The Virus Within: The Unranked (Book 4)

Ch. 33: To The University

As the door swung open, sunlight shone through a huge hole in the roof and wall. Keeping a careful eye on the deteriorated floor and ceiling, I edged into what had once been a waiting room. Two pigeons burst into flight, their noisy wingbeats making me jump as they flew to safety.

Exhaling slowly, I examined the ceiling, which was hanging down in some spots, and laying on the floor in other areas. The floor seemed sturdy enough, and I knew nothing had collapsed in the rooms below, so I kept going, ready to jump back at a moment's notice.

I didn't get far before I stopped and examined the piles of twisted metal and wires that used to be part of the roof, deeming it unsafe to try and go deeper into this area when I was unsure how solid the floor was. The last thing I needed to do was be responsible for a building collapse.

If there was any equipment in the back rooms, it would have been crushed by falling debris and soaked by numerous rainstorms. I backed out and checked nearby rooms, confirming the destruction wasn't confined to just one area.

The floor farther down the hallway was warped and twisted. The carpet hid whatever the supports underneath were doing, but I trusted it about as much as I trusted Trent to not ask questions when we returned.

I returned to the stairwell and went to the second floor, pushing open the firedoor and calling out, "Are you on this level?"

"Yes. Did you find anything?"

I walked down the hallway, letting my footsteps fall heavier. "A lot of looted rooms and a collapsing roof. You?"

Light shone around a corner before Daniel came into sight. "A couple of small things that were overlooked when the room was ransacked, but nothing we're searching for. Feel like heading over to the university and seeing if any of their lab stuff was left behind?"

"Might as well. We're not finding anything here."

I headed back the way I came, knowing Daniel didn't like people behind him in dark places, especially Nightstalkers. The light from his flashlight shone around me as he followed me down the stairs and outside.

With a quiet sigh of relief, he turned the light off. "It's a bit of a walk to the university."

"Your other option is fetching the truck and trying to drive through this." I gestured at the road, where vehicles were caught in a series of bumper-to-bumper roadblocks as far as I could see. At least a dozen zombies were visible, so plenty more were around and willing to form additional barriers.

"Point taken," he said as he started jogging.

We wove our way through the streets, avoiding the zombies who decided to give chase. We were going faster than the regular zombies, but a Runner had already spotted us and was beginning to catch up. I vaulted over a car to deter it, and it tried to climb over before finally going around.

Without breaking stride, Daniel ripped the mirror off a truck and threw it past me. I glanced back as the mirror hit the Runner square in the chest and knocked it over.

"Thanks," I murmured, making a mental note of that trick. It had never occurred to me to use vehicle parts as ranged weapons. Stones and socket wrenches, yes. Depriving cars and trucks of no-longer-essential parts, no.

I vaulted over another car so Daniel would be the clearer target. He could have the joy of dealing with annoying ferals. If I happened to learn a few more tricks while watching, even better.

Apart from vehicles, zombies, and an occasional flock of pigeons, the city streets were deserted. The buildings had been at the mercy of the weather with no repair or cleaning for years, and they were starting to show their age. I didn't see any that were leaning yet, but in the distance, some had been blackened by fire.