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

“We’re fighting for survival here. We need every man we can get, and a trained soldier is a valuable asset.”

“My thoughts exactly.” The soldier snarled. He held a hand to his bloody ear, his unblinking eyes fixed on Gus.

“Don’t try anything funny,” Gus said. He turned as Lurch rejoined the group.

“You almost hit me!” the tall man snapped.

“And you almost blew up our lifeline. That was a truck-load of ammunition you were firing at!”

“Look, can we stay focused here?” Lisa urged, looking between the two men. “Why don’t you show us these planes?”

“Did you get them all?” Gus asked his gothic henchman.

“One or two might have got behind us, but I got most of them.”

Gus laughed indignantly as he walked through another doorway. The group followed, stopping when he reached another barricaded door.

“Right then, you can go first,” he told Lurch.

“What?”

“You let them past; you go check if they’re out back.”

“Fine.”

“Wait,” Tina said. “I’ll come with you.”

Lurch turned to look at her, a slight smile adorning his face.

“Isn’t that cute? Nice knowing you, sweetheart.” With that, Gus moved the barrels aside until the doorway was clear. With a sweeping arm, he motioned for the pair to leave.

“Here, you can’t go out there without a weapon,” Lisa said as she offered the handgun to Lurch.

“I have a weapon.” He pulled the combat knife from the sheath on his belt and turned towards the door.

“A knife?” Lisa gasped, looking at Gus. “He’s going out there with a knife?”

“He’s a crazy bastard.”

They all looked on as Tina and Lurch swung the doors wide. Bright sunlight flooded the room, but no zombies accompanied it as they all shielded their eyes. The two in front stepped outside, scouring the open courtyard for a threat. When nothing came, they turned back to the group.

“Looks empty.”

Gus strode forward with the others in tow. The first thing Frank saw was the procession of fighter jets towards the end of the courtyard. But once his eyes had taken in their route to freedom, he also noticed the large metal dome in the centre.

“What exactly is this place?” He scowled, turning to face the soldier.

“A barracks for overseas operations. But its primary use is for weapons research and development.”

“We don’t need to hear all this,” Gus insisted. “Let’s see if Maverick can get those birds in the sky.” He winked at Simon, who didn’t return his affection.

“Actually, why don’t we tell them more about this place, Gus?” Zielinski said. He stepped forward as Razor shot him a menacing glare.

“What’s going on?” Frank asked, looking between the two men.

“Gus doesn’t want you to know about this place. If you did, you’d know how this whole zombie thing started.”

The gangland boss clenched his fists as Zielinski turned to look at the others.

“And more precisely, you’d learn how Gus Razor caused the end of the world.”

31

“What’s he doing?” Amy gasped as another shot ricocheted nearby.

“He’s a prick.”

“But doesn’t he know it’s you?”

The machine they had sought refuge behind clanged as a bullet struck the exterior.

“Probably,” Ben said. “He did say if he ever saw me again, he’d shoot me in the face.”

Amy stared at Ben with wide eyes. He shrugged as another shot hit the ground near their feet. Silence fell as the man reloaded.

“Let’s move.”

The words barely escaped Ben’s mouth before he disappeared around the side of the machine. Amy ran after him, stopping in the middle of the factory where Ben aimed the rifle at his father.

“Stop!”

Ben watched through the scope as the elderly man fumbled with a handful of bullets.

“I said stop!”

He fired a shot at the wall beside his father. The man flinched, dropping the bullets and magazine onto the metal walkway.

“I taught you to shoot better than that!” he said.

“That was a warning shot. Stop trying to kill us.”

“Have you been bitten?”

“No.”

“Then get up here, I haven’t got all day.”

They watched the man scoop up the magazine and the few bullets which had not fallen through the grates. Muttering to himself, he stormed towards his office. They walked across the factory floor, stepping over dead animals and factory workers. Amy realised with horror that some of the men had no other afflictions apart from a bullet hole in their head.

“You don’t think he killed them before the outbreak, do you?” she asked, motioning towards the bodies.

“I wouldn’t put it past him.”

A sick feeling started to form in the pit of her stomach as they ascended the stairwell. Their feet gave off a dull echo as they went, continuing as they reached the top. They took one last look at the carnage below, before heading into Gordon Chesterfield’s office.

“What’re you waiting for?” The old man demanded as they appeared in the doorway.

Ben stepped into the room with Amy at his back. They watched as he poured a tumbler full of whisky.

“Is this all you’ve been doing?” Ben asked. “Sitting here getting drunk for the past two days?”

“Three days, actually.”

“Three?”

“Yeah, I was gonna be in deep shit with the law. I could’ve gone away for quite a while if it wasn’t for this fabulous blessing.”

“Blessing? What do you mean blessing?”

“I mean, I’m a free man. They can’t put me away if there are no coppers left.” Gordon beamed as he raised the glass to his lips.

“Yeah? Well, your blessing took your daughter’s life!” Ben yelled.

Gordon’s eyes widened. He stared at his son in horror. “Francis?”

“Dead.”

“Are you sure?”

“She was eating people, Dad! So yeah, I’m pretty fucking sure!”

They watched as the elderly man’s face contorted. He let out an agonised cry and he crumpled in his seat. Tears streamed