The Infected (Book 6): Last Shot (6 page)

Chapter Twelve

Opening the door, I found the hallway clear and that no one was nearby. I smiled to myself don’t get me wrong I didn’t like upsetting Amy, but lately her mood swings had gotten out of hand and each time they were pointed toward me. Stepping into the hallway I closed and locked my door. The last thing I needed was to return and find her inside my room. I managed to get to the lifts without any interference from anyone and took the first one to level two. I walked into the armoury and Chris was sat at the table fastening blocks of C4 to digital timing units.

“Hey, Chris!” I said sitting down at the table.

He looked up with red eyes “Hey Marc!” he said before going back to the explosives.

“You look like shit mate!”

He sat back and ran his good hand through his hair “Fucking feel it mate. Tessa and Amy were trying to make my life hell this morning. I escaped up here and luckily they haven’t come to find me.”

“I doubt they would mate. Amy was all but saying I am the devil incarnate. They think I have brainwashed you and Mike into coming with me when I leave to take down the oil rig.”

He turned to look at me “When did she say this?”

I shrugged “She came and stood outside my room screaming at me this morning.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, to be honest, mate I don’t know what has got Amy’s undies in a bunch but whatever it is, she likes to take it out on me.”

Now it was his turn to shrug which caused him to grimace.

“I gather you’re doing the explosives?”

He nodded “Nothing special really, just some C4 and timers attached to some magnets that Philip found in a storage room somewhere. Easy to set you just set the amount of time using the up/down buttons and then hit the green button to set it. Hit the green button and the countdown starts.”

“How much do you think I’ll need?”

“Shouldn’t need more than two blocks per leg.”

“So eight of them then?”

“Sounds about right but to be on the safe side I’ll give you extra.”

“Great!” I said smiling.

We sat together as he slowly finished setting up the explosives. I would have given him a hand, but I really didn’t want to blow up the Bunker. We talked as he worked and as usual the talking turned to everything that had brought us to this point. It was good to talk like that. The door opened and Tom stepped inside looking at a clipboard.

“Hey, Tom!” Chris and I said at nearly the same time.

He looked up from the clipboard and his eyes went wide when he saw what was on the table in front of us.

“Erm…hi guys?”

Chris actually laughed “Don’t worry mate these are for the oil rig.” he said waving his good hand over the explosives on the table.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Tom asked looking rather nervous.

Chris just gave Tom a rotten look and carried on with the last two explosives.

“I don’t,” I said and jerked a thumb toward Chris. “But he does!”

Chris laughed and I stood up and walked toward the door and turned before stepping out into the hallway “I’ll catch you late Chris and Tom try not to disturb him too much.”

I stepped into the hallway to the echoes of Chris’ laughter. Next stop for me was to find Mike. I had a rough idea of where in the bunker he would be, but it might mean that I run into either Amy or Tessa and I really didn’t fancy that. The first level hallway outside the lifts was full of the kids from the makeshift school. I walked through them and headed toward the office that Mike and David had been using to plan the works to the outside of the Bunker. I heard a few whispers from the direction of the kids once I had gotten through them and walked away. I couldn’t hear what was said so I just kept on going. I walked through the doors to the Operations Centre and headed for the side the offices were on.

I heard a door open and the Doc’s voice “You come back for another check up in a month Amy. Hopefully, you will be feeling better by then. Just remember you need to rest and not push yourself too much.”

I ducked around the side of a column and watched as Amy walked past and out through the door and into the hallway. So that answered why she was being such a twisty bitch lately, she wasn’t well. Now I felt like a huge tit for being such a shite toward her. When I felt it was safe I headed for the office. I knocked on the door and then slowly opened it. David was looking at the door and I walked inside.

“Marc!”

“David you haven’t seen Mike by any chance?”

“Yeah! He and a few of the guards went out scavenging for something he said would help when you both went to the lifeboat.”

I stood trying to figure out what he was going outside of the fence line for. “Any idea what he was heading out for?”

“Sorry mate I haven’t got a clue. He did say that you would like it!” he said shrugging his shoulders.

“Ok! How’s the planning going?”

“Not bad we have plans down for at least three outside buildings. The planted area is coming on and the people tending it says that the shoots are already showing on some of the vegetables. The guards have only had to put down a few infected since the horde that was let loose against the fence. So all in all I would say things are going ok for us at the minute.”

This was great news it would mean that if I got killed or couldn’t make it back at least the Bunker would be set.

“Mate that’s great news. Right, I’m going to head off and have a rest. If anything comes up and you need me I’ll be down in my room.” I said turning and heading for the door.

