The Reaper Virus (11 page)

Lance came into dispatch and asked me to meet
him out in the hall. Only Brad seemed to take notice of the
request. The girls were staring at the camera monitor with
unflinching focus.

* * *

1205 hours:

The entrance to side B was a double glass
door. It led to a central hallway that passed the walkway to
dispatch, up to the commanders’ offices, then opened up to the
kitchen and past the large read-off room before finally reaching
the bathrooms and back door. Think of it like a dividing artery for
our entire building. I met Lance in front of the doors.

Normally the hustle of Grace Street was
visible on the other side of the tinted bulletproof doors. Now all
you could see was a mob of infected. Fists pounded on the doors
non-stop, leaving sickening smears where hands had been beaten raw.
Our presence near the door stirred the hornets’ nest.

The sound was deafening. Banging, gurgling,
moaning, and shrieking. I couldn’t hear whatever Lance was saying.
Realizing this, he took his baton out. Seeing him flick it open
sent a chill down my spine. I repressed the memories as I watched
my friend use the weapon as a pointer. He directed my attention to
various places on the doors. I was getting tired of that heart
sinking feeling…

Constant stress from the ever-growing group
was taking a toll on the sturdy doors. The glass nearly bulged and
the doorframe rocked on its hinges. For the moment, the magnetic
seal was holding. At least the deadbolt should keep them out just a
little longer. Sure, it wouldn’t hold forever, but it would buy us
some time.

We left the front and walked to the back near
the bathrooms. It was still noisy, but you could hear a person
talking in front of you.

“Lance those doors
are
going to come down. And when they do...” I said
just loud enough for him to hear.

“I know, Nathan. I know. Listen, I have to
tell you about something that happened.” His tone of voice and
expression reminded me of when we met at the Third Street Diner.
“One of the other security kids helped us clean up the mess in the
kitchen. The corporal opened the door to C and we secured the wing.
Aside from some things the captain knocked over, everything was
fine. We put the bodies in one of the smaller offices and shut the
door. That side is still separated so hopefully the smell won’t get
to us for a while. The security kid didn’t say a word when we were
cleaning up the mess. I thought he was walking to the bathroom to
wash his hands off. Then I heard the back door open. He hit the
button and walked right out. I ran to catch him. Before the door
slammed shut I saw him get halfway into the alley before three of
them swarmed. The door shut but I could still hear his
screams.”

After pondering it for a moment I said, “So
is that why the corporal key-locked the building?”

I think I was building up a tolerance to
tragedy.

“Yeah, but everyone is talking about getting
a group together to try and get to GRC. They think a way can be
found to street level from the roof. It’s a death wish if you ask
me. Don’t get me wrong, I want to help them, but I’m not in a hurry
to get killed. Everyone is going about like help is coming. Do
you
think help is coming? Because I think
we may be fucked this time,” he said, his exhaustion overly
apparent.

I thought for a second. “Lance, I may have an
idea. I’ve got to work some things out first and try and get a read
on some of our fellow inmates. Meet me back here at 1500 hours.
Bring what you need to take with you, because I’m not planning on
coming back to this godforsaken place. In the meantime take a damn
nap. I’ll try to do the same. Something tells me we’re going to
need it.”

* * *

1300 hours:

In a perfect world escape from such a
situation would involve everyone trapped getting out. However, this
was far from a perfect world. I never thought I would be dreaming
up a plan to escape a horrifying death
without
including the people I’d been working with for
years, but there I was, doing just that.

Was I willing to sacrifice some of my
humanity for self-benefit? Then again, it wasn’t entirely
for
me. I absolutely had to get back to my
family. That was something I would sacrifice anything or anyone
for.

Looking at the ravenous abominable mass
outside our building I was beginning to question where the line
between human and inhuman really was.

The corporal came in and gave us a
handwritten schedule for when officers would be on the roof
thinning out the infected crowd. Personally, I thought it was a
futile effort. Futility aside, it brought up everyone’s spirits to
see
something
being done.

Next firing squad started at 1500 hours. That
was the first good news in days. A bunch of potential obstacles to
our escape would be on the roof raining bullets on the infected.
The gunshots and activity should provide a much needed distraction
both inside and out.

I was using my secluded cubicle to go over my
plan. There was a very basic campus map in one of the supply
drawers that made its way to my desk when no one was looking. I’d
been writing notes on it and tracing a path with a sharpie marker.
I could only spend a little while looking at the map. Meanwhile I
was watching my coworkers closely. When the time was right I had to
sneak over and steal the master key set. I was trying not to think
about how doing such a thing could land me in prison.

I observed my friends, saddened by what I
saw. Brad wasn’t saying much. The girls were making it out like
help would actually come. Christine made some remark about the
corporal doing a good job and feeling safe with the doors latched.
It was a bunch of bullshit in my opinion.

The plan would have to do. There wasn’t much
time left before I met up with Lance. Plus it was finally my
allotted “nap time”. I wouldn’t sleep, but I had to rest. Timing
would be pivotal in getting out of this tomb. With such uncertainty
ahead of me, God only knew what was coming. Wherever God was, the
only certainty now was that he was definitely
not
watching.

* * *

1435 hours:

I got up from my nap a little early and
offered Brad the extra time. This was all part of my plan. He
declined and offered his slot to Christine. The plan was having
problems already… wonderful. Brad was the only one in the room
bright enough to notice that I was up to something. I couldn’t let
this slow me down. If this was going to work (emphasis on
if
), action must be taken immediately.

