June 14th, 2008
7:25am
Hillenbrand Parking Garage
T.Rex knew the layout of Hillenbrand Hall inside and out, having lived or worked there in some capacity for six semesters and two summers over the past four years. The residence hall was composed of two large towers that held the students' rooms - both had eight floors each containing 50 two-person suites and a trio of elevators in the center. The suites were arranged in pairs, so that four students shared a common bathroom. Every floor also had a kitchenette, an ironing room, several utility closets, and a large study room in the center. As an upperclassmen hall, the rooms were larger (and more expensive) than most of the other University housing options.
Viewed from the top, the towers were shaped like a pair of "v"s connected at their vertices by a large green-roofed rectangular complex that held Hillenbrand's dining hall and kitchen, main office, computer lab, laundry facilities, and more study lounges. Deep in the basement was a complex maze of storage cells, utilities, and the campus offices for the University Residences Human Resources department.
Armed with a mental blueprint and an abundance of adrenaline, T.Rex took the parking garage stairs two at a time and paused just at the bottom of the stairwell. He stood on his tiptoes and peeked through the window in the door, scanning for zeds.
With no zombies in sight, T.Rex planned to sprint directly to the closest entrance - the rear dining hall doors, right next to the West tower elevators. He was only carrying his crowbar, by now a trusty companion. The rest of his equipment he'd left with the Fools to lighten his load, but it left him feeling naked and unprepared to handle any emergencies.
He took a few calming breaths and gently eased the stairwell door open, peeking around the corner. A single zed stood to a few yards to his right, staring blankly at the sky and wearing nothing but a tattered pair of shorts and a pair of Crocs. T.Rex crept forward, hoping to sneak past the zed before it could utter any warning to other zombies that might be in the area.
The zed sniffed loudly and jerked its body, turning to face T.Rex. When they made eye contact, the creature's jaw dropped in anticipation just before an arrow pierced its skull from above. The zed froze and flopped onto the ground, motionless.
T.Rex threw a quick salute to the Fools on the second story of the parking garage before dashing to his entry point. The glass panels of the doors were gone, replaced by a few jagged shards sticking to the frame. A carpet of broken glass blanketed the surrounding sidewalk, and Ryan did his best to circumvent the obstacle by traipsing through the nearby flowerbed and gingerly stepping through the doorway.
Do I even want to know what made that hole? T.Rex pondered as he entered the building. At least I don't have to worry about my Purdue ID not working in the electronic swipe locks. With the power out I'm pretty sure the doors default to locked and wouldn't open.
The elevator lobby was completely silent. The only light on the ground floor came leaking in from the broken door, and T.Rex took a moment to try and let his eyes adjust. He was used to the comforting glow of fluorescent lights providing bland but functional illumination.
Fighting back a yawn, T.Rex poked the Up button for the elevator. Nothing happened. Of course, he said to himself. Fucking useless. He noted the irony of increased building security against zeds as modern conveniences began to shut down.
During the school year the towers were split by gender, with the farther East tower being the female side. This typically carried over during the summer, when the buildings were used as housing for various programs- run in part by Operations Assistants like Jenny and himself in years past. Last he knew, she was stationed on the fourth floor, so he would begin his ascent from the first floor after crossing the central portion of Hillenbrand. He could only hope that she was still there- it was an awfully large building to have to search room by room.
Glancing to his right he saw the dining hall entrance, quiet and bathed in near-darkness. The lobby in front was normally packed with a line of hungry students, waiting for their allotted meals. Currently, it was devoid of any presence and what little light spilled in quickly faded, creating numerous shadows. Moving slowly, T.Rex listened intently for any noise that might indicate another person or zed nearby. Now cloaked in almost complete darkness, Ryan wished desperately he'd taken a flashlight. Fortunately, he knew his way around quite well.
He moved to the East elevator lobby without incident, and the outside doors on that side were boarded up. Ryan moved through the short hallway beside the elevators, which led him to the first floor rooms. There was a crack of light dead ahead, where the curtains of the study lounge didn't quite overlap. Using that as a guidepost, T.Rex took the left hallway. Gripping his crowbar in his dominant right hand, he kept close to the side of the hall to let his left hand very gently follow the wall. This way, he could count the number of door handles he passed and steady his path in the darkness.
Clunk. The crowbar in T.Rex's hand found the door at the end of the hall with a loud noise, and he immediately froze, heart pounding in his chest. Way to go, slick! The West half of campus probably heard that one! he chided himself. He waited for what felt like an eternity before moving again, hoping above all else nothing was lurking in the hallway.
Reaching out, T.Rex gently tried the handle. The wooden door was supposed to lead to a small anteroom that connected the outside with the stairwell and the first floor, but the handle would not not turn more than a quarter of the way. Damnit, where's my lock picker? T.Rex muttered under his breath. He was just about to turn around when a thought struck him.
When the crowbar struck the door, it sounded a lot denser than I would've guessed. Plus, the handle itself moves, but not all the way. He decided to risk a bit of noise to try and confirm his theory. He stepped back and knocked on a similar door, one that led to a student room. It made a light rap against his knuckle. Knocking on the first door resulted in a much deeper thud. T.Rex crouched down and attempted to slide the thinnest portion of his crowbar under the door.
Just partway in there was a click, and the crowbar would move no more. Yup, he thought, somebody has barricaded the room ahead, I'm guessing with some of the furniture from the nearby rooms. Not a bad idea, as it would keep zeds out of the building, plus keep the ones inside stuck on the ground floors. Unfortunately, that means keeping me out, as well - there's no way I could break through-
A nearby growl caught him by surprise enough to make him jump into the air. T.Rex spun and faced the darkness, terrified but ready to fight for his life. His eyes darted left and right, trying to discern any shapes in the hallway. After several moments he felt a sharp jab to his abdomen as the noise repeated.
T.Rex looked down at his midsection, and then rolled his eyes. His stomach was growling and a normal inconvenience became a condition that could draw unwanted attention to himself. It was the first time he'd consciously thought about food in several hours, and he wondered for a moment how the other Fools were holding up. If they were beginning to feel slowed by hunger or lack of sleep. If they were safe, or perhaps under attack.
Shaking his head, he quietly retraced his path to the middle of the first floor and went to the right side of the hallway. Halfway down the corridor he heard a noise that was much different from his stomach - a low moan that came from behind. Speeding up, T.Rex fumbled in the darkness and found the handle for the door at the end of the hall.
The handle moved even less than the left side handle did. A quick check of his crowbar under the door confirmed both sides were likely barricaded. Frustrating, he thought, but that means there's a better chance Jenny is alive. It gave him hope that somebody, perhaps the Hillenbrand Staff together, had attempted to secure the building before being overrun. T.Rex grinned, knowing Jenny would enjoy his optimism.
He had one last shot at getting to the higher floors, and it meant heading towards the noises he heard. Gritting his teeth, T.Rex sneaked back towards the East side elevator lobby. The noise increased as he got closer- by the time he reached the study lounge in the center of the hallway, a pair of groans and a steady wheeze had joined in.
Ryan tiptoed to the corner of the hallway just outside the elevators and paused, listening intently. Another trio of distinct "voices" had joined the nearby cacophony. T.Rex peeked around and saw the empty dining hall lobby, and the dim light at the far end from the broken doors. Somewhat confident the coast was clear, he turned the corner and moved in front of one of the elevators.
Very gingerly, as to not make any noise, he slipped his fingers between the elevator doors and pulled, trying to force them apart. When they didn't budge, he slipped his crowbar into place and strained. The inner door mechanisms clicked backward loudly, and the nearby sounds of undead stopped momentarily.
"Shit!" T.Rex hissed. He heaved, and the outer doors groaned open, nearly drowning out the nearby moans. The elevator doors were just inches apart when the first few zeds staggered into the dining hall lobby, looking for food. They appeared as stark silhouettes in the dimly lit hall, jerking and shuffling towards Ryan.
Desperate, T.Rex placed his foot on the frame of the elevator entrance and used his entire body for leverage. The doors protested at first, but as T.Rex extended his legs they relented. More than a dozen zombies came closing in, mouths open in anticipation.
The doors opened wide enough that the crowbar lost purchase and clattered to the ground, spinning, twisting, threatening to fall through the crack on the floor. T.Rex, with his leg on the wall, fell with it, and he quickly snatched the crowbar and rolled into the elevator. The closest zed managed to stagger in as well, the rest not far behind.
