another part of the city, leaving a ghost town behind. But Deb was trembling and the others looked equally shell-shocked.
"Come and sit down." She led them to the camp site.
Ann went to heat water on the camp stove. Mrs. Scheider set up more chairs for the newcomers and the three sank gratefully onto them. Deb launched into the tale of how she'd hooked up with Julie and Carl.
"There's usually a receptionist at the front desk and you can't gain access to the offices or labs without a pass, but when I went into the building there was no one there. The door to the offices was torn off its hinges, blood and bodies everywhere." Deb sipped from a bottle of water Lila gave her, her hand shaking. "I went in back and searched until I found Julie and Carl."
"I was at my desk when we were attacked," Julie added her part of the story. "People burst into the room, and I thought they were junkies or something until one of them grabbed Abbie Woolsey and bit her neck. I jumped up from my chair. I didn't even try to help her. I just ran."
Deb grasped her hand. "You couldn't have done anything, babe. You know that."
"But I didn't try. None of us did. We all ran like rats." Julie pressed her lips tight together and stifled a sob.
"You did what you had to in order to survive," Lila said softly. "We all ran yesterday. We all left people behind." There were murmurs of agreement from some of the others.
Deb resumed her story. "By the time I got to Quantus, the zombies had moved on--mostly. When I was searching for Julie, one came around the corner straight at me." Her rough voice wavered a little and she swallowed. "I, uh, used my knife like you showed me, Ari."
"It all happened so fast," Carl spoke up at last. "One minute I was working on my computer and the next I heard screaming, people running, things smashing. The things burst into the room where I was working and I ran out of it. I heard them coming from both directions down the hall so I ducked into a supply closet to hide. Julie was already in there. We blocked the door. We didn't see what happened but we could hear it."
"We waited a long time, long after things got quiet," Julie added. "And then I heard Deb's voice calling my name so we came out."
"I think I might know what caused this," Carl said. "I believe it might be the result of a virus."
"No shit," Derrick said. "That's zombies one-oh-one. It's always in the blood."
Carl frowned. "No, I mean a specific virus—the A7. Quantus Labs has been working on an antidote for it. You may have heard about the new drug on the news."
"What does that have to do with the zombies?" Lila asked.
"It's possible..." Carl cleared his throat. "The work we've been doing may have been flawed."
"Flawed how?" Dr. Morgenstern left his lookout post to listen to his explanation.
"You have to understand, I'm a lab tech with fairly low level clearance. I see parts of the whole. I do the testing I'm asked to do and work on certain aspects of a project. So it's not my business to know how Quantus research is funded or what pharmaceutical company will ultimately manufacture the drug we design."
"Your point?" Ari asked impatiently.
"Rats treated with the antidote were initially healed but it altered their blood structure in minute ways. Still, the results were positive so we administered to test patients. All symptoms connected to A7 disappeared. That drug should never have been cleared without much more rigorous testing, but people were clamoring for a cure. So it was released without sufficient clinical trials either due to government intervention or because a pharmaceutical company was eager to make a fast buck." Carl exhaled a deep breath.
"And you believe people who took the drug, eventually died and then reanimated." Mrs. Scheider made the preposterous claim sound plausible.
"Yes. That's exactly what I fear."
"But why all at once? How could it have been so widespread?" Ari asked. "The logistics don't add up."
Carl shook his head. "You
"Come and sit down." She led them to the camp site.
Ann went to heat water on the camp stove. Mrs. Scheider set up more chairs for the newcomers and the three sank gratefully onto them. Deb launched into the tale of how she'd hooked up with Julie and Carl.
"There's usually a receptionist at the front desk and you can't gain access to the offices or labs without a pass, but when I went into the building there was no one there. The door to the offices was torn off its hinges, blood and bodies everywhere." Deb sipped from a bottle of water Lila gave her, her hand shaking. "I went in back and searched until I found Julie and Carl."
"I was at my desk when we were attacked," Julie added her part of the story. "People burst into the room, and I thought they were junkies or something until one of them grabbed Abbie Woolsey and bit her neck. I jumped up from my chair. I didn't even try to help her. I just ran."
Deb grasped her hand. "You couldn't have done anything, babe. You know that."
"But I didn't try. None of us did. We all ran like rats." Julie pressed her lips tight together and stifled a sob.
"You did what you had to in order to survive," Lila said softly. "We all ran yesterday. We all left people behind." There were murmurs of agreement from some of the others.
Deb resumed her story. "By the time I got to Quantus, the zombies had moved on--mostly. When I was searching for Julie, one came around the corner straight at me." Her rough voice wavered a little and she swallowed. "I, uh, used my knife like you showed me, Ari."
"It all happened so fast," Carl spoke up at last. "One minute I was working on my computer and the next I heard screaming, people running, things smashing. The things burst into the room where I was working and I ran out of it. I heard them coming from both directions down the hall so I ducked into a supply closet to hide. Julie was already in there. We blocked the door. We didn't see what happened but we could hear it."
"We waited a long time, long after things got quiet," Julie added. "And then I heard Deb's voice calling my name so we came out."
"I think I might know what caused this," Carl said. "I believe it might be the result of a virus."
"No shit," Derrick said. "That's zombies one-oh-one. It's always in the blood."
Carl frowned. "No, I mean a specific virus—the A7. Quantus Labs has been working on an antidote for it. You may have heard about the new drug on the news."
"What does that have to do with the zombies?" Lila asked.
"It's possible..." Carl cleared his throat. "The work we've been doing may have been flawed."
"Flawed how?" Dr. Morgenstern left his lookout post to listen to his explanation.
"You have to understand, I'm a lab tech with fairly low level clearance. I see parts of the whole. I do the testing I'm asked to do and work on certain aspects of a project. So it's not my business to know how Quantus research is funded or what pharmaceutical company will ultimately manufacture the drug we design."
"Your point?" Ari asked impatiently.
"Rats treated with the antidote were initially healed but it altered their blood structure in minute ways. Still, the results were positive so we administered to test patients. All symptoms connected to A7 disappeared. That drug should never have been cleared without much more rigorous testing, but people were clamoring for a cure. So it was released without sufficient clinical trials either due to government intervention or because a pharmaceutical company was eager to make a fast buck." Carl exhaled a deep breath.
"And you believe people who took the drug, eventually died and then reanimated." Mrs. Scheider made the preposterous claim sound plausible.
"Yes. That's exactly what I fear."
"But why all at once? How could it have been so widespread?" Ari asked. "The logistics don't add up."
Carl shook his head. "You
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