Yeah, we’re risking our lives here, but think of how many lives will be changed and saved if we do this.”

The creaking and moaning didn’t subside, and Kate pointed the flashlight upward. “Yeah,
if
we live to deliver the cure to anybody,” she muttered under her breath so Nick didn’t hear and send her back to safety.

“Nick, if it gets any worse, we stop,” Claire said. “We’ll just hand over what we’ve got, and they can send a team back here in a helicopter, with an excavation team.”

“Can’t put a bulldozer in a helicopter, darlin’. Besides, we can’t let any of the research get buried in here. They need it all so they can start working on the cure ASAP.” 

“Dead end!” Lucas announced, much to our dismay. “The entrance collapsed.”

“So find another way,” Nick said, unnervingly calmly.

Horizontal steel beams, metal, and rocks jutted across our path, and a thick dust of shattered concrete floated in the air. I was just as scared as Kate and the others, and I didn’t want to be crushed to death. A loud creaking filled the air, and a twenty-foot crack burst open right in front of us, gushing out debris, rock, and dry wall. Windows cracked, doors broke, and the building groaned. A chill ran down my spine.

Nick swung his flashlight in the opposite direction, pondered for a minute, then tapped Val. “Look, I might be a bit of a...kamikaze, but we don’t need a buncha martyrs for this mission. Get these people outta here,” he said. “Dean, Lucas, and I got this.”

“What are you? The Knights of the Round Table? No freaking way I’m leaving you,” she said. “And are you forgetting you need Jackie to get you there?”

“I gave him directions earlier, just in case something went wrong,” Jackie said.

Nick stepped toward Val. “I got this, so don’t give me any lip. Just get everyone out of this warzone.”

Val glared at him. “Keep ordering me around like that, little brother, and I’ll throw your scrawny butt over my shoulder and drag you out, you arrogant jerk! If you’re going, so am I, but you’ve got no right to force Dean to go with you. You and Lucas have spent the last couple years going on life-risking missions like a couple Rambos, but Dean’s not used to it.”

“He’s a soldier,” Lucas said. “He’s proved that more than once.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah, our baby bro is all grown up. He’s a man now.”

She threw her hands in the air. “He’s a teenager! Quit treating him like some sort of Marine!”

“Age doesn’t matter in this new world,” he said. “It’s all about survival instinct, and Dean has proven time and time again that he’s got plenty of that. I’m proud to call him my brother, and I’m even prouder to fight alongside him.”

In that very moment, I realized just how much my brother respected me. For the first time, I felt like an adult. He actually chose me, his kid brother, over our hotheaded, well-trained big sister. The building was about to cave in, and he wanted me there with him, like a real, trusted comrade. I’d never felt more proud, and for the first time, I realized I wasn’t just some dumb, naïve kid in his eyes. I had finally proven myself to him, and that meant more than anything in the world. I had Nick’s respect, and that wasn’t easy to come by.

“And what does being a man got to do with anything?” Val asked. “I can fight just as well as you two.”

“Of course you can,” Nick said. “Now that you mention it, maybe you’re right. I’d feel better knowing I have you to cover my back anyway.”

“Good. It’s settled. Nobody’s leaving.” The building groaned, and Val sucked in a deep breath. “Let’s not think about the risks here. Focus on the end result.”

“Great attitude,” Lucas said.

“This building’s falling apart more with every single step we take, crumbling under our feet,” Buddy whined. “We all need to get outta here. Max told us to cover you, not to die for you!”

“Do you know what those notes can do for humanity?” Lucas snapped. “There’s a cure out there, man. Jackie is living proof!”

“Look, pal, we all want a cure just as bad as you do. We wouldn’t have come in here at all if we didn’t,” Buddy retorted. “We all wanna see mankind beat this thing, but going on a suicide mission ain’t gonna save nobody. We keep trolling through this rubble, they’ll just have to dig under more bodies to get to the research.”

Nick waved a dismissive hand, then turned and walked in another direction. “I know another way. We passed a corridor a little way back. Anybody who’s coming, get a move-on. The rest of you know the way out.”

Some of the men quickly said their goodbyes and scurried away, but a few stuck with us, including Buddy, who complained more than anyone. I was thankful that they didn’t all desert us, but I secretly wished he’d been one of the ones to run away, because he was getting on everyone’s nerves.

My feet crunched over the debris as we briskly walked, with Jackie in the lead. When we got to the spot, we realized the entrance was blocked by a layer of concrete that had slid down from the floor above.

