Pandemic Z | Book 2 | Pandemic Z 2 Page 6

  Lena’s eyes grew wide as Harrison bent over to finish off yet another zombie. The werewolf was handsome, even in his hairy form. Lena thought his backside looked exceptionally well formed, even as an enlarged, overly hairy werewolf.

  “Hmm. What’s that look about? Those look like dreamy eyes to me, Lena Turner!” Barry teased.

  “I do not have the hots for Harrison!” she protested defensively. She was lying, and they knew it. Lena was never the greatest at being deceptive anyway. “You have to admit… He has a very toned…” she sighed longingly.

  “Yes, yes. He has a very fine butt,” Barry finished with a high-pitched voice as he jokingly fluttered his eyes and looked dreamily at Lena.

  “I am not like that!” She playfully pushed Barry’s shoulder. “Besides… You need to shut your mouth. There are bigger things to be focused on.”

  The last zombie approached the hunched werewolf, and Harrison smiled at the greyish enemy before him. His claws extended, and his fangs bared. The zombie awkwardly flung his arm towards Harrison’s hairy chest, but the slow movements gave Harrison an easy target.

  Barry snorted, nodding down at Harrison. “That zombie is going to fall like a rag doll in the wind.”

  Lena bit her lip as she watched Harrison go for his opponent. Emily held her breath as she peered out the door, and Barry leaned closer to observe the action better.

  Harrison didn’t bother knocking the zombie down. Instead, he swiped at the zombie’s neck hard enough that his claws went through its flesh like a hot knife through butter. Harrison tore at the zombie before moving on to the next, and in no time, the last remaining zombie crumpled defeated to the cement.

  The triumphant werewolf stood tall amongst the terrified passengers on the ground, looking down at his final fallen foe.

  He looked up, smiling at Lena, Barry, and Emily. His bloodied fangs made his smile aggressive and angry, but he hoped his eyes showed his real emotion.

  “He did it!” Emily cheered as she clapped. “He really did it!”

  The tall werewolf took long strides, easily reaching the base of the slide within only a few short steps. He beckoned the remaining passengers down the slide now that the coast was clear.

  Barry stepped up with nothing short of child-like excitement. His time had finally come to use the emergency slide. “Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker!” he yelled before jumping out the door and bouncing happily down the inflatable slide.

  Emily chuckled to herself as she followed Barry down. Harrison kept his eyes out for more zombies. His sensitive ears could hear faint, distant grunting, and he knew more zombies were on their way.

  “I’m staying,” A stubborn passenger sat down on one of the cushion less seats and refused to move.

  “We have to go now!” Lena said forcefully, urging the passenger to go.

  The zombies on the plane were now slowly crawling closer to the exit. The young passenger refused to move as death continued to draw closer. Lena knew it was time to leave the small economy class cabin behind her, so she nudged the terrified woman next to her.

  “You know, I really hate flying,” the woman said, her voice trembling with every word. “I was always afraid of engine failure, terrorists, a creepy guy breathing on me for hours on end… I finally overcame those fears and now the plane gets taken over… by zombies?” Lena smiled softly. “I get it. I do, but now’s not the time to think about that. The zombies out there are gone—for now. If we don’t hurry, they could come back.” She pointed back toward the undead slowly gaining strength. Soon, it would be able to climb to its feet. “These, however, can smell you. They’re getting stronger, and they will come for you. Staying here will solve nothing. Dying here will only make your fear of planes justified.”

  The female passenger looked at Lena with hope in her eyes. She stood and walked over to the door, peering down at the slide. She seemed terrified of it, but as she looked back at the zombies who were now beginning to pull themselves up, Lena could tell she was more worried to be left behind.

  Lena nudged her again, and she sucked in a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she leaped onto the yellow inflatable slide. She didn’t dare open her eyes, even after she felt the cold cement underneath her. A strong hand pulled her up, and she opened her eyes to see Emily smiling proudly at her.

  “Good job.” Emily brushed off the dust on the passenger’s shoulders. “What’s your name, sweetie?”