Without electricity or a crowbar holding them open, the elevator doors defaulted to internal springs and began to close slowly and inexorably.
Now confined in the elevator with a single zed, Ryan frantically crawled backwards on his hands and feet to the back corner. The lead zed plodded forward, arms outstretched and eyes wide with hunger.
"Come and get me, you undead piece of shit!" T.Rex yelled, gripping his crowbar with the hook cradled upside down in his palm. The zombie took the challenge and lunged, reaching down for T.Rex's skull.
T.Rex would have none of it. He extended his short arms fully and kept a firm grip on the crowbar as he thrust it upward, screaming with fury. The bottom of the weapon pierced the zed's jaw just behind the chin and hammered upward, splitting undead skin and muscle until it burst through the top of the zombie's skull with a wet crack.
The zed immediately went limp. T.Rex shoved the corpse aside just as the elevator doors shut, plunging the area into complete darkness.
Word Count: 47,286
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Chapter 32 - Fracture
June 14th, 2008
6:56am
Aviation Drive
Beard glanced around the corner of the control tower, surveying the situation. The rest of the Fools waited anxiously, lined up against the back of the building with weapons drawn.
T.Rex tried to keep his focus on the task at hand - helping guide the Fools through the hostile airport area, en route to Hillenbrand Hall. However, the closer they got to their destination, the harder he found it to concentrate on anything but worrying about Jenny. He wondered if she was hurt, or even still alive. Or worse, a zombie.
"Let's do this," Rubble said, clapping his hands on T.Rex's shoulder. Ryan looked around and saw that he'd been a bit too involved in his thoughts - the rest of the Fools were following Beard at a brisk jog across the airport taxiway. Together, he and Rubble joined them until the entire group paused behind another airport building.
"Two more buildings," Beard warned the group, "and then we're gonna make a mad dash for the treeline. Got it?" Beard looked back at the Fools, who all nodded in succession.
T.Rex nervously adjusted the grip on his crowbar and glanced around. The Fools were holding their ground in an alley between the control tower building and the featureless backside of a large hangar. The group shifted nervously, like a pack of animals expecting an ambush. Ryan knew their path would take them through the main taxiways of the airport before they'd reach the relative safety of the treeline.
Beard crept to the edge of the hangar and peeked around. He quickly turned back and grimaced, before motioning the Fools onward with a violent motion. "Just keep moving!" he hissed as each Fool turned the corner to the previously unseen airport grounds.
T.Rex followed his friends into a haunting scene. The mixed fleet of aircraft owned and operated by the University - normally secured and stored in neat rows by the checklist minded pilots - were gone. In their place was a graveyard of fuel spills and tie-down straps blowing in the wind. Just shy of the entrance ramp to the runway were a pair of high wing aircraft in a mangled heap.
Most likely two pilots tried to jockey for takeoff once the zed invasion was apparent, T.Rex surmised. Power outages at the control tower probably didn't help with communication, either. He could see other signs of ill-conceived departures: broken hangar doors, seats and other non-essential gear tossed aside. One aircraft at the far end of the runway had run out of room before reaching takeoff speed; personal effects strewn about the wreckage indicated the pilot tried unsuccessfully to escape with more than his life.
"C'mon!" Peace whispered, and T.Rex shook his head clear of the CSI-analysis of the airport grounds. They were halfway to the trees when a single zombie flopped out of a nearby airplane and lurched for them. It moaned softly as it plodded forward, still about 15 yards from the group. In a split second Ryan weighed the idea of stopping to silence the lone straggler to cover their exit versus the threat of being caught up in an energy-draining fight with more.
Twang! Rubble's bow sounded as a single arrow flew out and sunk deep into the zed's face. The monster fell over backwards onto the concrete, its face contorted into the closest approximation of a look of surprise it could manage. Most of the Fools glanced over to admire the marksmanship before continuing on, arranged in a loose line formation.
The group paused once more at the edge of an outbuilding to regroup. All were panting to some degree except Beard, who gave a quick glance ahead before signaling to move again. The Fools continued on, crossing over the railroad tracks that marked the Northern airport boundary. They were a soccer field's length from the treeline when Angel Hair's ankle gave out.
"Ack!" Angel Hair cried out in mid-stride, flopping onto the ground. His weapon slid away in the grass but his pack stayed on. Without hesitation Rubble and Kamikaze handed off their weapons before scooping up Angel Hair and continuing to make for the trees. Like a well-oiled machine, Peace grabbed the errant pool cue and did a quick spin, checking for threats. Together, the entire group of Fools managed to hobble to the edge of the forest before stopping to catch their breath.
Gently Rubble and Kamikaze lowered Angel Hair to the ground before joining the rest of the group in a protective circle around him. They all were turned to face the forest around them. "Are you okay?" T.Rex asked over his shoulder between breaths.
"That's the first time I really put a lot of strain on my ankle since I fell on the rooftop," Angel Hair said with a wince, "but I think it might be okay if I can give it some rest." The Fools looked at each other, worried.
We all could use some rest, T.Rex thought, but we don't have time to sit and wait for Angel Hair to get better, nor do we have much in the way of treatment. Sitting around is just going to make us vulnerable, anyway.
Rubble shrugged and placed his equipment on the ground. "C'mon, little buddy," he said, and effortlessly hoisted his friend on his back. Rubble spoke calmly: "If somebody can carry our stuff and we stay out of trouble, I can carry him for a bit."
T.Rex made an executive decision to distribute some of the medicine they'd taken with them from the apartment fortress. He gave a pair of aspirin tablets to Angel Hair and ordered everyone to take a hydration break before setting out into to the woods.
Cautiously the Fools picked their way through the trees, staying close enough to maintain a course parallel to the edge of the woods but far enough in to stay obscured - or so they hoped. They were arrayed in a loose diamond formation, with Beard on point and Peace just behind, Angel Hair piggybacked with Rubble between Kamikaze and Cowboy, with T.Rex bringing up the rear. They traveled in relative silence, only whispering when necessary.
Without thinking about it, the Fools had begun to truly move and act like a single entity as they trekked through the woods. They were reaching a sort of group mind consciousness that was the hallmark of their best performances on stage, and T.Rex noticed. Like in the tunnels, they'd periodically pause to listen for the sounds of danger, to make sure the sounds of their walking wasn't concealing a stalking zed.
The Fools came across a small red sedan that had careened into the forest, flattened some shrubbery, and came to rest embedded at an angle in the trunk of a large oak. T.Rex was incredibly confused for a moment until he realized that St. Route 26 ran through this portion of the woods. With concentration he could make out the paved asphalt a few yards ahead through the trees. They were all so used to the sounds of cars and civilization that the road had simply snuck up on them.
Crossing the road and avoiding the car meant heading deeper into the woods, so the Fools very cautiously followed Beard's lead and backtracked a bit into the trees. Once they reached the edge of the forest farther in, they ran as a group across the road and waited on the other side for any response to the flight. There was none, so they continued on and moved back towards the edge of the forest, closer to Purdue's campus.
On the way T.Rex could see across the road to the wrecked sedan- from the different angle he could see the entire passenger side window was shattered, and a bloody smear coated the entire door. A Papa John's delivery sign lay on the ground near the vehicle, jarred loose from the impact. T.Rex wondered if the delivery person had tried to flee an overrun store, or perhaps swerved to avoid a shadow in the night en route to a delivery, or something worse.
The other side of SR 26 was much more active, and the Fools heard moaning and shuffling in nearly all directions. Still, they reached the Eastern edge of the woods without any encounters. They paused, and T.Rex strode to the front to address the Fools.
"I don't think I have to tell you that this next part is crucial," he began, "but we're very close to Hillenbrand. We have to cover a lot of open ground to get past Purdue West, and then we'll make for the parking garage just behind the residence hall. Questions?"
The Fools were tense, alert, and ready to go. Nobody objected, and T.Rex signaled for the group to move. They burst from the woods and jogged across McCormick Road, heading for the parking lot behind the Purdue West Shopping Center.
Most of the cars were missing from the parking lot, so Beard motioned for them to continue on rather than try and pause behind the sparse cover. They reached the complex and paused, resting against the front of a for-rent office space. T.Rex saw a handful of shapes nearby beginning to stir, no doubt zeds looking for their next meal.
Just then the pane of glass the Fools were resting on wobbled with a loud bang and the group spun, nearly losing Angel Hair in the process. A trio of zombies pressed themselves against the glass trying to get to the Fools, dragging their fingers against the glass with such force that their decaying skin began to slough off. The screams of the zeds were muffled by the glass and the surprised screams of the Fools in response.
