Better off Undead

Chapter 14: New Blood

Marshall pushed open the door to another room, spraying in his flashlight and letting its beam arc slowly across the darkness. Like the other half dozen or so rooms he'd checked, this one was empty, at least of anything living – some scattered chairs and miscellaneous furniture, some desks and lab equipment, an open cabinet, and a lot of empty space.

It was what he had expected to find.

Since entering the building there had been absolutely no sign of life, as was the case with everywhere they had been for almost the entire month now. The eerie silence of a lifeless world was almost deafening, tossing over him like an enormous wave threatening to pull him under and drown him in its rage. Sometimes he found himself almost wishing he'd run across some undead just so it could be like meeting new people.

He turned to Devin who had just finished inspecting a different room. "Clear," he called, and the other man nodded his agreement. The top floor of the building consisted mainly of one big open area that seemed to be some kind of lounge or meeting area. The room was surrounded by about a dozen smaller rooms branching off in different directions, with little else of note to be found. "Well, I guess that about does it, then. Guess we should–"

He cut off suddenly as his radio crackled to life. "This is Jay. Eli spotted something in the next building. Or someone. I don't know. He's gone after it. I'm following him."

Marshall grabbed the radio. "Jay, don't! I told you guys to wait for the rest of us!"

"Yeah, tell that to Eli. I don't want him going in there alone. Sorry."

"Jay, just get him and pull him back, got it?" He waited a few seconds for a response, but none came. "Jay, do you hear me? Jay?"

Marshall and Devin exchanged glances, their faces reading the same expression. Without another word they turned and bolted in the direction of the stairs. Marshall took them two at a time. Up ahead they could hear the clatter of footsteps, indicating to him that Rico and his cousins had drawn the same conclusion. He hit the ground floor and saw Rico, Jesus, and Lucas only a few feet in front of him. He hurried along behind them as quickly as his legs would carry him.

Rico and the others stopped at a fork in the road, their heads jerking left and right as they tried to decide which direction to take. Marshall caught up to them and stopped for a moment, shining his flashlight down both hallways. He pointed to the right, indicating to Rico that they should go that way, then turned and headed left, waving at Devin for him to follow.

They flew down the hallway and then skidded to a halt. The hallway opened up a little into a small, squarish room with three doors on each of the remaining walls. Marshall glanced at each door in turn, and then picked the one he thought faced the most southward and ran up to it. He tried the knob and found it unlocked, so he threw open the door and stepped inside. He gave it a quick once over, not surprised to find it apparently every bit as empty as the other rooms he had checked. On the far wall was another door with a window set into it. He hurried over to this door and glanced through the window. Beyond was the lobby area Jay and Eli had discovered earlier, and the hallway into the next building.

"Come on!" he called to Devin and hurried through the door. Once on the other side he could hear footsteps echoing in the darkness. He glanced to his right and could see three lights spraying out from the hallway, and could make out the blurry outlines of Rico and Lucas. He nodded at the group and pointed before himself, then hurried off through the hallway into the next building.

They hurried down the corridor, deeper into the heart of this building. Now that they were this far, their specific goal became much less clear, and they began stopping at each intersection, pausing as they listened for any sign of life.