  “B-Beth,” She stuttered. There was a small smile on her face as she looked up at the door she’d just jumped from. She’d made it out alive.

  “Beth, that was very brave of you,” Emily said, softly hugging her shoulders to comfort the scared passenger.

  Emily guided Beth to the rest of the group who were cautiously walking towards the airport door. It was a small service entrance used by the ground crew to ferry different machines to and from the tarmac runway.

  Lena took one last glance at the tired cabin. The carpets reeked of zombie blood and oranges, and the chairs were battered—many of which were without their cushions. So much had happened in such a small space.

  Lena said a final goodbye to Adele and thanked her for her music. The zombies were perilously close and quickly becoming ambulatory. She quickly dove down the slide towards Harrison and Barry who were standing guard at the bottom.

  Emily held Beth warmly as she guided the group of passengers towards the service entrance. Jonny Wray dragged the largest blue suitcase Lena had ever seen behind him. The very weight of it slowed him down. Ben, the man in the sports jersey, hauled a large Adidas duffle over his shoulder and had two overstuffed bags, one in each hand. Several other passengers dragged their heavy belongings behind them, slowing the entire group down.

  Harrison followed the group from a distance, his large werewolf form intimidating many of the people. He could hear zombies closing in, their snarling getting closer with every step. He knew that soon the tarmac would be filled with more.

  The exhausted group of passengers were just a few feet from the door when a group of zombies lumbered lazily around the corner. Harrison snapped into action and began ripping apart the new arrivals, but he couldn’t do it alone. Soon, more zombies encircled and pulled him down, tearing at him and attacking his tumbling hairy form.

  Lena and Barry exchanged angered, warrior expressions. “We have to go help him,” Lena said, speaking quietly so the zombies wouldn’t hear them.

  Barry nodded. “But how?” he whispered back.

  Lena walked beside Jonny Wray and his large suitcase and briefcase, knowing they would have to use the remaining luggage.

  “Hey! Don’t take my briefcase! Do you even know how much that cost?” Jonny pulled the briefcase from Lena’s grip. “That was a gift from my dad, damn it. He saved forever just to afford my tuition fees for Eaton, and he bought me that for my first day.”

  “Do you want to be eaten?” Lena barked.

  Jonny Wray sighed, knowing Lena was right. “I’ve already been Eaton,” he scoffed, laughing at his words.

  “There’s a man literally being attacked over there. Now really isn’t the time for your jokes,” Lena hissed, trying to pry the briefcase from Jonny.

  “It’s for the greater good,” Barry said quickly.

  Jonny Wray looked at his briefcase, still unwilling to give it up. “Take my blue case. That’ll work better,” he compromised. He pulled his suitcase forward and offered it as a weapon.

  Lena looked at the case. “It doesn’t look that useful. More like super heavy junk.”

  “It’s good enough!” Barry shouted before snatching the case and rushing toward Harrison.

  Barry grabbed the top handle with both hands and swung as hard as he could, knocking two zombies and himself off balance. Unlike the undead, Barry had the ability to course correct and caught himself before falling. He quickly stabilized himself before going for the next.

  As the two zombies hit the ground, Harrison turned and leaped onto them, one foot on each chest. In the bl
ink of an eye, he bent over and gripped their throats, tearing them out before moving on to his next victim.

  Barry’s stomach rolled as he watched the blood gush out onto the concrete. He’d been questioned and even made fun of for the graphic scenes he’d design in his games despite his incredibly squeamish nature.

  Harrison’s loud howling bought Barry back to reality, and he began swinging again while doing his best to avoid looking at what was quickly becoming a hideous, raunchy pile of zombie corpses.

  Emily had reached the service entrance with Beth still in her protective grip, and she gestured for the others to follow her quickly.

  Barry had seen her run over, and he turned to the others after taking another zombie to the ground. “Go inside! We’ve got this!”

  Lena grabbed a forgotten briefcase and swung it hastily at a zombie who stumbled over. The grey, snarling figure hissed and spat at her as she swung again, successfully hitting the gnarled flesh. The zombie groaned as it fell heavily to the runway tarmac.