"MOVE!" Beard said, and the Fools took off after him. They rounded the corner and sprinted through the shopping complex, the sounds of glass shattering in the distance. They ran faster, striking down a pair of skinny zeds in track jackets in their way. With the path clear they ran out into the early daybreak and across McCutcheon Drive. They didn't stop until they were in the shadows of the ground floor of the parking garage.
Panting, T.Rex began to walk up the ramp to the second floor, determined to finish the job they'd started. The rest of the Fools followed him, exhausted from their sprint from the woods. Angel Hair had to duck to fit under the parking garage pipes. It was only when they reached the second floor overlooking the rear entrance to Hillenbrand that T.Rex stopped and dropped his equipment on the floor.
"I'm going in there," he said, pointing to the residence hall, "and I need you guys to wait here for me while I go rescue Jenny." He paused to catch his breath, and the entire group objected.
"What about the buddy system!?" Rubble said.
"What if you get lost?" Cowboy asked.
"Or surrounded by zeds?" Beard snorted.
T.Rex waved his hand and cut them off. "No. I'm doing this alone. I know the building better than anybody, and I've worked there and lived there longer than most of you have been Fools. Another person is just going to slow me down and make too much noise if I have to change plans on the fly, and I may need to squeeze through some pretty small spaces. I'm going to run in, break or kill anything in my way, grab my girlfriend, and then meet you back here. I need you all to cover me and make sure I- we have a safe exit. Got it?"
Ryan expected the group to object, possibly to the point where he would have to stay and they would go rescue Jenny. Instead, they slowly nodded and one by one raised their hands in salute.
He slowly picked up his crowbar and returned the gesture with his free hand. He took off, jogging for the garage stairwell. He looked back and saw Rubble counting his remaining arrows. Kamikaze grimly picked up Ryan's rifle and glanced through the scope. They would cover his assault on Hillenbrand while the rest of the Fools armed up, ready to defend their garage spot from any and all threats.
As T.Rex reached the door to the stairwell his mind was racing.
How the hell am I gonna pull this one off?
Word Count: 45,300
6:56am
Aviation Drive
Beard glanced around the corner of the control tower, surveying the situation. The rest of the Fools waited anxiously, lined up against the back of the building with weapons drawn.
T.Rex tried to keep his focus on the task at hand - helping guide the Fools through the hostile airport area, en route to Hillenbrand Hall. However, the closer they got to their destination, the harder he found it to concentrate on anything but worrying about Jenny. He wondered if she was hurt, or even still alive. Or worse, a zombie.
"Let's do this," Rubble said, clapping his hands on T.Rex's shoulder. Ryan looked around and saw that he'd been a bit too involved in his thoughts - the rest of the Fools were following Beard at a brisk jog across the airport taxiway. Together, he and Rubble joined them until the entire group paused behind another airport building.
"Two more buildings," Beard warned the group, "and then we're gonna make a mad dash for the treeline. Got it?" Beard looked back at the Fools, who all nodded in succession.
T.Rex nervously adjusted the grip on his crowbar and glanced around. The Fools were holding their ground in an alley between the control tower building and the featureless backside of a large hangar. The group shifted nervously, like a pack of animals expecting an ambush. Ryan knew their path would take them through the main taxiways of the airport before they'd reach the relative safety of the treeline.
Beard crept to the edge of the hangar and peeked around. He quickly turned back and grimaced, before motioning the Fools onward with a violent motion. "Just keep moving!" he hissed as each Fool turned the corner to the previously unseen airport grounds.
T.Rex followed his friends into a haunting scene. The mixed fleet of aircraft owned and operated by the University - normally secured and stored in neat rows by the checklist minded pilots - were gone. In their place was a graveyard of fuel spills and tie-down straps blowing in the wind. Just shy of the entrance ramp to the runway were a pair of high wing aircraft in a mangled heap.
Most likely two pilots tried to jockey for takeoff once the zed invasion was apparent, T.Rex surmised. Power outages at the control tower probably didn't help with communication, either. He could see other signs of ill-conceived departures: broken hangar doors, seats and other non-essential gear tossed aside. One aircraft at the far end of the runway had run out of room before reaching takeoff speed; personal effects strewn about the wreckage indicated the pilot tried unsuccessfully to escape with more than his life.
"C'mon!" Peace whispered, and T.Rex shook his head clear of the CSI-analysis of the airport grounds. They were halfway to the trees when a single zombie flopped out of a nearby airplane and lurched for them. It moaned softly as it plodded forward, still about 15 yards from the group. In a split second Ryan weighed the idea of stopping to silence the lone straggler to cover their exit versus the threat of being caught up in an energy-draining fight with more.
Twang! Rubble's bow sounded as a single arrow flew out and sunk deep into the zed's face. The monster fell over backwards onto the concrete, its face contorted into the closest approximation of a look of surprise it could manage. Most of the Fools glanced over to admire the marksmanship before continuing on, arranged in a loose line formation.
The group paused once more at the edge of an outbuilding to regroup. All were panting to some degree except Beard, who gave a quick glance ahead before signaling to move again. The Fools continued on, crossing over the railroad tracks that marked the Northern airport boundary. They were a soccer field's length from the treeline when Angel Hair's ankle gave out.
"Ack!" Angel Hair cried out in mid-stride, flopping onto the ground. His weapon slid away in the grass but his pack stayed on. Without hesitation Rubble and Kamikaze handed off their weapons before scooping up Angel Hair and continuing to make for the trees. Like a well-oiled machine, Peace grabbed the errant pool cue and did a quick spin, checking for threats. Together, the entire group of Fools managed to hobble to the edge of the forest before stopping to catch their breath.
Gently Rubble and Kamikaze lowered Angel Hair to the ground before joining the rest of the group in a protective circle around him. They all were turned to face the forest around them. "Are you okay?" T.Rex asked over his shoulder between breaths.
"That's the first time I really put a lot of strain on my ankle since I fell on the rooftop," Angel Hair said with a wince, "but I think it might be okay if I can give it some rest." The Fools looked at each other, worried.
We all could use some rest, T.Rex thought, but we don't have time to sit and wait for Angel Hair to get better, nor do we have much in the way of treatment. Sitting around is just going to make us vulnerable, anyway.
Rubble shrugged and placed his equipment on the ground. "C'mon, little buddy," he said, and effortlessly hoisted his friend on his back. Rubble spoke calmly: "If somebody can carry our stuff and we stay out of trouble, I can carry him for a bit."
T.Rex made an executive decision to distribute some of the medicine they'd taken with them from the apartment fortress. He gave a pair of aspirin tablets to Angel Hair and ordered everyone to take a hydration break before setting out into to the woods.
Cautiously the Fools picked their way through the trees, staying close enough to maintain a course parallel to the edge of the woods but far enough in to stay obscured - or so they hoped. They were arrayed in a loose diamond formation, with Beard on point and Peace just behind, Angel Hair piggybacked with Rubble between Kamikaze and Cowboy, with T.Rex bringing up the rear. They traveled in relative silence, only whispering when necessary.
Without thinking about it, the Fools had begun to truly move and act like a single entity as they trekked through the woods. They were reaching a sort of group mind consciousness that was the hallmark of their best performances on stage, and T.Rex noticed. Like in the tunnels, they'd periodically pause to listen for the sounds of danger, to make sure the sounds of their walking wasn't concealing a stalking zed.
The Fools came across a small red sedan that had careened into the forest, flattened some shrubbery, and came to rest embedded at an angle in the trunk of a large oak. T.Rex was incredibly confused for a moment until he realized that St. Route 26 ran through this portion of the woods. With concentration he could make out the paved asphalt a few yards ahead through the trees. They were all so used to the sounds of cars and civilization that the road had simply snuck up on them.
Crossing the road and avoiding the car meant heading deeper into the woods, so the Fools very cautiously followed Beard's lead and backtracked a bit into the trees. Once they reached the edge of the forest farther in, they ran as a group across the road and waited on the other side for any response to the flight. There was none, so they continued on and moved back towards the edge of the forest, closer to Purdue's campus.
On the way T.Rex could see across the road to the wrecked sedan- from the different angle he could see the entire passenger side window was shattered, and a bloody smear coated the entire door. A Papa John's delivery sign lay on the ground near the vehicle, jarred loose from the impact. T.Rex wondered if the delivery person had tried to flee an overrun store, or perhaps swerved to avoid a shadow in the night en route to a delivery, or something worse.
