Dead Days

Chapter 9

Cassie runs to her mother and embraces her. They both sob into each other, it's a beautiful sight. The room falls silent as they begin to release each other.

"I thought you were being taken to Charleston?" Cassie asks her mother, wiping her eyes.

"We were, your father created a distraction so I could escape and come back for you."

"Escape?" Cassie questions, "why would you try and escape if they were taking you somewhere safe?"

"We thought they were good people, Cassie, thought they were taking us so your father could research a cure, or at least a inoculation to save the rest of the population. We suggested that we wait for you to get home from school but they put a gun to your fathers head. I scribbled the note in the last second."

"Do you know why they tried to take you guys?"

"They're a group of mercenaries. Hired by a group of terrorists who created this virus." A collective gasp and mummers flow through out the room. "They had scientists working on this for the past three years. They needed your father because he was the best of the best. They're using him to destroy the world, they want the zombies to retain cognitive skills so they can command them."

"Like soldiers?" Someone from the room blurts out.

"Precisely." Says Cassie's mother.

"That's ridiculous! This is just some sickness that will eventually pass, you guys are nuts." The guy that was screaming about the alarm interjects.

"Some sickness?" I say, getting pissed. "I had to put down two of the best men that I've ever known." I walk up and grab him by the shirt collar and push him against the wall. "This isn't just 'some sickness' it's fucking killing innocent people and taking control of their bodies."

     He whimpers, shaking in his skin. "You make me sick, get the fuck out of my face." I throw him to the side, he stumbles a few feet then walks and sits down on a flight of stairs.

     Cassie walks to a corner with her mother and I walk over to Dale.

     "What happened man, I thought you died on the radio." I ask.

     He motions for me to take a seat next to him. "Yeah, Danny was freaking out. He tore the grate that separates the officers from the suspects right out of the frame. He grabbed me by the neck and tried biting me, that when I fired the shot, it missed and went through the roof. He pulled me closer but I managed to pull away and he chewed my radio to pieces. That's why I didn't respond."

     "Danny was a good kid. He didn't deserve to go out like that." I say, with remorse in my voice.

     Dale looks to the ground. "I know man, I know."

     "And this place, how did you get here?" I ask, motioning to the building.

     "Once I put Danny down I ran to the nearest office building. That's where I found most of these guys." He points to them, "We stayed in that building over night, but we had to move eventually, the undead had grown in numbers. We lost a lot of people, we walked for about a day and a half, not even stopping to sleep. We were afraid we'd be killed in the night. We stumbled onto this place. The gate was unchained when we got here but the power was off. James over there decided to mess with the fuses and he got it back on, but the alarm was going off for about an hour. Hence all the undead outside."

"We have to do something about them, if too many more join their ranks that fence is coming down."

"I know," he says, scratching his forehead. "But we don't have the bullets, nor the man power to take them all down."