Page 97 of Grave Danger

GRUNT Labs was in total chaos. Doctors and scientists who hadn’t been turned into zombies ran every which way. Some turned sideways to slip past the gurney, eyes wide with panic, some with blood spatters across their lab coats. Others took one look at them and turned to run the opposite direction, hard soled shoes slipping on the blood-smeared tile floor. Lab coats flapped out behind them as they ran screaming.

Haggard looking security forces came around a corner and lifted their weapons. Cody faltered as he tried to decide if they needed to duck and avoid gunfire. Sam shouted to the group, and the security team lowered their rifles. After a quick overview of what they were trying to accomplish and the importance of their escape, the forces turned their backs on them and moved ahead to clear a path. Cody really hoped security had been instructed to restrain those afflicted without killing them. It wasn’t their fault the lab had fucked up again.

Gunfire rattled ahead of them. It echoed through the hallway, sharp, hard sounds, each one like a chisel to Cody’s head. All of them shouted in surprise, and Cody followed his up with a string of curses as his heart pounded even faster. Bodies lay in heaps on the tile floor, the majority well-dressed and covered in dirt, obviously having dug their way out of the grave. Skin had tightened over bone, and the fingernails of many of them were long and wicked-looking. A damp, earthy smell hung heavy in the hallway, overlaid now and then with the acrid smell of gunpowder.

“We can’t roll the gurney over those bodies,” Agatha said. “We’ll have to leave it.”

Sam moved back to Dr. Willoughby and helped her stand. He took one arm around his shoulders, and, since Dave was too tall to help in that way, Ollie moved in to take her other side. They forged ahead single file, with the trio of Sam, Dr. Willoughby, and Ollie in the lead behind the majority of the security forces. Dave and Agatha followed, then Cody and Demmy brought up the rear with two more security team members behind.

Along the way, they picked up a dozen wide-eyed and pale survivors who clustered in among them. Cody made sure to maintain a tight hold on Demmy’s hand to keep them together. No way was Demmy getting out of his sight anytime soon. After another round of gunfire, one of the security forces shouted, “Outer door!”

Cody’s initial rush of relief dissipated immediately when he peered out through the thick security glass. It was dark, but floodlights cast a sheet of bright white light over the grassy area within the perimeter of the fence, revealing dozens and dozens of staggering zombies. A trio of undead were wedged between the pointed ends of the cyclone fence and the side of the Cadillac. The driver’s side, of course. They stood in a close group, each in a different stage of decomposition, all of them reaching and grasping into space.

“So close,” Dave said. “And, yet, so far.”

“We’ll clear a path,” the lead security guard said to Sam. “Get you to the vehicle. The rest is up to you.”

“I wonder where Dottie is?” Demmy said.

“I’m sure she’ll pop up from the front seat all zombified and hungry for a snack,” Cody said.

The security guard counted down from three then pushed the door open and rushed outside. The rest of the force followed, rifles popping as they took down zombies with headshots. One of the men slung his weapon around so it hung by the strap across his back as he pulled a handgun from a holster. Apparently the security force was low on automatic weapon ammo. That wasn’t a good sign.

A few gunshots put down the trio of zombies trapped between the fence and the Cadillac, and two of the security team worked on clearing the bodies from the fencing. The other security detail formed a half circle and kept zombies from approaching too close. When he was able to get to the driver’s door, Cody pulled it open. A figure sat up, lunging at him, and he jumped back with a shout.

It was the Widow. She wore the dress she’d been buried in, and her nicely manicured nails were cracked and dirt-packed ruins, evidence of her digging her way out of her grave. One arm had gotten tangled in the seatbelt, which is all that had saved Cody from being bitten a second time that day.

Someone jabbed a piece of pipe from the fence past Cody. It sank into the Widow’s eye and she slumped back across the seat.

Cody found Demmy standing right behind him, eyes wide and flooded with tears.

“Thanks,” Cody said. “You saved me. Again.”

“That was the worst thing I’ve ever done.”

“Worse than going out with Arlene Brickmeier on a double date with me and Katie Lawson back in high school?”

Demmy’s eyes widened even more, but the tears had stopped and a crooked, unbelieving smile lifted a corner of his mouth.

“What the hell made you bring that slice of horror show up now?” Demmy asked.

“Got you distracted from thinking about the Widow, didn’t I?” Cody reached in and grabbed one of her arms. “Stand back. Oof, she’s been eating well. Ugh, I didn’t mean to say that. Sorry.”

He hauled the Widow out of the front seat and, as the security team continued to shoot approaching zombies, laid her out on the lawn. He positioned her on her back and put her hands together on her chest, then gave them a pat.

“Sorry, old girl. But thanks for the ride. You’re saving our asses, yet again.”

The others were working their ways around the fencing into the car. Cody slid into the driver’s seat, immediately crying out as he banged his knee hard against the steering column. The steering wheel pressed against his chest, limiting his ability to draw a breath.

“What’s wrong?” Demmy asked from beside him in the front passenger seat.

“I can’t breathe!” Cody gasped and reached out toward Demmy. “Pull me.”

Demmy grabbed his hand, hauling him out from behind the steering wheel and into the middle of the bench seat. Cody rubbed his chest and nodded as he drew in air. “Thanks.”

Agatha gave a shout of surprise when she pulled open the rear driver’s side door. “There’s an old woman back here!”

Cody dragged his feet out of the driver’s side footwell, then turned to look over the seat into the back. “It’s got to be Dottie. Demmy just killed the Widow.”