The other side of SR 26 was much more active, and the Fools heard moaning and shuffling in nearly all directions. Still, they reached the Eastern edge of the woods without any encounters. They paused, and T.Rex strode to the front to address the Fools.
"I don't think I have to tell you that this next part is crucial," he began, "but we're very close to Hillenbrand. We have to cover a lot of open ground to get past Purdue West, and then we'll make for the parking garage just behind the residence hall. Questions?"
The Fools were tense, alert, and ready to go. Nobody objected, and T.Rex signaled for the group to move. They burst from the woods and jogged across McCormick Road, heading for the parking lot behind the Purdue West Shopping Center.
Most of the cars were missing from the parking lot, so Beard motioned for them to continue on rather than try and pause behind the sparse cover. They reached the complex and paused, resting against the front of a for-rent office space. T.Rex saw a handful of shapes nearby beginning to stir, no doubt zeds looking for their next meal.
Just then the pane of glass the Fools were resting on wobbled with a loud bang and the group spun, nearly losing Angel Hair in the process. A trio of zombies pressed themselves against the glass trying to get to the Fools, dragging their fingers against the glass with such force that their decaying skin began to slough off. The screams of the zeds were muffled by the glass and the surprised screams of the Fools in response.
"MOVE!" Beard said, and the Fools took off after him. They rounded the corner and sprinted through the shopping complex, the sounds of glass shattering in the distance. They ran faster, striking down a pair of skinny zeds in track jackets in their way. With the path clear they ran out into the early daybreak and across McCutcheon Drive. They didn't stop until they were in the shadows of the ground floor of the parking garage.
Panting, T.Rex began to walk up the ramp to the second floor, determined to finish the job they'd started. The rest of the Fools followed him, exhausted from their sprint from the woods. Angel Hair had to duck to fit under the parking garage pipes. It was only when they reached the second floor overlooking the rear entrance to Hillenbrand that T.Rex stopped and dropped his equipment on the floor.
"I'm going in there," he said, pointing to the residence hall, "and I need you guys to wait here for me while I go rescue Jenny." He paused to catch his breath, and the entire group objected.
"What about the buddy system!?" Rubble said.
"What if you get lost?" Cowboy asked.
"Or surrounded by zeds?" Beard snorted.
T.Rex waved his hand and cut them off. "No. I'm doing this alone. I know the building better than anybody, and I've worked there and lived there longer than most of you have been Fools. Another person is just going to slow me down and make too much noise if I have to change plans on the fly, and I may need to squeeze through some pretty small spaces. I'm going to run in, break or kill anything in my way, grab my girlfriend, and then meet you back here. I need you all to cover me and make sure I- we have a safe exit. Got it?"
Ryan expected the group to object, possibly to the point where he would have to stay and they would go rescue Jenny. Instead, they slowly nodded and one by one raised their hands in salute.
He slowly picked up his crowbar and returned the gesture with his free hand. He took off, jogging for the garage stairwell. He looked back and saw Rubble counting his remaining arrows. Kamikaze grimly picked up Ryan's rifle and glanced through the scope. They would cover his assault on Hillenbrand while the rest of the Fools armed up, ready to defend their garage spot from any and all threats.
As T.Rex reached the door to the stairwell his mind was racing.
How the hell am I gonna pull this one off?
Word Count: 45,300
Monday, August 18, 2008
Another Delay
Vacation, concert, moving, and getting ready for back to school.
New chapter soon, but once classes start (August 25) I think I may scale back to going for a new chapter every other week, at least until I get used to things. So close...
New chapter soon, but once classes start (August 25) I think I may scale back to going for a new chapter every other week, at least until I get used to things. So close...
Monday, August 4, 2008
Chapter 31 - On Approach
June 14th, 2008
6:33am
KLAF Maintenance Terminal
"I don't expect any trouble topside," T.Rex cautioned the Fools around him, "but just in case, let's pair off, with one person carrying double bags and the other ready to clear any threat. That said, grab your gear and climb up when you're ready, and once we're all up we'll evaluate the situation from there."
Ryan stayed at the bottom of the maintenance room, checking each pair and helping Fools shoulder extra equipment before sending them up the rungs. Peace carried Beard's bags and Angel Hair chivalrously offered to carry Kamikaze's equipment. That left just Cowboy and T.Rex standing at the bottom of the ladder.
Cowboy shifted his feet impatiently, glancing up at the outlet in the ceiling. "I take it you wanna go first?" T.Rex asked preemptively.
"Please?" Cowboy said with a wide grin, bouncing up and down.
T.Rex motioned towards the ladder and Cowboy sprung into action, grabbing his bat and racing up the rungs. Chuckling, T.Rex took one last look around the room, taking advantage of the faint light to look around for items they might have missed. Satisfied, he grabbed his own pack before slinging Cowboy's supplies over his shoulder.
It was a short climb up the rungs, and the increasing sunlight felt comforting to T.Rex as he neared the exit. Near the top he held on with his right hand and readjusted the packs with his left, to better fit through the narrow hole. Finally, with the help of the Fools already out, he exited Purdue's tunnel system.
Rubble, Beard, Cowboy and Kamikaze stood around the exit with weapons drawn, scanning the immediate area for any threat. Angel Hair was combing over the equipment, checking the bags in the early sunlight. When T.Rex emerged, they looked at him with a mixture of expressions, most of which looked less than impressed.
T.Rex looked around, confused. They were standing just a few feet from where he had predicted they would exit, and he was pretty proud of that. "What?" he said, defensively.
Peace spoke first. "I thought we'd get out somewhere closer than the airport."
The Fools were standing near the center of the Purdue University Airport, the first university owned airport in the US. It occupied a large piece of land covered almost entirely by concrete, located to the immediate Southwest of campus. The land was dominated by the two medium sized asphalt runways at the Southern end. The primary runway ran approximately East-West, while the smaller secondary runway was oriented Northeast to Southwest. Closer to campus was a series of hangars and buildings that housed classrooms, workshops, and other related buildings.
"Look," T.Rex began, "There aren't many tunnels that run directly under residence halls, and those that do are pretty well sealed up. I studied the maintenance maps, and this was the closest exit I could find that didn't put us smack dab in the middle of a building full of people. I didn't want us to have to fight our way out, okay?"
The Fools grumbled, clearly unhappy with the result, and T.Rex was slightly annoyed. He tried to ignore that feeling and concentrate on his next idea, the one that made the airport an especially attractive destination.
Kamikaze was never one to suffer petty squabbles when there was a more important goal. "Where next, T.Rex?" she asked above the chattering of the Fools.
Ryan swung around and pointed to the tan colored building closer to campus. "Next, we head to the control tower."
Rubble and Angel Hair dragged the tunnel cover back, sealing away their exit, as the rest of the group gathered up their equipment. The Fools jogged together across the barren airport grounds unopposed, reaching the tower in moments.
Just outside the squat building, they paused as T.Rex tried the rear entrance. It was locked, just like most of the doors they'd come across. It was not, however, as heavily secured. Frustrated, T.Rex jammed his crowbar into the door frame and wrenched it backwards, ripping apart the locking mechanism inside.
The door swung open, revealing an eerily quiet interior. Several cubicles defined the ground floor in front of the Fools, arrayed in a standard grid pattern. Identical computers graced each workspace, with a Xerox machine visible at the end of the hallway formed by the cubicle walls.
"I don't like this," Beard growled from the rear. "Plenty of crevices for zeds to hide in."
T.Rex scanned the walls, looking intently for access to the tower. "I'm not asking you to like it," he said over his shoulder, "but I am asking you guys to hold down the fort while I take a look around upstairs." He started to walk the perimeter of the room, neck craned as he searched for a way up.
"I think somebody should go with you," Rubble pointed out as the rest of the Fools slowly began to canvass the room.
T.Rex stopped, remembering his own rules about the buddy system. "Good point," he conceded. "Cowboy, you're with me," he said, waving his friend over.
Cowboy ran over as T.Rex found the elevator. T.Rex clicked the up button several times, but nothing happened. "Figures," T.Rex muttered. Together, T.Rex and Cowboy followed the edge of the room until they came across a nook in the back wall that contained the stairwell.
"We'll be back in just a few minutes," T.Rex shouted to the other Fools before easing the stairwell door open.
T.Rex leaned over the railing and saw that the staircase extended several flights upward before ending. He led the way up the stairs, in his head cursing the lack of power in the building as they passed the sixth floor. Finally, after ten flights, they entered the control room, slightly winded.
