Page 11 of Alpha Infected
Ice swore to himself that they would retrieve the cure for this outbreak come hell or high water.
“There’s your target,” the pilot said over their headsets.
They swooped up to a tall and narrow office building with a big gold KVP sign mounted above the top floor. The pilot hovered over the rooftop, checking that the space was clear of infected before she slowly lowered to land.
As soon as they touched down Ice jumped out, ready to get to work. Hazard, Ortiz, and Jax were right behind him. They would rappel down to the highest floor with windows, enter there, and start working their way up to the lab where the antidote was located. Each of them had memorized the location of the lab and the passcodes necessary to gain entry to it and the freezer where the cure was stored.
Ortiz gave the pilot a thumbs up, indicating they were all on the ground and she was clear to depart. The helicopter rose, flying back to the safety of Broken Arrow and the base’s infected free zone. They didn’t want to take the chance of an infected somehow finding its way to the roof and attacking the pilot while she waited for them. She would return once they’d completed the mission and called for ex-fil.
Moving swiftly, they made their way to the edge of the rooftop. They were all in combat gear and fully armed. And since these infected appeared to love going for the face, Ortiz, Hazard, and Jax wore thin but strong carbon fiber full-face masks for protection. Ice’s face was covered by his usual wolf mask and tonight he also had on the balaclava that he’d stopped wearing last year.
“Hook up,” Ortiz ordered.
They strapped on the rope and harness systems that would allow them to rappel down the side of the skyscraper, hooking up to whatever fixed fixture they could find to hold their weight. Ice tested his system to make sure it was secure, then stepped up on to the edge of the rooftop. Once the others were all in place, he dropped. He went down the rope in a controlled fall, the zip of metal on rope a steady whine until they reached the twenty-ninth floor.
They stopped there, far below the rooftop and high above the ground. Using an explosives charge to blow out a window was a no-go, as the noise would draw the attention of the infected. They didn’t want to have to fight them off the moment they entered the building. Or worse, while they were still hanging from the roof. Wind whipping around them, they walked along the row of windows, searching for a room that didn’t have any infected inside.
“This room looks empty,” Hazard yelled over the noise of the rushing wind and blaring safety announcements below.
Ice went over to join him. Seeing the room was indeed empty, he applied a large suction hook to the center of the glass pane. Hazard pulled out a laser knife from his tac vest and cut a wide square in the glass. The suction hook kept the cut piece from falling inside and loudly breaking into pieces. Moving quietly, Ice lowered the heavy piece of glass to the carpeted floor.
One by one they slipped inside the empty office. The wind whipped into the room through the hole they’d cut in the glass, scattering the loose papers on top of the desk. Quickly and silently, they removed their rappelling gear and got their weapons in hand.
The office door was open. Just outside of it they could hear movement and raspy, labored breathing. There were definitely infected in the hallway.
“It’s a shame we have to kill these people when we’re on our way to get the antidote,” Jax whispered.
“It is,” Ortiz quietly agreed. “But we have to get past them and we can’t afford to get bit while we do it. We work our way through each floor, moving up to the lab as fast as possible. With any luck, we won’t encounter that many infected. But if we do, don’t hesitate to shoot. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the three of them replied.
At their acknowledgement, she gave them the go ahead to proceed.
“Move out.”
They left the office, weapons at the ready, moving as silently as possible.
Ice’s Instinct was practically vibrating under his skin. His sharp wolf senses smelled death. Lots of it. In response, his Instinct hummed a constant warning to be careful. He sensed the same hyperawareness from his pack mates. Ice flicked a glance to Hazard to check that he was alert even though he knew it wasn’t necessary. He couldn’t help it. He wanted to make sure that his mate was safe.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before they met an infected. Ice took in his first up-close look at one of the rabies-crazed zombies. A woman in a gray pants suit stained rust with dried blood stood at the end of the hall. The whites of her eyes had bled until they were nearly solid red, and thick, white foam dripped from her mouth. Most of her hair had fallen out, leaving only wispy patches of brown clinging to her scalp. Even her eyebrows were gone. And above the collar of her pink dress shirt, the veins in her throat were black as ink against gray-white skin.
The second she saw them, she froze. Her body unnaturally still, she eyed them like a predator sizing up its prey. Then, she sprinted straight for them, her teeth bared, snarling like a rabid dog. She lost one of her heels as she ran but didn’t stop in her rage-induced attack.
“I got her, Major,” Jax said.
He raised his gun and fired, his suppressed rifle making only a muffledthwip. The bullet struck in a clean head shot, immediately halting her forward process. The woman’s body jerked back before she dropped to the floor with a thud.
Weapons up, they continued down the hall, moving to the far end of the floor where the staircase was located. The place was eerie. It was quiet, the sounds one expected to hear in an office building - chatter, phones ringing, and people moving about - completely absent. Splashes of blood covered the walls. And dead bodies, those who’d been killed before the infection took over - lay where they’d taken their final, terrified breaths. Their corpses created an obstacle course for the 448 to jump over or navigate around.
But the dead bodies weren’t the only thing they had to get past. There were several infected between them and the stairs.
“Hazard, Ice, drop ‘em,” Ortiz ordered.
Ice followed the order along with Hazard, calling his shots and firing until all of the infected in their way were dead on the floor. Once the path was clear, the four of them pushed forward, reaching the stairs without further incident. They’d made it through the first floor with relative ease.
“One down, seven to go,” Hazard said as they climbed the wide staircase to the thirtieth floor.
“Too bad the lockdown protocol has the elevator out of service,” Jax grumbled. “Taking it would make this trip a lot faster.”