“Sure no problem…” There was a pause “erm…Marc could I ask you something.”

I turned with my hand on the door handle “Yeah! What’s up?”

“Are you sure you don’t want the rest of us to come with you?”

I sighed “Look we all know this mission is possibly a one-way trip and if by the grace of god I do make it back here. I really don’t fancy the idea of telling some one’s partner that they died.”

He nodded his head “Fair enough I thought I would ask one more time. When are you thinking of going?”

“As soon as this eye and arm gets better and once I have hashed out the plan with Mike.”

With that said he looked back down at the paper plans and I left the room and headed to the fourth floor and my bed. Walking the hallways was quite strange for me because everyone was bustling about and very few people stopped to say hello.

I lay there on my bed and looked at the ceiling. I stared at the small cracks in the concrete and the different patches of colour. Drifting off I slept for a few hours.

Getting up I decided to go have some food in the dining room. I walked in and saw that most of our little tribe were getting food and winding down from a hard day outside of the Bunker. Grabbing a tray, I piled some stew of some sort into a bowl and turned to look for a seat. I saw Rosa sitting with Tom and headed over.

“Hey, guys mind if I sit with you?” I asked looking down at them.

Tom looked up and nodded at the empty seat opposite them, but Rosa never even raised her eyes in my direction. Sitting down I placed the tray on the table and started to eat.

“That’s a lot of explosives Chris is setting up,” Tom said.

I looked up from my food “I think I’m more than likely going to need it all to blow the legs of the oil rig.” I answered placing my spoon down. “Speaking of the oil rig, I was going to come and have a word with you about it Rosa.”

She looked up and her face looked scared for a second, Tom placed a hand on hers and her face returned to normal. It was fleeting, but I saw it and it worried me.

“Sure!” She stammered.

I smiled “Look don’t worry I just needed some information on what it looked like.”

She relaxed slightly, I pressed on “Can you remember how many legs it had?”

Her face screwed up and I assumed that she was trying to remember what the oil rig looked like.

“I think it might have had five, but it might have only been four. I can’t be sure because when we went there it was by helicopter and I wasn’t paying too much attention.”

Again I smiled trying to calm her down “Not a problem Rosa. We’ll just go with enough gear for five legs. Here’s a stupid question but was there any guns or anything around the outside edge of the oil rig?”

She shook her head “There wasn’t anything like that there when I visited it, but saying that it was before all of this happened.”

It would make sense that they had placed guns and other security measures since the virus got free. We sat quietly and ate our food. I could see that I made Rosa nervous. We chatted about what was happening here in the Bunker and she seemed to calm down. Tom was the same as usual and never seemed to be bothered by me being there. I finished my food and said thank you to Rosa for her information. I put the empty bowl on the counter and left the dining room. I got to the lifts and decided to go outside. I walked out of the hatch after a few minutes and stood breathing in the cool air. The sun was slowly setting and people were heading my way. I stepped off to the side and watched the sun slip behind the hills in the distance.

Chapter Thirteen

The stars started blinking into existence as the sky darkened. With no artificial light around the stars seemed to glow even brighter. The last of the workers slipped inside and the guards started to walk the perimeter when a set of headlights appeared on the road leading to the gates. The guards started to run to the gates and I followed them. I stood watching the lights slowly come down the road. Blinking against the harsh light I heard the crunch of the wheels coming to a stop.

A familiar voice called out from the darkness “You going to open that fucking gate or what?”

“That you Mike?” I called out.

“Yeah, open the gates we’re starving.”

The guards opened the gates and I stood off to one side as I watched a small Campervan pass by. ‘What the fuck!’ I thought as it passed by. I followed behind as the guards closed the gates behind me. The Campervan pulled to a stop outside where the vehicles were fenced off. The side door opened and Mike climbed out with two other people. I’d seen them around the Bunker but had never spoken to them.

“Hey Marc, this is Tony and Angela they helped me get this.” He said slapping the side of the van.

I shook hands with them and they headed inside. Mike closed and locked the side door on the Campervan and I followed him towards the hatchway.

“What do we need the Campervan for mate?” I asked.

I could just make out his smile in the darkness “Well when we head to the life boat I thought it might be safer to sleep inside than having to clear out somewhere to sleep and it’s more comfortable than the A.P.C.”

To tell you the truth I couldn’t fault the logic behind it. “Nice idea mate!”

We waited with Angela and Tony as the lift slowly made its way up from below.