The control room featured a 360 degree view of the landscape around them. Rows of specialized computer terminals lined the walls, and a massive center console featured hundreds of switches and dials. The room was silent.
Cowboy turned to T.Rex. "You're a pilot, right?" he said. "Can you call for help on all of this stuff?"
T.Rex slumped his shoulders as he ran his fingers lightly over the dormant consoles. He thought back to his flight lessons and a wistful and nostalgic feeling washed over him. "I wish, man. Maybe if we had power I could sit down and figure some of this stuff out, but I'm used to tiny little airplane radio controls, not this massive center. And technically I never got my license."
"What if we found a plane?" Cowboy asked, rooting through a drawer of terminal charts.
Ryan searched his bag. "That's a tricky problem. A tiny Cessna or even a low wing Piper I'm pretty sure I could handle. But anything I had a chance at figuring out on such short notice would be far too small for the seven- no, eight of us. Then, at this airport specifically, the next smallest plane is a huge jet, and I have no experience with those things. I maybe could land one in an emergency, but that's probably pushing it.
"That's assuming, of course, we found a plane that didn't have a prop lock. Or a throttle lock. And we found fuel, and it was the right kind, and I could work out the weight balance, and there was a place we could go that had a clear place to land, and... and... well, there's a lot of stuff. Let's just say don't count on us flying into the sunset to safety, okay?"
Cowboy flicked a few dead switches on the wall nearby. "Weaksauce, man."
T.Rex found his binoculars in his pack and gingerly removed them from the case. He stood and began to survey the campus around him, soaking in a view most students could only dream of.
To the East, the sun was just beginning to clear over the far end of campus. A thin column of smoke rose in the distance, illuminated by the sun's rays. To the South, a large thicket of trees and construction preceded the Wabash River. To the West was the bulk of the airport runway, and it gently faded into fields of corn.
Adjusting the focus on the lens, T.Rex looked North and tried to concentrate on the very end of campus. He could see several buildings of Purdue Village, the housing district for married students. Around those houses were many zeds, including a few that were quite small.
Most likely little kids, he thought with a shudder. Poor little guys probably never had a chance.
Shifting his gaze slightly, T.Rex followed Airport Road past the Village and found McCutcheon Hall. He took a few steps to his left and just a bit of Hillenbrand Hall came into view. He frantically scanned his girlfriend's building, looking for any sort of sign of survivors or distress. Every window was covered with curtains or was dark, holding no answers. The sidewalks around Hillenbrand were empty, except for a single silhouette lurching aimlessly. The roof was emtpy.
What were you expecting? T.Rex mocked himself. That Jenny would be standing in one of the windows waving back? She's probably hiding in one of the rooms trying not to draw attention to herself. Now quit fucking around and go get her!
Placing the binoculars back in the case, T.Rex looked at Cowboy. "We're done here," he said with a steely gaze.
T.Rex and Cowboy quickly descended to the ground floor. Ryan shoved open the stairwell door and headed for the exit. Without breaking stride he called out to the Fools, "Recon complete, let's get going."
The improv team gathered outside the control tower, waiting for further instructions.
"Beard," T.Rex called out. "I want you up front now. Plot us a course to the Western edge of campus, just skirting the edge of the forest that holds the high ropes course, the one near the soccer fields. You know what I'm talking about?"
Beard just nodded.
"We follow that course to the Northern edge of Purdue West. We'll cut in, straight through the parking garages, and that'll put us right behind Hillenbrand. Got it?"
Beard nodded again and peeked around the corner of the control tower, surveying the airport buildings. He began looking for zeds and potential cover. The rest of the Fools geared up, ready to move at a moment's notice.
"Are you sure we should go into the woods?" Rubble whispered to T.Rex, sounding very unsure of the plans.
T.Rex shouldered his pack. "It's getting light out, and if we just make a mad dash for Hillenbrand, every zombie in Purdue Village is going to come after us. If we stay inside the trees, that will hopefully obscure our movement enough to make it to Jenny without alerting all those zeds."
I'm getting sick of all of these plans ending up someplace not Hillenbrand, T.Rex thought.
Current Word Count: 43,236
6:33am
KLAF Maintenance Terminal
"I don't expect any trouble topside," T.Rex cautioned the Fools around him, "but just in case, let's pair off, with one person carrying double bags and the other ready to clear any threat. That said, grab your gear and climb up when you're ready, and once we're all up we'll evaluate the situation from there."
Ryan stayed at the bottom of the maintenance room, checking each pair and helping Fools shoulder extra equipment before sending them up the rungs. Peace carried Beard's bags and Angel Hair chivalrously offered to carry Kamikaze's equipment. That left just Cowboy and T.Rex standing at the bottom of the ladder.
Cowboy shifted his feet impatiently, glancing up at the outlet in the ceiling. "I take it you wanna go first?" T.Rex asked preemptively.
"Please?" Cowboy said with a wide grin, bouncing up and down.
T.Rex motioned towards the ladder and Cowboy sprung into action, grabbing his bat and racing up the rungs. Chuckling, T.Rex took one last look around the room, taking advantage of the faint light to look around for items they might have missed. Satisfied, he grabbed his own pack before slinging Cowboy's supplies over his shoulder.
It was a short climb up the rungs, and the increasing sunlight felt comforting to T.Rex as he neared the exit. Near the top he held on with his right hand and readjusted the packs with his left, to better fit through the narrow hole. Finally, with the help of the Fools already out, he exited Purdue's tunnel system.
Rubble, Beard, Cowboy and Kamikaze stood around the exit with weapons drawn, scanning the immediate area for any threat. Angel Hair was combing over the equipment, checking the bags in the early sunlight. When T.Rex emerged, they looked at him with a mixture of expressions, most of which looked less than impressed.
T.Rex looked around, confused. They were standing just a few feet from where he had predicted they would exit, and he was pretty proud of that. "What?" he said, defensively.
Peace spoke first. "I thought we'd get out somewhere closer than the airport."
The Fools were standing near the center of the Purdue University Airport, the first university owned airport in the US. It occupied a large piece of land covered almost entirely by concrete, located to the immediate Southwest of campus. The land was dominated by the two medium sized asphalt runways at the Southern end. The primary runway ran approximately East-West, while the smaller secondary runway was oriented Northeast to Southwest. Closer to campus was a series of hangars and buildings that housed classrooms, workshops, and other related buildings.
"Look," T.Rex began, "There aren't many tunnels that run directly under residence halls, and those that do are pretty well sealed up. I studied the maintenance maps, and this was the closest exit I could find that didn't put us smack dab in the middle of a building full of people. I didn't want us to have to fight our way out, okay?"
The Fools grumbled, clearly unhappy with the result, and T.Rex was slightly annoyed. He tried to ignore that feeling and concentrate on his next idea, the one that made the airport an especially attractive destination.
Kamikaze was never one to suffer petty squabbles when there was a more important goal. "Where next, T.Rex?" she asked above the chattering of the Fools.
Ryan swung around and pointed to the tan colored building closer to campus. "Next, we head to the control tower."
Rubble and Angel Hair dragged the tunnel cover back, sealing away their exit, as the rest of the group gathered up their equipment. The Fools jogged together across the barren airport grounds unopposed, reaching the tower in moments.
Just outside the squat building, they paused as T.Rex tried the rear entrance. It was locked, just like most of the doors they'd come across. It was not, however, as heavily secured. Frustrated, T.Rex jammed his crowbar into the door frame and wrenched it backwards, ripping apart the locking mechanism inside.
The door swung open, revealing an eerily quiet interior. Several cubicles defined the ground floor in front of the Fools, arrayed in a standard grid pattern. Identical computers graced each workspace, with a Xerox machine visible at the end of the hallway formed by the cubicle walls.
"I don't like this," Beard growled from the rear. "Plenty of crevices for zeds to hide in."
T.Rex scanned the walls, looking intently for access to the tower. "I'm not asking you to like it," he said over his shoulder, "but I am asking you guys to hold down the fort while I take a look around upstairs." He started to walk the perimeter of the room, neck craned as he searched for a way up.
"I think somebody should go with you," Rubble pointed out as the rest of the Fools slowly began to canvass the room.
T.Rex stopped, remembering his own rules about the buddy system. "Good point," he conceded. "Cowboy, you're with me," he said, waving his friend over.
