The Virus by Lee, Damien (summer books txt) 📕

all his strength to keep the door in its place. Both Amy and Terry looked on as he tried in vain to repel the invaders.

“I can’t hold it!” he yelled as another strike sent him reeling back.

Amy scanned the ward, looking for anything else to create a barricade. Her gaze fell on one of the many beds in the side room. Leaving Terry behind, she ran to the room and manoeuvred the gurney out into the corridor.

“Move!”

Ben leapt aside as she slammed the bed into the metal cabinet. Applying the brakes, Amy stepped back to observe the durability of the barricade with the addition of the large bed. The door still shook in its frame, but the added bulk of the gurney held it in place.

“We need to move,” Ben said. His eyes remained locked on the shuddering door frame. “That barrier won’t last.”

“What do you suggest?” Amy looked up at him as he tore his eyes away and began scanning the ward.

“The lift. It’s our only way out.”

“No way!” Terry snapped from his perch on the other side of the room. “If those things are waiting for us down there, we’ll be dead as soon as the doors open.”

“You were all for the idea a few minutes ago!”

“That was before I got crippled by that fucker.” Terry spat, pointing an accusatory finger at the corpse next to the elevator. Amy felt the tension rise between the two men once more and for a second time she resorted to playing mediator.

“Stop!” She shouted, partly out of frustration, but also to be heard over the thunderous banging at the door. “Isn’t there a way we can just climb on top of the lift and send it down that way? Then, if the doors open and a bunch of those things come pouring in, we would be safe.”

Amy looked between the two men.

“And suppose they do come in, we’ll be trapped there,” Terry said. “At least here we have room to breathe.”

“Not for long,” Ben countered. “In a few minutes they’ll be in here with us.”

Not waiting for a response, Amy ran towards the elevator and stepped inside.

“Hold on!”

She ignored Terry’s outburst and glanced at the roof of the carriage. The hatch was closed. She turned as Ben approached.

“Need a hand?” he asked. Amy nodded and stepped aside, allowing Ben entry. She watched him reach up and push the hatch. It remained shut.

“It won’t open.”

“Of course it won’t open,” Terry yelled, trying to be heard over the barrage of strikes against the door. “It can only be opened from the top side. Otherwise, anyone could get in there.”

“You said you climbed down?”

“I did, but there’s a latch that locks once it’s closed.”

“Fine, we’ll take our chances in the lift.”

“Wait,” Terry said. “There’s a way you could get above the carriage.”

“How?”

“You two climb through the ceiling and make your way over to the elevator shaft. There’s a maintenance hatch that will give you access to the lift. I’ll wait inside the carriage and then just pull me up.”

Ben almost managed a contradictory remark, but the sound of splintering wood stopped him. All three stared at the door as it started to come away from its hinges.

“Okay, what do we do?” Amy urged.

“Ben, stand on that desk and push one of the ceiling tiles aside.”

Ben complied and scaled the desk. He reached up and punched a hand through one of the square tiles.

“They’re foam! How the hell is that going to hold us?”

“You climb on the pipes,” Terry retorted. “Look through the gap, there are loads of thick pipes up there.”

More snapping wood came from the buckling barricade.

“I see them.”

“Jump up, grab a hold of the biggest pipe and lift yourself in.”

“Will it hold?”

“As long as you grab it near the brackets holding it up.”

“Are you sure?”

“I service these pipes, of course I’m sure!”

Ben nodded and jumped through the gap in the ceiling. Amy watched as he dragged himself up, his legs dangling momentarily before they too vanished.

“C’mon!” Ben’s voice sounded muffled above them.

Amy stepped over to the desk.

“Be careful not to put any of your weight on the ceiling tiles,” Terry said. “They won’t hold you. And don’t put weight on the middle of the pipes. Stick to the fixings.”

The second hinge on the door broke.

Amy nodded and climbed onto the table. She looked through the gap in the ceiling and saw Ben’s face appear out of the gloom.

“Let’s go.”

“I can’t jump that high,” Amy stammered, panic starting to surface.

“Just jump,” Ben said. “I’ll help you up.”

A large gap appeared in the corner of the door. A dozen eager hands reached through, groping the air.

“Move!” Terry roared. His outburst spurred Amy into action. She leapt high into the air; her outstretched arms caught by Ben.

“Gotcha.” He hoisted her through the gap until she could feel the cool touch of the pipe.

“Pull yourself up, I’m heading to the lift,” Terry shouted.

Amy wormed her way up through the multitude of pipes until she was comfortably perched on the largest one. She looked back through the gap as Terry wheeled himself away.

With a final crack, the door gave way, providing a gap big enough for the eager attackers to gain entry. The shrieks of delight screeched through the air as the undead poured into the room. Amy closed her eyes tight and clapped hands over both ears. She couldn’t bear to hear the man being eaten alive. It was too much. She sat on the pipe for what seemed like an eternity, humming to herself to drown out the murmuring chorus below. She shrieked as a hand clasped her shoulder. She looked through the gloom at Ben.

“It’s fine,” he said. “He