Erin had made the alarm monitoring station
her home. Luckily she was easily distracted. If not, it might be
harder to get her to look away from the screen long enough to
conceal my tampering. The computer at my cubicle campsite had the
alarm monitoring station program copied on it. I opened up the
manual actions and found the door leading to C. This was the same
door the late captain came out of.

Even though most of the buildings were down,
all doors for headquarters were still controllable, at least the
interior ones, and the key locked doors would stay shut. The action
was programmed; all I had to do was hit OK.

Once I submitted it, the action would show on
a recent events area at the bottom of Erin’s screen. I just needed
about thirty seconds and it should disappear from view.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring everything
I’d packed. If I didn’t give the impression that I was just
stepping out of the room, questions would be asked. My excuse was
that I was taking my pack to the bathroom to change and wash myself
up in the sink. I figured that was reasonable enough.

The plan had NO wiggle room whatsoever.
Everything had to be right on the dot; any deviations would likely
lead to failure and failure could mean death. The idea of my life
riding on something so constricted was nauseating.

Here was the time frame:

1) 1452 hours – draw attention away from the
computers and click OK on the manual action to unlock the kitchen
to C door from 1501 to 1502 hours,

2) 1457 hours – use my bathroom excuse,

3) 1500 hours – meet up with Lance,

4) 1501 hours – make it through the door and
pray no one spots us crossing to the other side. After fifteen
minutes my absence will be noticed.

My hope was that the kitchen area would be
vacated. If not… well we might be able to talk our way through it.
As far as everyone else knew the building was sealed. What was the
difference if we went in the admin side?

Another concern was Lance not being there,
but I was pretty sure he’d do everything possible to get out of
roof duty. If he was not there when I got through the door I’d have
a twenty second window to prop it open before an alarm went off.
I’d rather not consider the possibility of him not showing up.
Leaving everyone in dispatch was enough to eat away at me. Having
to leave someone who saved my life the other day was just too much.
Assuming we made it that far, we’d head to the basement.

If this worked we’d be out of there. Granted,
that would present a plethora of new problems. If it didn’t, then
either they would lock us in a room and the zombies would break in
long before they figured out what to do with us, or I’d end up back
in dispatch like nothing happened.

I tried calling home to tell Sarah I was
coming, but it didn’t connect. I couldn’t afford the distraction of
thinking about why the call didn’t go through. I was just watching
the monitor to look for a grisly enough looking infected worthy of
people going to the window to witness. If we made it out and to a
safe place that would be reward enough. Otherwise I’d either be
dead or trapped.

The butterflies filling my stomach felt like
they had fucking acid reflux. It was 1450 hours and I’d found my
distraction. Thank God for small favors.

1507 hours:

Lance was waiting, as scheduled. He looked anxious
and confused, in other words, his appearance was mimicking my
feelings, but I couldn’t dwell on that. Getting to my family was
the most important thing right now, and if we didn’t seize this
chance then it probably wouldn’t happen at all. Thankfully Lance
had brought his bag of whatever he deemed worthy.

No one was in the kitchen area. The two
remaining security officers were napping in the read-off room,
which made the coast clear for us. I motioned towards the door
leading to C. The only visual indication of the magnetic door’s
state would be from the lights on the small pad where cards were
swiped. I saw the solid red lights and knew the door was still
locked. If the plan worked those lights would change green in the
next few minutes. Lance followed me to the door without question.
It was good to know trust was still possible in a world turned
upside-down. That trust could be our only lifeline once we made it
out into the streets.

At 1500 hours on the dot I heard the gunfire
begin. The guys were on the roof as scheduled, busy thinning out
the monsters that the dead were turning into. Within seconds of the
first shot, red lights turned to green on the magnetic lock. The
door was unlocked and everything was going as planned, but it was
too early for any sighs of relief yet.

I quickly surveyed our surroundings and when
I was convinced that no one was watching, I pulled open the door
and motioned Lance through. The large metal door normally closed
with a bang, but this time I eased it closed and it barely made a
sound. I allowed myself a moment of self-satisfaction for getting
this far.

Forty-five seconds after the door unlocked,
we were down the quiet hallway and about to make the right turn for
the basement stairs. That’s when I heard the metal door ease
open.

Fifteen feet away from the basement doorway,
we froze in place. I swung around to see the source of potential
disaster. In a moment of both surprise and curious relief, Brad
stood at the now closed door.

“Come on, man, did you really think I didn’t
know you were up to something?” he immediately said in a low tone.
Before I could respond to him, he put up his hand and stopped me.
“Although I have no idea how… I know you’re planning on getting out
of here. Whatever you’re going to do, I want in.”

Lance and I exchanged a glance and then a
nod. Our newly formed trio continued down the stairs to the
basement. The basement housed the records storage, ammunition
storage, supplies, and the evidence room. Every door in there led
to a room containing either a shit ton of private information or a
sampling of all things illegal and volatile. With the exception of
the evidence room, none of the doors were monitored on the alarm
system, but both the evidence room and ammunition storage room had
unique locks. The keys for those doors were only given to the
property manager and the Chief of Police. It was a shame – we could
have really used any of the things in those rooms.

“Nathan, what the fuck are we doing?” Lance
said in a loud whisper.

I talked as we slowly progressed. “Years ago,
when I left the academy, I spent my last two weeks doing clerical
shit around the building. One day I was asked to help the property
manager bring some boxes down into the supply room. We went into
the room that is basically the far west corner of the building.
Once we got into the room I set the boxes down and took a quick
look at all the goodies around me. All the way in the corner I saw
blackness. The wall disappears into an opening the size of a double
door. At first I thought it was just a little storage alcove or
something, but I realized this hole in the wall didn’t look like it
ended.”