  Lena didn’t know how to kill a zombie without a definitive weapon, so she kicked it forcefully. The zombie hunched over, gripping its stomach protectively. Lena quickly scanned her surroundings before kicking the zombie again as it groaned louder.

  “Lena!” a high-pitched, frightened voice yelled.

  Lena scanned the hazy horizon again. The imposing overcast skies hung low over the airport. “Who’s there?” she called, not seeing anyone around except the attacking zombies.

  Barry rammed a tall, muscular zombie with another passenger’s large, hard shell suitcase. The undead didn’t even flinch as the sturdy material collided with his hard-packed chest. Instead, he grabbed hold of it and shoved the suitcase back towards Barry.

  “Shit,” Barry muttered to himself as the hard-shell suitcase picked up speed. His plan had backfired. “LENA!” he called again for his friend to come help him.

  The tall zombie swung his arms around, knocking Barry to the ground. He scrambled backwards, trying to escape his attacker’s strong grip, but the muscular zombie was too quick. He pinned Barry down with his large hands. The undead’s scratchy flesh dug into Barry’s exposed skin as the zombie bared his teeth, ready to bite.

  “Oh my God,” he gasped, hiding his face in his shoulder. “LENA!” he called out again.

  Lena heard the frantic cry for help, and she raced towards the voice, hoping it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She couldn’t handle the thought of something happening to Barry. “NO!” she yelled as she ran closer, tears filling her eyes.

  Strained grunts met her ears as Barry called out for her again, this time, his voice even fainter. Harrison howled loudly as he helplessly watched Barry struggle on the ground. The werewolf was still caught in his own battle and couldn’t get away to help. Lena skidded to a halt beside a broad, tall, and muscular zombie towering over the man in need of Lena’s help.

  “Get away from him you slimy piece of shit!” Lena screamed as loud as she could.

  The noise rose to his full height and turned toward Lena at the sound of her voice. Barry whimpered as he laid on the ground, blood pouring out of his shoulder. The tall zombie focused on his new meal. Lena stood firmly where she was, unsure of how she was going to defeat such a tall and muscular opponent.

  “Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker.” Lena growled before charging at the oncoming zombie.

  The tall zombie carefully stumbled towards Lena, but she was ready to fight him to save Barry. Her fists were clenched, and her teeth bared. She took a deep breath to steel herself, looking at Barry one last time.

  He was ghostly white, and his expression was full of worry and pain. Lena could see his scars better than he knew. She could see his fear as he struggled to keep the tears from falling. He didn’t want to be weak, but she didn’t think he was weak. She knew he was full of hopes and dreams. He was strong, and he was beautiful.

  Lena swung at the oncoming zombie, her fist colliding with his chest. Pain immediately shot through her hand and up through her arm. It was like his body was constructed of steel.

  To her surprise, the zombie began to topple towards her. She dove out of his way at the last second, just in time for him to crumple on the ground in a soggy, oozing mess. The back of his head had been ripped away, revealing the greyish pink brains inside. Lena stared at the fallen zombie, trying to piece together what had happened.

  Confused, Lena scanned the surroundings and saw Harrison’s back disappearing behind the large wheel of the landed plane. She smiled at him, knowing he must have been the one to save them from the tall, seemingly unbeatable zombie.

  Barry had managed to climb to his feet, but he was shaky. He moved as fast as he could manage towards Lena. She could see the pain in his expression as it sparked through him every time he moved his shoulder. “We have to go!” he said urgently, reaching with his other hand for her.

  Foul-smelling zombies growled and grunted as they followed Barry and Lena towards Emily near the service entrance. The friendly flight attendant was waiting at the door for them to make it safely across the zombie infested tarmac.

  Claire made sure her two children, Levi and Kate, were safely close by before pulling out her cell phone. She had to get a message to her husband, Sean. He would want to know what was going on.

  <> She began the text with their typical Flash Gordon quotes.