Jackie glanced around and pointed to another hall just north of us. “Let’s go that way,” she suggested.

Tall beams crisscrossed high above us, with more to the left and right, like the very gates of Hell. It really didn’t faze me much, considering that we’d all been living a hellish existence already, and we were more than ready to fight any demons that came our way. We turned the bend and walked down another long corridor, only to be confronted by yet another dead end, a blockage of metal and debris.

“What now?” Claire asked.

Nick pointed to a breach in the wall. He slipped through the jagged edges and disappeared into the darkness. I followed him and realized we were in the hospital gift shop. Everything was covered in debris, dirt, and pebbles, and there was a horrible teddy bear on the floor, with one of its eyes missing, holding a big heart that said “Get Well.”

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed in the air. I quickly aimed my flashlight in the direction of the noise and saw the double-doors moving back and forth.

Bang-bang-bang-bang!

I walked over the debris and maneuvered through the store. A pile of concrete on the ground kept the doors from opening all the way, but something desperately wanted in. Suddenly, a long, vertical line of fingers burst through the crack. I gasped as that sickeningly familiar moaning reverberated through the air. Black, dead fingers waved through the gap, from the top of the door to the bottom.

“Oh my gosh!” Claire said. “How can they wiggle their fingers through that high? None of them are that tall.”

“They must be stacked up,” I said. “I don’t even wanna know how many there are.”

“The floor collapsed,” Lucas said. “They fell in! Anybody up for a little zombie Jenga?”

“The men must’ve missed one of the upstairs rooms when they were taking out the stragglers,” Val said. “Charlie was trying to build a whole army, so there were a lot of them.”

Asia looked at us, her eyes wide. “Let’s find a different way!”

“The only way to Charlie’s safe is through those doors,” Jackie said. “The other way is completely blocked off.”

The door began to inch open, slowly and methodically, like a slow-motion scene out of some awful horror movie; only this time, I was actually there instead of sitting in a red velvet seat, safely behind a giant bucket of extra-buttery popcorn. Dread washed over me, but without a second thought, I grabbed Buddy’s axe and pried it through the metal handles so they couldn’t get through.

The zombies pounced and heaved their rotting corpses against the door. The door shook violently, the banging and pounding growing worse with every passing second. One of the undead nuisances peeked in through the gap in the door and met my gaze with that familiar cold stare, those unforgettable, nightmarish, evil, milky-white eyes. They only lived to rip the flesh off the living, and I lived to rip their brains out. Even wide awake, our nightmares were all too real.

“Look!” Val shouted.

I gasped as the doors begin to rip off their hinges. I knew if we didn’t run, we’d be fighting a barrage of rotting, starving demons.

Wood splintered, and the moans grew louder.

“Move out!” Nick barked.

“Run!” I shouted.

Crack!

I glanced over my shoulder as I frantically climbed through the debris. My heart thundered when the doors burst open and zombies scrambled in like football players ripping through a homecoming banner. The only trouble was, they had too many men on the field.

Z
ombies poured in, locking their hungry gaze on my flesh. My heart raced, and adrenaline surged through me.

“Up here!” Nick shouted.

Lucas was the next to yell for us. When I glanced over, I saw him standing atop a huge pile of rocks, climbing through another crack in the wall high above our heads. I ducked beneath another toppled beam and headed over to meet them. As I did, my foot sank into the debris, and I found myself lodged between two rocks. Droplets of sweat rolled down my face as I watched zombies stumble in my direction.
How can everything go from bad to worse in a matter of seconds?

“Get outta there, Dean!” Nick yelled.

Black nails reached for me. I took aim and pulled the trigger, shattering the zombie’s head. In an instant, another reached for me, and I squeezed the trigger again, then pulled my foot as hard as I could, to no avail. Val stepped in front of me and fired a round into the undead army, till her gun clicked empty. Asia let out a few well-placed shots, nailing anything that got too close to me or my sister. Nick aimed carefully and blasted another deadhead when it took a clumsy step toward me. Val slammed in a new magazine and took aim for the fiend that was only a few feet away. When she pulled the trigger, the thing’s head flew back, and the body fell over. Lucas put a few zombies down with multiple headshots that landed precisely on target. I’d never been so happy that my friends and siblings were such good marksmen.

My foot loosened, and I scrambled up just as a zombie grabbed my arm. I spun around and kicked it, sending it crashing into another decaying monster and a table full of coffee cups on display. Heaving a sigh of relief that its putrid black nails hadn’t penetrated my coat, I reloaded.

“My foot’s free!” I yelled to my sister.