“Lock it!” someone yelled.
Derek reached the door just as another worker shoved a metal rack across it.
The pounding started almost immediately.
Bodies slammed against the other side.
The metal frame rattled violently.
Inside the hallway, the employees stood frozen, listening.
Then it changed.
Less screaming.
More…tearing sounds.
Derek felt his stomach twist.
One of the employees whispered, “What the hell is happening?”
Something crashed through the door.
The rack slid several inches across the floor.
Another impact.
The metal buckled.
“Run!” someone shouted.
The employees scattered down the hallway toward the loading dock.
Derek burst through the rear door into the sunlight.
The parking lot wasn’t any better. People were running in every direction, some even fighting.
Others were already on the ground.
The infected staggered through the chaos, drawn by the noise.
Derek ran.
He made it halfway across the lot before something slammed into him from the side.
He hit the pavement hard.
The wind left his lungs.
The man on top of him smelled like sweat and rot.
Gray eyes stared down at him.
Then the man bit him.
Derek screamed.
His hands pushed uselessly against the man’s shoulders as teeth tore into his neck.
