to any infected in the area.
My head was on a swivel, watching for both infected and survivors. The thermal scan had shown a few small groups of what had to be infected at different spots around the exterior walls of the casino, and I didn’t want them to have any advance notice of our arrival. I was also worried about potential attacks from infected wildlife.
I had no idea if razorbacks ranged into this part of the country or not, but after dealing with the ones in Arkansas, then seeing the obviously infected bats in Texas, I wasn’t in the frame of mind to trust any animal we encountered. But, we didn’t encounter any, moving to the edge of the paved parking lot without incident.
The lot was so large the building was still over two hundred yards away and I paused when Dog let out with a quiet growl. Holding up a clenched fist I stopped our advance and looked down at him. His eyes were locked on the structure to our front and I was reasonably sure he had caught a sound or scent of the infected group that was clustered beneath the helipad.
After another scan of the area I got us moving forward again, treading lightly across the smooth asphalt. Dog would growl occasionally to let me know there was still danger ahead, but I wasn’t able to see them yet. Slowly the details of the building resolved in my NVGs as I drew closer.
We were approaching at an oblique angle to the edge of what had resolved into a truly impressive structure. Even though the interior of the building was only one level, the walls soared nearly fifty feet into the air, which I suspected created an almost cavernous feel to the inside. Made of smooth stucco there was the occasional symbol embedded into the stone that represented something from the heritage of whatever tribe had built the casino.
Despite knowing that I had Indian blood in my veins courtesy of ancestors on my mother’s side, I’d never had an interest in the culture and ignored the designs other than to take note of their presence. What I wanted to see was a maintenance ladder that ran from the ground up to the roof. At the moment that was much more interesting to me. But, I wasn’t seeing one on this side.
Reaching the wall, I flattened my back against it and gave the rest of the team a moment to join me before sliding along to a corner. I could hear them before I saw them, the snarling of several males. Pausing at the edge I signed for the rest of the group to hold and peeked my head around to get a view of what we were dealing with.
Eleven infected were in the immediate area, five males and six females. All were just standing there, the females’ heads tilted back to stare at the parapet far above them, the males swaying slowly back and forth as they waited for something to happen. I was preparing to raise my new rifle and start dropping the females when movement farther out caught my attention. It was two infected lying on the ground.
At least I thought they were just lying on the ground, until I looked closer and was stunned into immobility. A male infected was on his back, a female straddling him as they mated. What the hell? I knew the females were getting smarter, or probably to be more accurate they weren’t having as much of their cognitive functions damaged by the virus as it mutated, but to be having sex?
I didn’t even want to think about the implications of the infected mating. For that matter, I had no idea how the infected’s minds were being impacted by the virus. Was this mating for procreation, or was some part of their disease riddled brains seeking out sexual pleasure?
A touch on my shoulder startled me back to reality and I turned. Rachel was looking at me with a curious expression that was mirrored on Martinez’ and Zemeck’s faces. Peeling the NVGs off I handed them to Rachel and motioned for her to take a look. We traded places and she peered around the corner. The way her body went stiff I could tell she had spotted the amorous couple.
Finally I tapped her shoulder and she turned around with a look of stunned horror on her face. Next I waved Martinez and Zemeck forward for a look. This wasn’t a peep