  Her fingers danced over the keys, unable to think of a good way to tell him they were safe but danger was close. She looked over at her precious children, knowing she was doing her all to keep them safe, but she couldn’t continue doing it alone.

  Claire knelt beside her children. “I’m going to call your father. Stay close by, okay?” she said, her voice urgent. “Especially you, Levi. Stay close.”

  Levi nodded. His mother was always nagging him to do one thing or the other. He usually hated it, but he knew now was different. This meant life or death. “Of course, mum. Whatever you say.”

  The ring tone droned on, and Claire held the phone close to her ear. She wanted Sean to pick up and tell her that he was close. As the call tone continued to ring, she wondered if her hopes would come true.

  The voicemail repeated the familiar message, and Claire looked from one teenager to the other. She didn’t know what to say. The line was silent, waiting for her to leave her message.

  A cold breeze whipped through the crowd of passengers as Emily pushed the heavy service door open. Lena and Barry ducked through, quickly shoving the door shut behind them.

  “My God. You’re hurt!” Dr. Dick Francis gasped at Barry’s bloody shoulder.

  Barry looked over at the gaping wound and smiled. “I don’t think it’s as bad as it looks, but I can assure you it hurts worse than it looks.”

  Lena collapsed on the floor beside Emily and pulled Harrison’s heavy-duty backpack into her lap. She hoped she would find some clothes in it for him, though the idea of Harrison having to walk around naked didn’t exactly bother her. She smiled at the thought. Certainly, the sight of an attractive naked man would lift the spirits of some of the passengers.

  “How you feeling?” Emily asked Lena, not expecting a positive answer.

  Lena sighed. “Not sure. I thought I was going to die. I really thought Barry was going to die, but neither of us did.” She let her gaze fall over Dick Francis, who was applying fresh gauze to Barry’s wound.

  “It was the werewolf. He bit that bugger from behind.” Emily told Lena about the parts of the fight she hadn’t seen while fighting.

  Lena nodded slowly. She’d been so confused when the overly large zombie collapsed that she wasn’t exactly sure what had happened. Harrison’s involvement made sense.

  Lena let out a long, exhausted sigh. They’d managed to get all the passengers inside the terminal, and Harrison would return shortly. Everything would be okay. Barry sat beside her just as her eyelids started to droop with the need for sleep. She slumped down, letting her head gently lay on Barry’s good shoulder.
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  Her tired thoughts kept racing back to Harrison. She smiled to herself, wanting at least one good thing to happen. She sat up, forcing her eyes to stay open. There was no way she was going to miss seeing Harrison naked.

  Chapter Seven

  Sean had always loved driving bigger vehicles. He preferred big trucks over the smaller European models. Claire had insisted on getting a small Renault as their family car. She reasoned that it cost much less to run than Sean’s preferred choice of American pickup trucks. In the end, he agreed with her that the UK was no place for oversized, gas guzzling machines.

  The power plant appeared, rising through the fog and gloomy weather. Sean was relieved to see the destination as he drove. The journey had been long and considerably uncomfortable, despite being in the powerful Land Rover.

  “Look at it!” Ryan Moo’s voice was happy and upbeat. After all the horrors Ryan had seen throughout his lifetime, he always tried to be happy. It was the one thing that helped him get through the darkness.

  “Thank fuck! I swear to God… That road felt like a bad massage or something.” Nathan Davids said harshly. If there was one thing he was good at complaining about, it was bad roads and the government’s unwillingness to fix them.

  Sean chuckled at his team mates. “Or like your face as a teenager, Davids!” he added.

  Mallory Kearley burst out laughing at his well-timed jab.

  “I had horrible spots as a wee puckling,” Ryan said into the intercom.

  Sean looked down at the comm system with confusion, waiting for a moment as if the radio itself would answer the question burning in his mind. When nothing else was said, he decided to break the silence. “Ryan, what the fuck is a puckling?”

  Ryan’s hearty, booming laugh rang through Sean’s Land Rover. “Sean, my mate, my good old father was from The Great North!”