“Yeah, it came to me as David and I talked about which vehicle to take. David said the A.P.C made sense, but I hate that fucking thing it’s so uncomfortable. Then I remembered seeing one of those things driving around Thornton before the virus hit. Everyone knew of the dealership out near Catterick. So I asked for people to go and get one and these two stuck their hands up.” He said pointing to Angela and Tony.

We stepped into the lift and they headed for the dining room and I decided to continue down to the fourth floor after thanking Angela and Tony for their help. The hallway was empty as I walked toward my room. As I passed Chris and Tessa’s room the door opened and Tessa stuck her head out.

“Hi, Tessa,” I said stopping outside their door.

“Marc.”

“Look, Tessa, if I have hurt you in any way please tell me so I can try and fix it.”

She stared at me “You are taking my child’s grandfather on a suicide run and the father is trying his hardest to convince me it’s the right thing for him to go as well.”

I shook my head gently “I’m not taking Mike anywhere near that oil rig and I have all but told Chris that I don’t want or need his help.”

“But we know that he is one of the best shooters here.” She said with a sad look on her face.

I really didn’t know what to say considering what she said was true. I could at least hopefully ease her concerns about her father. “Look, Mike, is just coming with me to the lifeboat to show me how to use the controls. He is then coming back here whilst I go to the oil rig.”

Her eye widened “Really?”

“Yeah really! Tessa the last thing I want is for people to die for something that I feel that I have caused. I was never that person before the virus and I am still not that person. Anyway, I have to go and rest I need to get better for it.” I said turning to leave.

She caught my arm and said something that knocked me for six “I’m not the only one that’s pregnant. Amy has missed her last two periods and the Doc confirmed it just before she came out to look for you. I just thought you should know.”

I stood there in the hallway as everything fell into place. I now knew why Amy had been acting so off. I thanked Tessa and walked off to my room in a daze. Closing the door behind me I walked to the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed and just stared off at the wall for what seemed a long time. Amy pregnant, how the fuck did that happen? Well, I knew how, but when? These questions and more floated through my now damaged brain. I couldn’t get it through my head that I was now a going to be a father. ‘Well as long as it was mine.’

What was I thinking it had to be mine if she had missed two periods that would have placed conception back when we were sleeping together? All I could do was sit and think of all the fights and such we had. Amy must have been thinking about protecting her child’s father instead of just being selfish. I could understand her point of view, but it made the task I had even more important the last thing I wanted was for my child to be born into a world that was controlled by Benton’s. Because I knew that if he/she survived then they would be either enslaved by the company or used to experiment on.

God I was getting myself down just thinking of all the problems and trials that came with them. I lay down and closed my eyes and let my mind off. I dreamt of Amy walking hand in hand with a small girl. The little girl looked the spitting image of her mother only with my eyes. She had her hair pulled back in a small ponytail and had a yellow summer dress on.

The day was all blue skies and fluffy white clouds. They looked happy to be outside in the sun. I watched them walk toward me and then they walked through me as though I was a ghost. I saw a shadow leave the trees in the distance and stagger toward them. I screamed for them to run, but they just continued to walk toward the staggering figure. As I got closer I saw it was an infected version of me. I could see the hunger on its face. Amy never slowed and the child just looked up at her mother with love and trust in her eyes.

My infected corpse staggered across the grass toward them never slowing, only stumbling on the odd stone or root. It was only feet away when Amy looked up at the infected and smiled. Instead of screaming and running away she let go of the little girls hand and opened her arms to welcome my infected body into her arms. My infected double tore into her neck and other bare places on her body. The blood flowed all over and covered the little girl that was still standing beside her mother as the infected ate her alive. Not once did Amy cry out or scream for the little girl to run. But my ghostly form was crying out and screaming myself hoarse trying to get her to run away. Only when Amy’s last breath escaped her body did the infected take notice of the small child. It reached out and she smiled up at the infected. That smile remained on her face as the infected leaned forward to bite at her tender flesh.

I woke covered in sweat and with tears streaming down my cheeks. I never saw the infected version of myself bite the little girl and I am grateful to whatever is out there for not letting me see that. I lay on my back afraid to close my good eye. I shook with a shiver that started from my soul and made my body crave to be up and away from my bed and this room. I felt as though the room had closed in on me to the extent that I was finding it hard to breath. I nearly fell off the bed and staggered to the bathroom.

I splashed cold water from the sink onto my face and looked at my face in the mirror. To be honest I’ve looked better and the bruising and closed eye didn’t make me feel any better if anything it made me think of the dream and the infected version of me. A hard knock on the door startled me and I walked to the door whilst drying my face with a small towel.