Fighting to Survive (As the World Dies #2)(25)

“That was f*cked up,” Felix said and wiped his brow. “Shit!”

Jenni was breathing hard, staring at the bodies. Lifting her walkie-talkie, she said, “Make sure to check the f*cking doors. One was behind a door when we opened it. It got Ned.”

There was silence, then Nerit’s voice said, “Understood.”

Jenni wiped a tear away and looked at Charles and Felix. “Let's go.”

As they walked out, she leaned down and picked up the flashlight from Ned’s slack fingers.

“Second floor clear,” came the announcement over the walkie-talkie. “Advance to third floor.”





***

Katie stood near the stairwell. Her body was shivering. They had been in view of the other teams on occasion throughout the inspection of the second floor, but it had been nerve-wracking. They had found nothing in their rooms. Just pristine rooms ready for guests. There had been one loss on the and it had been on Jenni's team. That terrified her.

Jenni’s team now drew near, with Nerit’s behind them. Jenni looked very pale and she stared up the stairwell with a dark expression on her face.

“You okay?” Katie asked.

“No,” Jenni answered. “This isn’t fun.”

It seemed like a strange answer, but again Jenni tended to enjoy killing zombies. The losses had been high today and it was taking them all back to the insanity and fear of the first days of the zombie plague. Katie was sure that Jenni was thinking of her lost children. She knew she was thinking of Lydia.

Travis stood nearby. His face had deep lines in it. Katie was sure she looked just as stressed as everyone else.

“Let’s go,” Nerit said, and lead the way.

The other teams would be going up the other stairwell on the other side of the hotel.

Nerit moved easily up the stairs, no signs of her age showing. Katie felt immense affection and respect for the woman. She seemed so in control of herself and the situation compared to the rest of them.

The long stairwell that lead steadily upwards was sterile and painted boring white. The banisters and steps were made of heavy wood and vases of dead flowers adorned tiny tables on the landings. Their footsteps echoed as they moved upwards, making them all cringe inwardly.

“This is scary as shit,” Charles muttered. He was dragging along behind everyone else, his bland features looking more doughy and pale now that he was scared shitless.

Jenni looked back at him. “Don’t be such a wimp.” Her voice was annoyed and sharp.

“Look, we have no f*cking clue what is going to happen next,” Charles started.

“Bad thing to say,” Roger told him quickly. “In horror movies bad shit always happens after someone says something like that.”

“Like what?” Charles snapped back.

It was then the zombie dropped down from above, hit the banister, and managed to grab Charles’ shirt. Katie had the impression it was missing most of its lower half and the stench was awful. The zombie hit the banister sideways. His body caught for only a moment before it fell over into the stairwell below. Its grip on Charles shirt was firm. Charles hit the rail and toppled over before anyone could grab him. Jenni managed to grab his sneaker and it came off in her hand as he tumbled over without even a gasp.

“Fuck!”

Katie and Jenni were the first ones down the stairs, the rest of the groups behind them.

As they rounded the last landing, they came across the zombie and Charles. The zombie had landed headfirst and its skull was split open, spilling curdled brains. Charles lay near him, head twisted about in an unnatural angle. Both were completely stone cold dead.

“I told him,” Roger grumbled.

“Fucking stupid way to go out,” Shane decided.

“I think we found one of the plumbers,” Travis said ,and pointed to the name of the plumbing company on the zombie’s tattered shirt.

Jenni stood staring down at Charles' body and slowly blinked. “I hate today.”





***

They kept going. They had to. Despite their shocking losses, they had to keep going. Too much of an investment of time and energy and lives had been given to taking the hotel and they were determined to finish. Perhaps now they were more cautious, more terrified, and more determined, but they were still in hell.

“I feel like I'm next,” Jenni muttered as she joined Curtis' group. She felt wobbly inside. Seeing three of her teammates go down so quickly had made her feel very vulnerable. Felix joined Katie's group and she missed his presence.

The process continued. Rooms were searched diligently by almost overly cautious people, then the doors were closed and large checkmarks left on the wood with blue chalk. Room by room was cleared. Then floor by floor was cleared. Jenni moved with graceful ease behind Curtis and his team, watching every shadow. They were now on the fourth floor and there had been no sign of zombies since the one that had killed Charles.

She was feeling claustrophobic and hemmed in by the building and the cap on her head was hot and heavy. With all her heart, she wanted to abandon this endeavor. It was eating at her, making her feel weak and helpless. Their tiny little world had felt so safe until now. The walls around the construction site and city hall had given them a sense of security. Their fort barely took up a one-block radius and it was cramped, but at least livable. Maybe they needed the hotel, but right now she hated it.