Infection Runs Deep

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: A BATTLE MEANT FOR MORE THAN T-CELLS

Without another thought, Luke and Warner rushed off, already in battle mode.

Ian started after them. "No you don't." I seized the back of his shirt. "You're taking me with you."

"You can't fight, Lizzi," he protested weakly, but I could see his resolve faltering.

"Please."

He wrapped an arm under mine. "They're going to kill me for this."

I smiled sweetly. "I'll protect you."

He snorted, but started off anyway. It was a weird cross between a hobble and a run. Oliver was a step behind me, silent and calculating, Leo following.

"Can you see?" I asked Ian.

"Shit," he muttered. "It's infected. Do you have a weapon?" I shook my head. "We've got some in the truck."

He tossed me a handgun, tucking another into a holster at his hip and taking another in each hand. Looking critically at Oliver, he asked, "can you shoot?"

"No, but it shouldn't be that hard."

"No, gun safety." Ian withdrew the offer of a gun. "You're more likely to shoot yourself or one of us than you are an infected. Stay here." He turned to me. "Any way that I can convince you to do the same?"

"Hell no," I said, cocking the gun in reply.

"I figured." He lifted me back up. "Let's go."

It was chaos. There had to be thirty of the infected. Clawing at the minivans with their shredded nail beds, groaning helplessly.

Luke had a handgun, using it to bash in heads and fire shots at those close to the cars. Warner was unarmed, but held his ground. Using only his fists, he took down an infected and sent another one sprawling to the pavement. It wasn't enough.

Ian and I made it to the fray.

"Warner," I called and slid my gun across the pavement. He elbowed an infected in the face and dodged its next blow, scooping up the gun near his feet in one fluid motion.

Ian wordlessly gave me one of his extra guns, handing the cool metal to me handle-first. He put his back to mine, a sign of complete trust that I would defend him.

I didn't want to kill them. They were still people. But there were people counting on me. Real, uninfected people that needed my help.

Maybe being a doctor meant doing no harm. But I could not stand by and let my friends die. That would be doing harm. Killing the infected was mercy.

I aimed at the infected that were far from people since I didn't trust my shaking hands. My first shot missed, going wide towards the horde. The bullet clipped one behind my target, sending the infected sprawling to the pavement before it clawed itself back to its feet.

Ian fired off a few shots behind me, but I couldn't tell if they hit their marks. I only hoped that they did. His body shook as his body brushed mine, arms trembling. Like me, combat was foreign territory to him.

Train all you want, but nothing prepares you for the real thing. Nothing prepares you for the gruesome mess of blood and gore, for your friends crying out around you, for the sheer chaos, the yelling, the sounds, the smell. Scent is tied so closely with memory and emotion. I could never forget the smell of the acrid gunpowder combined with the salty tang of blood, no matter how much I wanted to. It was forever ingrained in the depths of my mind.

Luke took a hard hit by an infected, getting knocked to the road. My breathing hitched and I fired a shot at the next infected closest to him, nailing it in the shoulder. A second shot to the face kept it down for good. Luke rolled over the infected and brought his gun down hard against its temples. Brain matter spilled onto the pavement. He double tapped an infected in the head, protecting Warner's back.

They worked as a team in perfect unison, acting in perfect call and answer. Over the roar of battle, I couldn't make out their words, but their chatter was constant. Ian and I were silent, but present, our communication defined by our motions and dimmed by fear.

My hands shook so badly, I didn't trust myself to take another shot. The infected were too close to my friends, but I couldn't do a thing about it.

Warner fired off two more shots, swearing as the third clicked empty. Luke stepped in with a shot of his own, but motioned that he was out too.

"The cars," Warner yelled at us, waving and pointing heavily. "Get to the base. Go, go, go."

Ian fired off another few shots, Warner and Luke catching up to us before we even started. Warner swiped Ian's extra gun and laid down some cover fire to slow the infected down.

Ahead, Oliver and Leo were already in the Mercedes, engine running.

"Drive," Luke screamed. "Straight down this road on the left."

Oliver gunned the engine and took off. The minivans and truck followed, leaving the four of us to get to the SUV before the horde overtook us. We eliminated a good bit of the crowd, but there were still too many. An endless stream of snarling bodies.

I couldn't keep up on my weak ankle. Luke scooped me up and tossed me over his shoulder, wincing as my body weight dug into his injury. I tried to protest, but he took my gun into his free hand, helping the other two put down more infected.

The infected were too far to reach us for now. We reached the SUV, Warner flinging open the passenger side doors. He slid into the passenger seat and Luke jumped into the back with me. Warner crawled across the middle barrier into the driver's seat, starting the engine with the keys tucked into the ignition. Ian hopped into Warner's newly vacated position at in the passenger seat, taking out one last infected before he slammed the door shut.

Warner whipped the car around, confronting a wall of infected blocking the road. He gunned it, sending me careening on top of Luke. A moment of tension, held breaths and beautiful silence. I stared at him, our eyes locked in a tight embrace. A collision of souls.

Warner made a sharp turn around the infected, running over bodies with a thuwmp. I fell forwards, my head sailing towards the door. Luke stopped my reckless trajectory, pulling me tightly to his chest and holding on for dear life.

After mere seconds that could have lasted forever, Warner sighed. "We lost them for now. We need to catch up with the others before more shit goes down."

Luke pressed his lips to my hair before letting me go. We shuffled into sitting positions, our breaths mingling in the close quarters.

Warner glanced back at us in the rearview mirror and smirked. Ian elbowed him and stage whispered, "don't ruin their moment."

It snapped us out of this enchantment. We broke apart, our bodies fully separated and minds on different wavelengths.

"What are we going to do when the infected catch up to us?" I asked, my voice breathless.

"The sentries at the gate are armed with snipers," Luke said, reaching out a hand to comfort me before retracting quickly. "They'll be able to handle it."

"Given that we get in," I muttered hopelessly.

This time, Luke couldn't stop himself. He grabbed my hand, squeezing hard. "We'll get in."

Large, fluorescent lights gleamed up ahead, illuminating a trail of cars led by a sleek convertible. Oliver argued with the guard gate, emphasizing his words with elaborated gesturing.

Warner flashed us a smile. "Don't worry, I've got this." He jumped out of the car and jogged off to break up the fight.

"No, he doesn't," Luke grumbled to me. Reluctantly, he released my hand and followed after Warner, his shadow blending into the darkness.