Virulence Immune

~ Chapter Eleven ~

Perri pulled herself through the make-shift tunnel and out the other side.

So far, so good. There were no infected in sight.

Not a single sound. Perri sometimes forgot how loud the world used to be.

"Pass me the—" She didn't need to finish. Max was already offering her tomahawk to her through the tunnel.

"Thanks." She whispered.

This floor of the building was relatively neat. Trash bags lined the walls and the windows had been painted over.

She moved to the closest apartment to open the door. Someone had scribbled a message on it.

"CLEARED"

She opened the door just enough to peek inside.

Perri looked down the hallway. The other apartments had the same writing on the doors.

She glanced at Max climbing through the tunnel before she closed the door and walked down the hall.

The next set of stairs was blocked by more furniture. But, it wasn't consciously organized. There was no getting through that barrier.

That didn't bother Perri, though. She was on the level she needed.

She moved to the door of the apartment she was after. It was marked as cleared.

Twisting the doorknob, the hinges creaked as she eased the door open.

Sure enough. The place had been picked clean of anything of use. Rags and trash had been scattered carelessly around the apartment. Cupboards and drawers were left open.

Whoever cleared the apartment was definitely not its occupant.

Perri had walked to the center of the room and grimaced as she looked around.

"Find what you were looking for?" Asked Max from the doorway.

Shaking her head, she replied, "No. She's not here." And she approached the kitchen bench to pick up a knocked-over photo frame.

Perri inhaled deeply and exhaled. "But, she's alive." She smiled at the intricate gold-plated frame.

"Who's alive?"

"Madelyn. My best friend."

"How can you be so sure?"

Perri set the frame down on the bench. There was no photo. "Because... I just know."

The two left the apartment and closed the door behind them.

After the door clicked shut, they each took a single step before pausing to look at the ceiling.

Footsteps.

They could hear footsteps. At least three separate sets on the floor above them.

Max gave Perri a playful nudge. "You think that barrier will keep them out?" He gave her a wry grin before stepping away, toward another apartment.

Perri listened to the footsteps for a moment longer then joined Max.

The door before them was the only one that didn't have any writing on it.

"Ladies first." Max said with a smirk.

Perri rolled her eyes at him. She turned the knob and slowly opened the door.

The pair gaped at the apartment as they entered.

It was a gold mine.

There was food, water, clothing, batteries, flashlights and a whole manner of weapons—short-range and long.

They moved cautiously as they continued their sweep of the apartment. Checking for any inhabitants. Dead or alive.

In one of the bedrooms, they found only a single sleeping bag on the floor. The head end of the sleeping bag was covered in blood and vomit.

Perri's face scrunched up as she held her sleeve over her mouth and nose.

"Yeah." Max coughed and tried to suppress the urge to puke. "Let's close that." And he shut the bedroom door.

Perri noticed a trail of blood on the floorboards.

The blood was still wet. It led out of the bedroom and down the too-thin hallway.

It had ended at the closed door of the bathroom.

"You're turn, I think." She whispered to Max who scoffed in response.

He grasped the handle and tried to turn it. The door was locked. He shook the handle a little more, trying to force it open.

A sudden, loud thud slammed against the other side of the door. Sending Max jumping out of his skin to get away from the bathroom and tripping over his own feet, right into Perri.

Both were knocked to the floor.

The banging against the bathroom door continued and snarling soon accompanied it.

Perri and Max got back up to their feet. Their hearts were pounding in their chests and they breathed heavily.

"Nothing like a good scare to keep you on your toes." Said Max. He looked down at something and let out a breathy laugh.

"What's so funny?"

Max held up the object in his hand.

It was the door handle to the bathroom.

"At least we know it can't get out of there." He said and tossed the handle onto the floor.

"We can't just leave it in there. The others won't feel safe. I don't feel safe." She told him.

He went to walk away but Perri grabbed his arm.

Max turned to her and she quickly removed her hand from his arm when she saw the look on his face.

Perhaps he didn't like to be touched. Perhaps it was something else. But, all of a sudden, his demeanor had shifted. His face... changed.

His chocolate-brown eyes lazily examined her figure before he stepped closer than she felt was a comfortable distance.

She had to tilt her head back to look up at him. But, she held her ground. Even with that look he had on his face. Like he wanted to devour her.

He leaned that little bit closer until they shared the same breath. "What'll you give me for it?"

"What?"

"If I kill that thing, I want something in return."

Perri stared daggers at Max. "And what would that be?"

He bit his bottom lip as his gaze lingered on her mouth before returning to her eyes. "I think you know."

Perri scoffed. "Not a chance."

"Then, have fun killing it yourself." He said, barely more than a breath. And strutted back down the hallway.

"Jerk." Perri mumbled under her breath.

She turned to the bathroom door and tightened her grip on her weapon. Her breathing quickened as she readied herself.

Perri kicked the door as hard as she could. It swung inward before clashing into something—that let out a guttural shriek—and attempted to close. But, she was already barging in.

She pushed against the door with her shoulder, shoving the shrieking thing tumbling over itself.

Perri wasted no time bringing her tomahawk down on the infected squirming on the bathroom floor.

Two hits and the confrontation was over.

She panted and stood up straight. Peering down on the creature that had once been a man.

He had a somewhat fresh bitemark on his forearm that he'd obviously tried to bandage himself.

He had survived all that time just to die alone and have a stranger take an axe to his head.

Perri clenched her jaw. "I'm sorry." She said softly.