and hunger. Below his collarbone, his shirt had been shredded into a bloody mess. The officer fired into the man’s chest, and he fell back into the group behind him. He was only carried by the momentum of the shot though, and his ruined torso still remained upright. Some of the creatures seemed to be growling like carnivores on the attack. As the recently shot creature seemed to waver, other creatures shoved past him eagerly.
“It has to be a headshot,” Dr. Klein said. Her usually silky tone now sounded hoarse and shaky. By now she had moved closer to Pamela. She was visibly shaken, sweaty, and pale.
But Pamela’s attention was diverted as more pressure began to enlarge the crack between the leaning double doors. A new figure emerged, and this time they could see the face of a middle aged woman. Half her lip had been chewed away and they could see the woman’s gums as she snarled. This time the officer took more careful aim. The woman’s face dissolved and she sank out of view.
A turned man replaced her, and he was pounding his entire body madly against the door. He snarled and lunged, and again, the officer shot him. As soon as he sank another grotesque face replaced his. By this time, one of the soldiers returned to the building.
“Private Davis practically had his arm chewed off before we got to him, Sir,” the soldier reported. “We have a medic with him now, but he needs a hospital.”
“Call for a copter,” the officer said. “You can see that I’m rather busy right now.”
“We also dispatched two of the hostiles, Sir,” the soldier said. “We’ve got the third one hog tied in the back if you want a live sample.”
“Fine,” the officer said. “Make sure that any captives are very well secured and get that copter ASAP.”
“The bitten man may turn,” Dr. Klein said. “You need to secure him as well.”
The officer shrugged and nodded, and the soldier left the reception room. By this time the door on the left side leaned on its hinges. The officer gave orders to the two soldiers in front, and they readied their weapons. It was a simple matter of picking of the hostiles as they tried to muscle their way through the opening. In a matter of a few moments, the pounding ceased. Pamela could see a pile of bodies crumpled on the floor through the gap between the inner doors. The stench of blood and feces was overwhelming. Pam picked up the neck of her shirt and held it over her nose until she finished gagging.
“Are there others?” the officer asked Dr. Klein. By now she had taken a seat at the reception desk and leaned her head in her hands.
“Certainly,” she said. “This is a fully staffed three story building. Approximately a hundred and fifty people show up here for work every day. The cryonics and animal labs are on the first floor, but other projects and management office are located on the upper floors. This entire place must be swept. It is also possible that some uninfected people have taken shelter in various rooms and offices. Paul and Pamela managed to get out after the attacks started. The infected are determined, but they do not seem to be particularly fast or clever. They don’t even remember how to open a door.”
“So we can’t just blow this place up? You’re saying uninfected people may have taken shelter in the building?”
“That is correct,” Dr. Klein said. “This building is three stories high, and it will have to be swept. In fact, it is more likely that people on the upper floors would be safe. The things seem to be able to climb stairs but the stairways do have doors. The people upstairs would also have more time to figure out what’s going on. Of course that’s not the critical reason to leave this building intact.”
“What would that be?”
“Well, I’ve got insurance to compensate my client’s estates if we lose the freezers. I’m not likely to go broke over this.”
“That’s nice to know,” the officer said dryly. “After you call out the US Army, it’s nice to know you won’t be out any money. What is the most critical thing, Doctor?”
“Well, of course it’s my research,” Dr. Klein replied as if dozens of people had not died and turned into monsters within the last few hours. “My work represents a lifetime of achievement. You must be familiar with my past accomplishments. For