that we were about to get shot. Instead, he had turned his head and was looking back over his shoulder. Past the van, into the distance. Shaking, I turned my attention to whatever had caught his eye and let out a little shriek.
A swarm of zombies crested a small hill in the road we had come up to find this place. There were probably at least a hundred, some jogging, others just shambling their way toward us without any real drive or purpose. Already I could hear their groaning moans and hisses of hunger.
“You see, the situation is deteriorating with every moment you wait,” Lab Coat Guy said as we returned our stares to him. He was looking past us at the coming zombie horde, too, and a sheen of sweat had broken out on his upper lip. “If I don’t allow you to leave, you’ll be eaten. Or I’ll have to shoot you. Either scenario doesn’t end well for you. So please, come inside and let me take care of that lot.”
Dave looked at me and back at the horde. They were within a tenth of a mile now. I could almost smell the death on their breath.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Drop everything and run, Sarah. Go inside!”
Within seconds, we shed our weapons in a pile at our feet and ran toward the warehouse. The faster zombies had reached us by that time and were at our heels. I felt their fingers brush my back as I rushed past the stranger who now held our lives in his hands. And then there was only the sound of automatic gunfire.
I spun around as we got behind him to find that Lab Coat Guy had depressed the button in his pocket. All the guns on the turrets fired at once, hitting the zombies in one continuous shot. The living dead lurched and danced with the impact of the bullets on their chests and more importantly, heads, then fell into briefly moaning piles of sludge and goo.
Lab Coat Guy turned toward us, his face impassive and almost bored. For a guy who had called on a pair of exterminators, he had extermination down pretty pat already.
“Well, now that
that
messy business is taken care of,” he said with a sheepish smile. “Do you have any other weapons I need to know about? Perhaps hidden in a shoe or inside your clothing?”
I frowned before I bent and pulled a knife from one boot and an old-fashioned Derringer Dave and I had thought was hilarious from the other. Dave removed the gun belt he wore under his shirt and we dropped them all at our feet.
“Very good,” Lab Coat said with a smile. “Why don’t you come with me?”
David glared and I couldn’t help doing the same. After all, the guy was still pointing his AK-47 at us.
“Come
with
you?” Dave snapped as he looked aroundus in the dark and dusty building that was decidedly empty. “Where to exactly?”
With a smile, Lab Coat Guy backed slowly to the far wall of the warehouse. He picked up a big metal box with a red button and a green button on its face. With his thumb, he pressed the green button and suddenly the floor right in front of David and I opened and a platform lifted up from beneath it.
“What the hell?” Dave snapped.
Lab Coat Guy moved forward, weapon still raised and ready. “I know you have questions. Just come with me. I promise all this will soon make sense.”
Dave tensed and I could see he was about to go ape shit on this guy. I turned toward him and caught his arm, squeezing gently as I looked up into his eyes.
“We’ve gone this far,” I whispered. “And the fact that he’s
asking
us to do this seems like a formality. He
is
holding the gun.”
Dave looked down at me, then back at our new “friend.” “The second I get a chance, I’m going to punch you square in the face, motherfucker.”
Lab Coat Guy smiled indulgently. “Duly noted. Now please step onto the platform.”
We all did and with a press of his foot on another button, Lab Coat lowered us down into a dark chasm. The doors above us closed and we rode down, down, down for what seemed like forever. The darkness was complete for half the ride
A swarm of zombies crested a small hill in the road we had come up to find this place. There were probably at least a hundred, some jogging, others just shambling their way toward us without any real drive or purpose. Already I could hear their groaning moans and hisses of hunger.
“You see, the situation is deteriorating with every moment you wait,” Lab Coat Guy said as we returned our stares to him. He was looking past us at the coming zombie horde, too, and a sheen of sweat had broken out on his upper lip. “If I don’t allow you to leave, you’ll be eaten. Or I’ll have to shoot you. Either scenario doesn’t end well for you. So please, come inside and let me take care of that lot.”
Dave looked at me and back at the horde. They were within a tenth of a mile now. I could almost smell the death on their breath.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Drop everything and run, Sarah. Go inside!”
Within seconds, we shed our weapons in a pile at our feet and ran toward the warehouse. The faster zombies had reached us by that time and were at our heels. I felt their fingers brush my back as I rushed past the stranger who now held our lives in his hands. And then there was only the sound of automatic gunfire.
I spun around as we got behind him to find that Lab Coat Guy had depressed the button in his pocket. All the guns on the turrets fired at once, hitting the zombies in one continuous shot. The living dead lurched and danced with the impact of the bullets on their chests and more importantly, heads, then fell into briefly moaning piles of sludge and goo.
Lab Coat Guy turned toward us, his face impassive and almost bored. For a guy who had called on a pair of exterminators, he had extermination down pretty pat already.
“Well, now that
that
messy business is taken care of,” he said with a sheepish smile. “Do you have any other weapons I need to know about? Perhaps hidden in a shoe or inside your clothing?”
I frowned before I bent and pulled a knife from one boot and an old-fashioned Derringer Dave and I had thought was hilarious from the other. Dave removed the gun belt he wore under his shirt and we dropped them all at our feet.
“Very good,” Lab Coat said with a smile. “Why don’t you come with me?”
David glared and I couldn’t help doing the same. After all, the guy was still pointing his AK-47 at us.
“Come
with
you?” Dave snapped as he looked aroundus in the dark and dusty building that was decidedly empty. “Where to exactly?”
With a smile, Lab Coat Guy backed slowly to the far wall of the warehouse. He picked up a big metal box with a red button and a green button on its face. With his thumb, he pressed the green button and suddenly the floor right in front of David and I opened and a platform lifted up from beneath it.
“What the hell?” Dave snapped.
Lab Coat Guy moved forward, weapon still raised and ready. “I know you have questions. Just come with me. I promise all this will soon make sense.”
Dave tensed and I could see he was about to go ape shit on this guy. I turned toward him and caught his arm, squeezing gently as I looked up into his eyes.
“We’ve gone this far,” I whispered. “And the fact that he’s
asking
us to do this seems like a formality. He
is
holding the gun.”
Dave looked down at me, then back at our new “friend.” “The second I get a chance, I’m going to punch you square in the face, motherfucker.”
Lab Coat Guy smiled indulgently. “Duly noted. Now please step onto the platform.”
We all did and with a press of his foot on another button, Lab Coat lowered us down into a dark chasm. The doors above us closed and we rode down, down, down for what seemed like forever. The darkness was complete for half the ride
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