Losing Humanity: Book 4 in the Saving Humanity Series

CHAPTER 22

The smoke burned Caleb's eyes and throat as he stepped out of the van into the city. He couldn't determine the source of the smoke, although at this point, he was sure it had encompassed most of the city. It wouldn't be long before the entire city was engulfed and taken out—unless they could get the fire department out. But that wasn't going to happen with large rotting threats roaming the streets. With any luck, Jan, Matt, and the others had been able to get some of the people out, or at least found someplace safe to hide.

Groans, grunts, and breaking glass echoed through the haze. The RBZs were probably tearing the entire place down, he but he knew there would be one place they focused their attention. If Maudas wanted to take out the competition and show that he was the superior scientist when it came to zombie research, then he would have them destroy Zomtech. If nothing else, that building would give the RBZs a place to start.

The BZs had effortlessly followed him through the suburbs and into the city. A few had even gone ahead and disappeared into the dark clouds created by the smoke. If they had found some RBZs and fulfilled their mission, Caleb didn't know. He could barely see his hand at the end of his arm, let alone anything blocks away. He wasn't sure where he had pulled into the city. For safety's sake, he figured that walking would reduce the chance of him running into anything. He had opened the back of the van to let the regulars out, but they moved much slower than the others. They couldn't wait for them to catch up.

He coughed as he headed down the street. Ophelia was next to him, as were several of the other BZs. As soon as they got to Zomtech, they would be free to destroy as many of the enemy as they could. His hope was that the other creatures had brought regulars with them because he'd be able to use them to his advantage. If there was a good thing about regular zombies, it was that they had no loyalty to anyone. They may have come with the RBZs, but they wouldn't hesitate listening to Caleb's orders and taking them down.

His chest tightened, and it was difficult to take in a full breath. He had to squint his eyes to see through the haze. He coughed again. Ophelia responded with a cough of her own. They wouldn't be able to stay here much longer. Smoke inhalation could take them out, but he was sure it wasn't much farther to the lab. He pressed forward at a steady pace.

A roar tore through the city streets, followed by large clunks and thuds. Caleb stopped in his tracks, squinting farther to see through the smoke, but to no avail. More roars responded to the first, followed by a crash and a car alarm. The BZs near Caleb and Ophelia hissed, curling their lips—if they still had any—into a snarl. Caleb waved his hand, and they took off into the haze.

"I think we're close," Caleb said to Ophelia. "Those roars sounded close."

She nodded. "I don't think it's a good idea for us to go rushing in there. If there's a war of BZs and RBZs going on, we're going to get trampled in the process."

Caleb coughed, and it felt like nails had entered his lungs. "We need to get out of this smoke." He glanced at the building on his right. With his hand outstretched, he walked forward until he found the door. Pushing it open, he gestured for Ophelia to step inside.

The smoke had thinned inside the building, making it somewhat easier to breathe, and Caleb and Ophelia coughed for several moments in an attempt to clear their lungs. Tears stung Caleb's eyes as he drew in deep, painful breaths.

"Let's head upstairs," he wheezed. "See if we can see anything from a distance."

The pair headed up, unsure of what type of building they were in. The door had opened onto a stairwell, so he assumed it was an apartment building. It didn't look to be one of the taller buildings in the city, it only had five floors, but that just meant less stairs to climb to get to the top.