Dead Country: Crossroads (Sequel)

Chapter 10: Home Inspection

A gurgling noise came from the remains, causing my heart to seemingly skip a beat. I clutched my chest as I held the hammer in my left hand, trying to calm my bodily anomaly. The head of the fried torso moved to the left as the zombie peered over at me from clouded eyes. Yellowed teeth filled its mouth except for the odd missing one and the remaining flesh flaked and cracked as it tried to move its mouth.

I'd be damned if I were to figure out what exactly happened in the building, but it was looking like people had lost their minds and killed one another as they slowly became infected. I couldn't even tell if the zombie torso in the barbecue was male or female, but judging from the remains of the others, there was only one confirmed female present in the building.

While she shuffled around in the access tunnel by herself, the other zombies were bound by chains to the work benches against the walls. With me having put the amputated zombie out of his misery moments ago, and Emma and I killing seven others in the kitchen-like break room, I was beginning to feel like a janitor. I was tired of cleaning up after what seemed like horrendous events had occurred, but I had no other option than to do so.

Emma was sleeping in the bed of a big rig while zombies continued to bounce at the ends of their chains. From where I stood they looked to be wrapped around their abdomens and then locked into place around the work bench legs. They were secured there indefinitely unless they were to sheer in half and then crawl with only their hands. An image I tried to erase from my mind or else it would haunt me at night if I could even sleep.

Unsure of how exactly to kill the remaining five zombies, I figured I should check the rest of the place out before Emma woke up and had another panic attack. I walked around the yellow gates, not trusting that they were set securely in place. The last thing I wanted to do was be pitted against the female zombie in a hole in the floor where it seemed I would surely be stuck unless Emma were to remove the end grate for me.

As I wandered around the two remaining trucks I tapped on their doors and then waited for noise. I heard nothing as I stepped lightly in my boots, listening for anything that might stir inside them. Hearing nothing, I knew that I might luck out and not find anymore, but I still had to be certain.

Walking back around the grates and then the amputated dead zombie, I checked myself over for blood splatter in front of the sunlight shining through the windows. Most of the bloodshed was on my gloves and forearms, which meant a minimal amount splattered on my face just as it had Emma.

I moved on, heading back out into the break room to tiptoe through the pile of dead zombies that had ganged up on me at the door. Even though they had gained access to us, we managed to subdue them before any of them took a bite. I didn't check Emma over yet, but I was confident that neither of us had been compromised during the bloodbath.

Quickly checking the door we entered through, I made sure no one had found us. I closed it and propped a nearby shelving unit against it to prevent any unwanted entry while I continued my search for any stragglers.

The main entrance was the only place I decided to check again. As I stepped over the two dead zombies, I surveyed the room. There was a door behind the desk I hadn't noticed the first time we walked in. Knowing it was the last place I had to check, I tried to prepare myself for more horrific sights of zombies, or even mutilated bodies.

To my surprise the door knob turned with ease. I swung it open quickly and stepped back in case something were to launch itself at me. There was nothing. Peering through the doorway there was a set of stairs leading upward. My stomach began to tighten like it had before, and considering seven zombies had been on the other side of the door, I knew there to be something awaiting me at the top of the stairs.

At a low-ground disadvantage, I was careful to step lightly up the stairs to not draw any unwanted attention to movement. When I finally reached the top of the stairs I was greeted by another door and putrid stench. I knew it could only mean one of two things.

I really hope it's not alive, I thought to myself as I passed by a cork bulletin board with business memos on it.

The partition ended allowing me to go right. I found myself peering down an empty hallway of peach colour. There was no red anywhere, which was certainly promising, but I wasn't getting my hopes up as I noticed the closed blinds of the first office window.

I knocked on the navy blue and waited for any commotion inside. Letting a few seconds pass, I couldn't hear a thing, so I tried the door knob. It too opened with ease as if I was meant to find whatever was inside.

Unfortunately for me, it wasn't something I wanted to find. A man with his head blown off sat motionless in the chair, his brain and blood plastered on the wall behind his desk. Flies were still swarming his body as I took a few steps closer, burying my face in my shoulder so I could breathe.

There was a note on the desk in front of him in black ink on a page from a notebook. It read: 'I'm sorry'.

Whether he was the boss, or the person responsible for some of what had happened downstairs, I'd never know. Judging by his state of decomposition, I figured it was safe to guess he was the last to die.

I backed out of the office and closed the door, continuing onto the next one. The door was locked and I didn't hear anything moving around inside, so I moved on to the third and final office door.

Once again there was no movement. I opened the door to be greeted by an empty office, much like the first one. It was a relief to not find another dead body, but I knew my search wasn't over yet.

At the end of the hallway I found two small washrooms, one for men and one for women, which seemingly wasn't used much at all since it was spotless. The final door led me to a locker room with a shower, much to my surprise. After everything I had witnessed downstairs I was finally being rewarded with something nice.

As I stood there feeling blessed, I heard footsteps behind me and a gentle groan.