Waking the Zed - By ML Katz Page 0,24

Pamela pulled hard on the door to close it quickly. The inside doors still trembled, but held against the onslaught of the creatures who pushed against it. Dr. Klein motioned with her pistol hand and ordered both of them to sit against the wall while she communicated with the authorities.

“Visitor from the frying pan,” Pam said without humor, “welcome to the fire.”

Paul looked at Pam, the dead woman, and finally Dr. Klein. Then he turned to gape at the inside doors. The young man’s lips worked silently, but he seemed unable to find his voice.

Up close, Paul looked very young. His face was pale and unlined. Pamela wondered if he, like her, was simply a college student with a summer job. He may have complied readily with Dr. Klein’s orders because he still believed the gun was only for their mutual protection, and did not also represent a threat. Dr. Klein had not bothered to point the thing at his chest. But then Pam remembered how he had glanced at her in the lab, as if he wanted to communicate something even back then. She certainly could not question him right now, with Dr. Klein standing there armed and only a few feet away.

The inside doors shuddered again and the metal frame clearly started to bend. Pamela’s nerves seemed to be electrified and it took great effort to stay seated. She had no way to know how many of those things gathered in the hallway so Dr. Klein’s gun did not comfort her much. The woman might be able to take down one or two before they invaded the small reception area. She doubted that Dr. Klein could shoot a half dozen of them though. Every nerve in Pam’s body seemed to tingle with the urge to run.

Pam urgently wanted to sprint for the outside doors now, but the threat of Dr. Klein’s gun felt real too. She promised herself that she would bolt the second the inside door showed a sign it might give way. She hoped the doctor would be distracted by the creatures and decided she would rather be shot by Dr. Klein than face a horde of those awful dead things.

Paul kept his eyes on the inside door frame too. His tongue darted out to lick dry lips and Pam guessed he was controlling himself with an effort just as she was. “How long do you think we have?” he murmured.

“They have done this much damage in a few minutes, and they don’t seem to get tired,” Pamela replied grimly. “As time passes, more of them seem to be piling up behind the first ones. In another twenty minutes we may have a big problem. I just hope they don’t get smarter. If one of them has a couple of brain cells left we’ll be in really big trouble.”

Dr. Klein finally glanced up from the wide screen of her smart phone. She waved her gun hand dismissively. “The military will be here in less than ten minutes,” she said. “I had this building constructed to very high building standards. That door should hold up against a little pounding. There is no evidence that any of them retain the mental facilities of a toddler, except for the fact they can walk and grab people.”

“We had a smart dog on the farm that could open doors with his teeth,” Pam said.

Dr. Klein smiled condescendingly. “Apparently they are even lower on the scale than your smart farm dog then. As I already told you, I believe they could be better compared to the virus being animated in a human body than a human or any sort of higher level animal.”

“But they can walk,” Pam said. “They can also bite. They must have some control of the host bodies, plus they seem to recognize us as prey.”

Dr. Klein waved her gun hand dismissively. Then she wiped her forehead with the same hand and Pam noticed it was shiny with sweat. The room was warm, but not hot. Perhaps Dr. Klein’s sudden sweat betrayed her true mood more than her calm and composed demeanor. If so, the woman did have iron control. Pam’s own palms felt slick with perspiration. Right now, it took all of her control to keep from howling in fear and despair.

“Are you feeling OK, Dr. Klein?” Pam asked. “You look like you may have a fever or something. Of course, it could be nerves.”

“I’m quite fine,” Dr. Klein said. “It seems to be a bit warm in