Beyond Death (Book 2): Apocalypse by Silas Cooper Page B

Jayda.
    “I stopped the cell from decomposing,” he answered emphatically. “I tested it again and again. I replicated it. I’m ready to test it on an actual zombie!” 

Chapter Sixteen
    “I think we are just another couple of hours away from seeing positive results on these zombies,” Chase said to Lucas.
    He was shocked to see the boy’s eyes when he looked up. They worked side by side, long hours, but rarely actually looked at each other.  The tired smile he got from him warmed his heart. All he’d seen of him lately was from the side, which showed how thin he was getting. Weight he couldn’t afford to lose.
    “Do you hear that?” Chase asked. “It’s like someone is knocking on a door downstairs, I think.”
    “Well, that’s never good,” Lucas sighed. “I’m sure Dax has it under control, whatever it is. But since we’re waiting, maybe we should go see if we can help him out in any way.”
    “Sure,” Chase said, already on the move to the door of the lab.
    The banging got louder and louder as they went. When the reached the bottom of the stairs and went into the hall, they saw Dax on the floor. Chase ran over to try to wake him, but with no success. He shook and shook him, shouting his name, but the guy hung lifeless from where Chase had him by the shirt.
    “Look,” Lucas said holding up an empty liquor bottle. “I thought he smelled like alcohol. He must have had this hoarded somewhere. I just found it under this blanket of his.”
    As the banging got louder, or maybe just more insistent, Chase shook Dax harder. His eyes blinked several times before he looked at Chase with a glazed over look. Lucas, who had run to a window and back shook his head as he crouched back down beside them.
    “There’s a mass of them out there. I can’t make out how many, but it’s bad,” he exclaimed.  “Looks like the door is about to give too.”
    “Shit!” Chase growled, letting Dax fall to the ground. “We have to get out of here. Looks like it’s time to see how far we can get on the gas we have left in the tank of the van. Come on. Help me get Dax to his feet, and let’s clear out.”
    They were just at the stairs with a wobbly Dax when the door gave. Stopping, they shot as many zombies as they could to give themselves enough of a start to get the women and get out the far set of stairs.
    Chase saw Lucas run into the lab. Dax, who had sobered up quickly, he sent to gather the women as he went in after Lucas. He found the boy frantically packing stuff up.
    “Look, we don’t have time for this,” Chase yelled. “We have to go.”
    “I can’t just leave it here,” Lucas stammered.
    Just then, a zombie appeared on the other side of Lucas. The far door to the lab hadn’t been closed. Before he could get a word out, the zombie went for Lucas. Without hesitation, Chase blew the zombie’s head off. He moved to shut the door against the onslaught of the next bodies. Thankfully, most of them had all gotten slower and weaker as the days rolled by. You could tell the new ones from the older ones.
    “We have to go,” he said to Lucas as he helped him to his feet.
    “But the research. We’ll lose everything,” Lucas sighed.
    “Not if I save that brain of yours we won’t. We can duplicate it between us. We don’t have a choice. Let’s go!”
    With a sad Lucas in tow, Chase caught up to Dax and the women. They loaded a few meager supplies into the van and took off just as a group of zombies reached them. Chase fished for his ringing phone as he drove away without any destination in mind.
    “Hello,” he answered.
    “Is this Chase Douglas?” the voice on the other end asked.
    “Yes. Who is this?”
    “My name is Frank. I’m a friend of Daniel’s. I can help you.”

Chapter Seventeen
    Chase sat in the van in an abandoned parking lot with his eyes on the empty road.  The outdoor mall at his back with its broken windows dark had no more appeal. He looked back in the van at the rest of his