Cowboy ran over as T.Rex found the elevator. T.Rex clicked the up button several times, but nothing happened. "Figures," T.Rex muttered. Together, T.Rex and Cowboy followed the edge of the room until they came across a nook in the back wall that contained the stairwell.
"We'll be back in just a few minutes," T.Rex shouted to the other Fools before easing the stairwell door open.
T.Rex leaned over the railing and saw that the staircase extended several flights upward before ending. He led the way up the stairs, in his head cursing the lack of power in the building as they passed the sixth floor. Finally, after ten flights, they entered the control room, slightly winded.
The control room featured a 360 degree view of the landscape around them. Rows of specialized computer terminals lined the walls, and a massive center console featured hundreds of switches and dials. The room was silent.
Cowboy turned to T.Rex. "You're a pilot, right?" he said. "Can you call for help on all of this stuff?"
T.Rex slumped his shoulders as he ran his fingers lightly over the dormant consoles. He thought back to his flight lessons and a wistful and nostalgic feeling washed over him. "I wish, man. Maybe if we had power I could sit down and figure some of this stuff out, but I'm used to tiny little airplane radio controls, not this massive center. And technically I never got my license."
"What if we found a plane?" Cowboy asked, rooting through a drawer of terminal charts.
Ryan searched his bag. "That's a tricky problem. A tiny Cessna or even a low wing Piper I'm pretty sure I could handle. But anything I had a chance at figuring out on such short notice would be far too small for the seven- no, eight of us. Then, at this airport specifically, the next smallest plane is a huge jet, and I have no experience with those things. I maybe could land one in an emergency, but that's probably pushing it.
"That's assuming, of course, we found a plane that didn't have a prop lock. Or a throttle lock. And we found fuel, and it was the right kind, and I could work out the weight balance, and there was a place we could go that had a clear place to land, and... and... well, there's a lot of stuff. Let's just say don't count on us flying into the sunset to safety, okay?"
Cowboy flicked a few dead switches on the wall nearby. "Weaksauce, man."
T.Rex found his binoculars in his pack and gingerly removed them from the case. He stood and began to survey the campus around him, soaking in a view most students could only dream of.
To the East, the sun was just beginning to clear over the far end of campus. A thin column of smoke rose in the distance, illuminated by the sun's rays. To the South, a large thicket of trees and construction preceded the Wabash River. To the West was the bulk of the airport runway, and it gently faded into fields of corn.
Adjusting the focus on the lens, T.Rex looked North and tried to concentrate on the very end of campus. He could see several buildings of Purdue Village, the housing district for married students. Around those houses were many zeds, including a few that were quite small.
Most likely little kids, he thought with a shudder. Poor little guys probably never had a chance.
Shifting his gaze slightly, T.Rex followed Airport Road past the Village and found McCutcheon Hall. He took a few steps to his left and just a bit of Hillenbrand Hall came into view. He frantically scanned his girlfriend's building, looking for any sort of sign of survivors or distress. Every window was covered with curtains or was dark, holding no answers. The sidewalks around Hillenbrand were empty, except for a single silhouette lurching aimlessly. The roof was emtpy.
What were you expecting? T.Rex mocked himself. That Jenny would be standing in one of the windows waving back? She's probably hiding in one of the rooms trying not to draw attention to herself. Now quit fucking around and go get her!
Placing the binoculars back in the case, T.Rex looked at Cowboy. "We're done here," he said with a steely gaze.
T.Rex and Cowboy quickly descended to the ground floor. Ryan shoved open the stairwell door and headed for the exit. Without breaking stride he called out to the Fools, "Recon complete, let's get going."
The improv team gathered outside the control tower, waiting for further instructions.
"Beard," T.Rex called out. "I want you up front now. Plot us a course to the Western edge of campus, just skirting the edge of the forest that holds the high ropes course, the one near the soccer fields. You know what I'm talking about?"
Beard just nodded.
"We follow that course to the Northern edge of Purdue West. We'll cut in, straight through the parking garages, and that'll put us right behind Hillenbrand. Got it?"
Beard nodded again and peeked around the corner of the control tower, surveying the airport buildings. He began looking for zeds and potential cover. The rest of the Fools geared up, ready to move at a moment's notice.
"Are you sure we should go into the woods?" Rubble whispered to T.Rex, sounding very unsure of the plans.
T.Rex shouldered his pack. "It's getting light out, and if we just make a mad dash for Hillenbrand, every zombie in Purdue Village is going to come after us. If we stay inside the trees, that will hopefully obscure our movement enough to make it to Jenny without alerting all those zeds."
I'm getting sick of all of these plans ending up someplace not Hillenbrand, T.Rex thought.
Current Word Count: 43,236
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Chapter 30 - Silence
June 14th, 2008
5:51am
Maintenance Tunnels
The Fools were once again attempting to navigate through the tunnels beneath Purdue's campus. Scribbled notes and maintenance orders left by a dying man gave them clues to some sort of exit.
"Are you sure we trust this guy's journal to lead us out of here?" Beard asked from the rear, as the group gathered outside of the maintenance room they'd found Marshall Franklin-turned-zed in.
T.Rex studied the diagrams of water mains and steam valves with a flashlight, aware that they did not have many more batteries. After several moments he turned the pages ninety degrees and suddenly things made much more sense. "If I'm reading this right- and I'd like to think that I am - these pipes converge in certain locations before being split to individual building utilities," he told the group. He traced the overlapping lines with his finger, trying to superimpose a mental map of Purdue's buildings above ground to match the facilities underground.
The Fools waited expectantly. Ryan looked up from the pages and saw six tired faces, and he wondered how much more they would have to endure before another break.
"Straight ahead, and stay quiet unless you notice something," he commanded, and the group set off again into the dark maze of tunnels.
Peace led the way with his flashlight, the other lights used up or turned off to conserve power. The group walked single file, pausing at each intersection. The group would wait as T.Rex studied the diagrams for a moment before pointing in some direction.
Straight. Left, straight, right left left.
They were walking along when all of the sudden the light at the front of the column spun, accompanied by a yelp as Peace tripped over an unknown object. The flashlight fell from his hands and rolled away, causing a frenetic light show on the wall of the tunnel.
"Somebody get another flashlight!" T.Rex hissed, and both Beard and Rubble responded with a beam of refreshing light pointed towards the front of the group.
Peace scrambled to his feet, backing away from the obstacle. As the flashlights played over the ground, the Fools saw a corpse laying in the middle of the tunnel, completely still. A dark liquid had spilled from multiple torso wounds and had collected on the ground some distance away
Beard wasted no time pondering the situation. "Cut off its head," he suggested.
For the briefest of moments, T.Rex considered objecting. He wanted to examine the body, to show respect for the dead, and encourage his friends to consider their actions before committing to desecrating another random body. Then he remembered the horrible creatures they'd already fought, all of which had previously been a lifeless body at some point before attacking.
He politely stepped aside as Kamikaze strode forward and crouched next to the body at arm's length. She swung her machete, decapitating the corpse unceremoniously. As they examined the body, it did not appear to have the now-familiar gray coloring of decaying zed flesh.
"Keep moving," T.Rex ordered, desperate to keep the minds of the group away from the grisly scene. He wanted them to focus on the task at hand - escaping the tunnels. The Fools returned to their line formation and pressed on, collecting Peace's flashlight at the bottom of the sloped tunnel.
Shallow left, straight, through a passage made of utility pipes that was so narrow, most of the Fools had to turn sideways and fit their bags of equipment through behind them. They continued on, ducking underneath another set of pipes a little further down the hallway.
"Are you sure this is the right way out of here?" Cowboy whispered to T.Rex.
T.Rex sighed. "No, I'm not. I'm just doing the best that I can."
Another right, and the tunnel they were in suddenly stopped. The Fools crowded around an unmarked door, looking expectantly at Ryan. "Somebody else wanna try this one?" T.Rex joked, reaching for the handle. He winced, turned the handle, and the door opened smoothly. T.Rex held the door and waved everyone by before stepping through himself.
They were now in a much larger tunnel that extended left and right until blackness took over, with linoleum flooring and tiles on the walls. The shape of the tunnel was a large gentle arch, and the flashlight revealed yellow lines painted on the floor. Looking back, the Fools saw the door they'd exited was marked "526 E - Authorized Personnel Only."
"What is this place?" Peace asked, his voice echoing around them.
"Keep your voice down," T.Rex reminded at a whisper. "If I've read this utility map right, it should take us to a safe exit point. A place where we can regroup and then head for Hillenbrand to get Jenny." He pointed down the tunnel. "We should have a long walk that way, so let's get a move on."
