The Demented Z (Book 3): Contagion by Derek J Thomas Page B

hall entrance
that Axel and April were last at. The
shadowed entryway sat empty. Out of the
corner of his eye he saw the first demented racing into view.
  The entryway was out of reach and he knew
it. Hannah did as well; she was already
turning for the rear door. Tom stayed
low and followed after her, hoping the demented would not notice either of them.
    Hannah reached the door with the counter pulled in front and
hesitated.
    “What’s up?” Tom
whispered as he raced up next to her.
    “They’re trying to flush us out.
  They’ll be waiting to gun us down.”
    Tom knew she was right.  
His throat tightened as he heard the guttural growls of demented behind
them. They were filling the cafeteria
and would soon be spilling into the kitchen.  
Tom spun around surveying the area.
    “Over here.” He said
, spotting what he hoped would save them.
    The two of them ran over to the large walk in freezer door
and Tom yanked on the heavy handle. The
stench of rot washed over them. Hannah
covered her mouth with her sleeve and headed into the dark opening.
  Tom took a look back and wondered if they
should try to shoot their way out, but he had no idea how many infected there
would be. He checked the heavy door to
make sure it had an interior latch release and once he saw the red paddle
button he stepped into the darkness and pulled the door closed behind him.
  The ominous click shrouded them in pitch
black silence.
    ******
    Kelly could smell the smoke before she could see it.
  The acrid smell was more than just smoke; it
was the un-natural scent of man made products burning.
  When the plume came into view through the
trees it was deep black and emanating from multiple locations.
    For what seemed like the first time since leaving the cabin,
she eased off the throttle. The old
snowmobile had done better than she ever could have hoped for.
  Floating over the snow she was easily able to
dodge any infected she saw and they were able to quickly outdistance any that
tried to follow. As she eased off the
throttle, the engine began to sputter, so she sped back up, not wanting it to
die.
    The giant log wall came into full view as she shot out of
the thick stand of trees and into an open field.
  Most of the snow was gone, but the skids slid
easily across the matted down field grass.  
Smoke rolled upwards from behind the fortress wall.
  Orange flames licked angrily at the billowing
darkness as it escaped skyward. There
looked to be three separate fires inside the compound.
    Once she was within twenty yards of the wall she slowed to a
stop, hesitating with indecision. She
tried to listen, but the rumble of the snowmobile drowned out any noises that
might be present. The engine made the
decision for her when it sputtered and went silent.
  Shouts and screams made Kelly’s neck hair
stand on end.
    Sam sat between her and the handlebars.
  He slowly twisted his head around, looking up
at his mom with curious eyes. His face
was pale as he took in rapid breaths trying desperately to get oxygen to his
liquid filled lungs. His mouth opened to
say something, but then closed again, leaving whatever it was unsaid.
    “Okay hun , we have to try.”
  She said while standing up next to the
snowmobile. After a quick glance all
around, she left her rifle shouldered and helped Sam to his feet.
  Despite his size, she lifted him up and
packed him toward the small man sized door next to the huge metal gate.
  She eyed the guard towers that overlooked the
entrance, and she was glad to see them both unmanned.
  At least she thought that was a good thing.
    The man door was locked from the inside, which she
expected. “Stay right here.”
  She said while leaning Sam up against the
wall. Looking over the giant gate, she
found it locked as well. Wire and sheet
metal covered a pair of green tube gates that had been welded together.
  Along the edge, closest to the hinges, she
found enough foot and