The group re-formed. Angel Hair and Rubble led the way more or less side by side, alternating responsibility for the flashlight. Following them was T.Rex, flanked by Cowboy on his left and Kamikaze on the right. Peace and Beard followed, glancing regularly over their shoulders to check for stragglers.
As they walked, their footsteps and equipment made loud echoes, and it made T.Rex nervous. He signaled for the Fools to pause, to make sure the echoes were not obscuring some other noise. The group froze, and the noise of their movement quickly faded. A slight moan drifted to their ears, and T.Rex motioned for the group to spread out in a defensive posture.
If the flashlights are on, T.Rex thought, that might draw them to us. But we sure as hell don't want to fight in complete darkness, and getting caught off guard by a zed in this confined space is gonna be mayhem. "Psst!" he hissed. "Flashlights, both ends - search pattern, go!"
Peace clicked on his flashlight at the back of the group and began sweeping the beam of light to the end of the tunnel, complementing Angel Hair's similar movements at the front end of the group. The rest of the Fools stood nervously, equipment on the ground and weapons at the ready. They all watched the beams of light play down the tunnel, scanning for any threat. After a few minutes, a slow growl reached them.
"That one sounds farther away," Kamikaze whispered, holding her machete tightly.
T.Rex did not want to leave the threat ignored, but was eager to continue. "Rear light out," he whispered, "and everybody grab your things. We continue on, but everybody keep your eyes and ears open. Watch for my signal - we'll stop at intervals to listen for trouble."
Continuing on, the Fools walked even further down the tunnel, pausing occasionally to listen. No other noise reached them. As they continued, T.Rex was estimating their distance in his head, anticipating their next obstacle.
Finally, T.Rex signaled for another hold. The group froze and assumed a defensive stance, but Ryan had other plans. "Alright, now we switch things up," he told the Fools. "I want every available flashlight to search the walls left and right - if my calculations are correct we should be very close to a door just like the one we got into this tunnel with. The tunnel lights are out, otherwise it would be very obvious." The Fools murmured agreement, and then continued on combing the walls with every remaining light.
They moved slower, meticulously covering every inch of the wall. Kamikaze's flashlight died, and T.Rex urged them to speed things up without compromising their thorough sweep.
Finally, Cowboy called out. "I see something! There's a door back here in a little nook!" He pointed his flashlight to the wall, excitedly, and the Fools crowded around. Hidden in a small recess was another large door marked "KLAF - Authorized Personnel Only."
"Yes!" T.Rex shouted, then looked around nervously, regretting his outburst. Then, in a quieter voice he said, "Guys- this is it. This is exactly what I was looking for." He whirled around and clapped Peace on the shoulders. "I need you to get us through that door. I'm not going to sugar coat this for you...we really need that door open."
"What if I can't get it?" Peace asked as he knelt down, digging through is pack for his lock picking equipment.
"Well," T.Rex sighed, "then I'll have to come up with some other brilliant solution, but I can pretty much promise you all it won't be nearly as good as this one. Fools! Let's set up a perimeter and let the man do his work, okay?"
Shuffling around, the Fools stood with weapons drawn, protecting the small doorway. Peace balanced a flashlight on the ground so that it pointed directly upwards, illuminating his target. T.Rex kept looking back nervously as Peace set to work, gently sliding the tiny tools into the lock and twisting.
Peace leaned closer to the lock and squinted, moving his hands very slowly and deliberately. His tongue slipped out of his pursed lips as he concentrated, and the very faint metallic clicking of his tools was the only sound in the entire tunnel.
"Yeah!" Peace suddenly shouted, standing up and pumping his fists in the air. "Ladies and gentleman, you may proceed," he said, as he bowed and gestured towards the door.
T.Rex turned and walked over to his friend. "Thank you, Peace. You've done a great job," he said as he opened the door. "Fools, if you would, please, join me on the other side of this door?"
The Fools, filled with excitement, moved their equipment into the small room on the other side of the door. The only feature of the room besides pipes were a series of metal rungs on the wall. Above the rungs, the only feature of the ceiling, was a metal disk with a few holes letting in a faint light.
"Rubble," T.Rex said with a grin, "do you think you could climb up there and move that cover?"
Angel Hair shut the door to the room as Rubble ascended the rungs about 15 feet into the air. He wrapped his left arm around one of the highest rungs and reached out with his right, pushing against the cover. It didn't move. Rubble grunted, teeth clenched as he pushed again, and T.Rex's smile faded.
Determined, Rubble stopped pushing for a moment and moved one rung higher, ducking to avoid hitting his head. He bent his legs to climb one more step and braced both of his hands on the rungs. He placed his shoulder against the cover and extended his legs, letting loose a primal grunt.
The cover gave way and popped upwards, while soft light spilled in and flooded the room full of Fools. "Time out!" T.Rex said in a quiet voice.
"Huzzah!" the Fools on the ground responded, softly enough as to not draw attention from above ground. Rubble slid the metal cover aside and motioned down at Angel Hair. "Time in," Rubble said softly.
Without another word spoken, Angel Hair scampered up the rungs with both pieces of Rubble's pool cue weapon. "I'll clear the area up here long enough for you guys to bring our equipment up," Rubble said down to the Fools below, and then climbed back into the world.
Current Word Count: 41,424
5:51am
Maintenance Tunnels
The Fools were once again attempting to navigate through the tunnels beneath Purdue's campus. Scribbled notes and maintenance orders left by a dying man gave them clues to some sort of exit.
"Are you sure we trust this guy's journal to lead us out of here?" Beard asked from the rear, as the group gathered outside of the maintenance room they'd found Marshall Franklin-turned-zed in.
T.Rex studied the diagrams of water mains and steam valves with a flashlight, aware that they did not have many more batteries. After several moments he turned the pages ninety degrees and suddenly things made much more sense. "If I'm reading this right- and I'd like to think that I am - these pipes converge in certain locations before being split to individual building utilities," he told the group. He traced the overlapping lines with his finger, trying to superimpose a mental map of Purdue's buildings above ground to match the facilities underground.
The Fools waited expectantly. Ryan looked up from the pages and saw six tired faces, and he wondered how much more they would have to endure before another break.
"Straight ahead, and stay quiet unless you notice something," he commanded, and the group set off again into the dark maze of tunnels.
Peace led the way with his flashlight, the other lights used up or turned off to conserve power. The group walked single file, pausing at each intersection. The group would wait as T.Rex studied the diagrams for a moment before pointing in some direction.
Straight. Left, straight, right left left.
They were walking along when all of the sudden the light at the front of the column spun, accompanied by a yelp as Peace tripped over an unknown object. The flashlight fell from his hands and rolled away, causing a frenetic light show on the wall of the tunnel.
"Somebody get another flashlight!" T.Rex hissed, and both Beard and Rubble responded with a beam of refreshing light pointed towards the front of the group.
Peace scrambled to his feet, backing away from the obstacle. As the flashlights played over the ground, the Fools saw a corpse laying in the middle of the tunnel, completely still. A dark liquid had spilled from multiple torso wounds and had collected on the ground some distance away
Beard wasted no time pondering the situation. "Cut off its head," he suggested.
For the briefest of moments, T.Rex considered objecting. He wanted to examine the body, to show respect for the dead, and encourage his friends to consider their actions before committing to desecrating another random body. Then he remembered the horrible creatures they'd already fought, all of which had previously been a lifeless body at some point before attacking.
He politely stepped aside as Kamikaze strode forward and crouched next to the body at arm's length. She swung her machete, decapitating the corpse unceremoniously. As they examined the body, it did not appear to have the now-familiar gray coloring of decaying zed flesh.
"Keep moving," T.Rex ordered, desperate to keep the minds of the group away from the grisly scene. He wanted them to focus on the task at hand - escaping the tunnels. The Fools returned to their line formation and pressed on, collecting Peace's flashlight at the bottom of the sloped tunnel.
Shallow left, straight, through a passage made of utility pipes that was so narrow, most of the Fools had to turn sideways and fit their bags of equipment through behind them. They continued on, ducking underneath another set of pipes a little further down the hallway.
"Are you sure this is the right way out of here?" Cowboy whispered to T.Rex.
T.Rex sighed. "No, I'm not. I'm just doing the best that I can."
Another right, and the tunnel they were in suddenly stopped. The Fools crowded around an unmarked door, looking expectantly at Ryan. "Somebody else wanna try this one?" T.Rex joked, reaching for the handle. He winced, turned the handle, and the door opened smoothly. T.Rex held the door and waved everyone by before stepping through himself.
They were now in a much larger tunnel that extended left and right until blackness took over, with linoleum flooring and tiles on the walls. The shape of the tunnel was a large gentle arch, and the flashlight revealed yellow lines painted on the floor. Looking back, the Fools saw the door they'd exited was marked "526 E - Authorized Personnel Only."
"What is this place?" Peace asked, his voice echoing around them.
"Keep your voice down," T.Rex reminded at a whisper. "If I've read this utility map right, it should take us to a safe exit point. A place where we can regroup and then head for Hillenbrand to get Jenny." He pointed down the tunnel. "We should have a long walk that way, so let's get a move on."
The group re-formed. Angel Hair and Rubble led the way more or less side by side, alternating responsibility for the flashlight. Following them was T.Rex, flanked by Cowboy on his left and Kamikaze on the right. Peace and Beard followed, glancing regularly over their shoulders to check for stragglers.
As they walked, their footsteps and equipment made loud echoes, and it made T.Rex nervous. He signaled for the Fools to pause, to make sure the echoes were not obscuring some other noise. The group froze, and the noise of their movement quickly faded. A slight moan drifted to their ears, and T.Rex motioned for the group to spread out in a defensive posture.
If the flashlights are on, T.Rex thought, that might draw them to us. But we sure as hell don't want to fight in complete darkness, and getting caught off guard by a zed in this confined space is gonna be mayhem. "Psst!" he hissed. "Flashlights, both ends - search pattern, go!"
Peace clicked on his flashlight at the back of the group and began sweeping the beam of light to the end of the tunnel, complementing Angel Hair's similar movements at the front end of the group. The rest of the Fools stood nervously, equipment on the ground and weapons at the ready. They all watched the beams of light play down the tunnel, scanning for any threat. After a few minutes, a slow growl reached them.
"That one sounds farther away," Kamikaze whispered, holding her machete tightly.
T.Rex did not want to leave the threat ignored, but was eager to continue. "Rear light out," he whispered, "and everybody grab your things. We continue on, but everybody keep your eyes and ears open. Watch for my signal - we'll stop at intervals to listen for trouble."
Continuing on, the Fools walked even further down the tunnel, pausing occasionally to listen. No other noise reached them. As they continued, T.Rex was estimating their distance in his head, anticipating their next obstacle.
Finally, T.Rex signaled for another hold. The group froze and assumed a defensive stance, but Ryan had other plans. "Alright, now we switch things up," he told the Fools. "I want every available flashlight to search the walls left and right - if my calculations are correct we should be very close to a door just like the one we got into this tunnel with. The tunnel lights are out, otherwise it would be very obvious." The Fools murmured agreement, and then continued on combing the walls with every remaining light.
They moved slower, meticulously covering every inch of the wall. Kamikaze's flashlight died, and T.Rex urged them to speed things up without compromising their thorough sweep.
Finally, Cowboy called out. "I see something! There's a door back here in a little nook!" He pointed his flashlight to the wall, excitedly, and the Fools crowded around. Hidden in a small recess was another large door marked "KLAF - Authorized Personnel Only."
"Yes!" T.Rex shouted, then looked around nervously, regretting his outburst. Then, in a quieter voice he said, "Guys- this is it. This is exactly what I was looking for." He whirled around and clapped Peace on the shoulders. "I need you to get us through that door. I'm not going to sugar coat this for you...we really need that door open."
"What if I can't get it?" Peace asked as he knelt down, digging through is pack for his lock picking equipment.
"Well," T.Rex sighed, "then I'll have to come up with some other brilliant solution, but I can pretty much promise you all it won't be nearly as good as this one. Fools! Let's set up a perimeter and let the man do his work, okay?"
Shuffling around, the Fools stood with weapons drawn, protecting the small doorway. Peace balanced a flashlight on the ground so that it pointed directly upwards, illuminating his target. T.Rex kept looking back nervously as Peace set to work, gently sliding the tiny tools into the lock and twisting.
Peace leaned closer to the lock and squinted, moving his hands very slowly and deliberately. His tongue slipped out of his pursed lips as he concentrated, and the very faint metallic clicking of his tools was the only sound in the entire tunnel.
"Yeah!" Peace suddenly shouted, standing up and pumping his fists in the air. "Ladies and gentleman, you may proceed," he said, as he bowed and gestured towards the door.
T.Rex turned and walked over to his friend. "Thank you, Peace. You've done a great job," he said as he opened the door. "Fools, if you would, please, join me on the other side of this door?"
The Fools, filled with excitement, moved their equipment into the small room on the other side of the door. The only feature of the room besides pipes were a series of metal rungs on the wall. Above the rungs, the only feature of the ceiling, was a metal disk with a few holes letting in a faint light.
"Rubble," T.Rex said with a grin, "do you think you could climb up there and move that cover?"
Angel Hair shut the door to the room as Rubble ascended the rungs about 15 feet into the air. He wrapped his left arm around one of the highest rungs and reached out with his right, pushing against the cover. It didn't move. Rubble grunted, teeth clenched as he pushed again, and T.Rex's smile faded.
Determined, Rubble stopped pushing for a moment and moved one rung higher, ducking to avoid hitting his head. He bent his legs to climb one more step and braced both of his hands on the rungs. He placed his shoulder against the cover and extended his legs, letting loose a primal grunt.
The cover gave way and popped upwards, while soft light spilled in and flooded the room full of Fools. "Time out!" T.Rex said in a quiet voice.
"Huzzah!" the Fools on the ground responded, softly enough as to not draw attention from above ground. Rubble slid the metal cover aside and motioned down at Angel Hair. "Time in," Rubble said softly.
Without another word spoken, Angel Hair scampered up the rungs with both pieces of Rubble's pool cue weapon. "I'll clear the area up here long enough for you guys to bring our equipment up," Rubble said down to the Fools below, and then climbed back into the world.
Current Word Count: 41,424
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Author's Quandry
The Brant "Rubble" Bell asked me yesterday if I was
A) Going to attempt NaNoWriMo 2008
and
B) If I would consider making it a sequel to my current story
I can honestly say I wasn't planning on doing the former, and had never considered the latter. That said, his question got me thinking.
For starters, I've learned a lot about writing by trying NNWM 07. Some of it mechanics, like punctuation during dialogue. Some of it is about how difficult it truly is to write 50k in 30 days, even if you love the source material. Things like pacing issues, typos, taking good notes on your own decisions - and more.
Still, I think I made it about halfway through my story by the end of November, and if I was to tackle it this year, I really have to consider my schedule (read: classes). I don't think I can do it. I don't know if I have the discipline, the crazy writing intensity to stick through another novel's worth of work...even if it takes another year to finish like this one.
I guess the only reason I'm making an issue of it is because I'm actually close to finishing this novel, and the ending would greatly greatly influence how the second one might play out - from the surviving characters to the level of devastation the zombies [may have] inflicted on the world. If I'm going to write a sequel, I need to start planning it now and alter the ending of this one accordingly.
After much deliberation, I told Rubble I would consider it. I'd need 2 things:
* A really good story idea. I need some sort of action, a problem, a quest - some driving force for the novel to exist. It seems obvious, but the current novel took shape over weeks of planning, and in the end there was a very poignant rescue story to tell, amidst the backdrop of the zombpocalypse. My theoretical sequel needs a similarly epic premise, and as of now I have none.
* Lots and lots of encouragement and readers. You guys have been awesome so far, helping me fix problems and providing lots of constructive criticism. Your enthusiasm has become mine, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate and enjoy it.
For now I'll keep thinking it over. If you have any thoughts, please [as always] leave 'em.
Thanks!
A) Going to attempt NaNoWriMo 2008
and
B) If I would consider making it a sequel to my current story
I can honestly say I wasn't planning on doing the former, and had never considered the latter. That said, his question got me thinking.
For starters, I've learned a lot about writing by trying NNWM 07. Some of it mechanics, like punctuation during dialogue. Some of it is about how difficult it truly is to write 50k in 30 days, even if you love the source material. Things like pacing issues, typos, taking good notes on your own decisions - and more.
Still, I think I made it about halfway through my story by the end of November, and if I was to tackle it this year, I really have to consider my schedule (read: classes). I don't think I can do it. I don't know if I have the discipline, the crazy writing intensity to stick through another novel's worth of work...even if it takes another year to finish like this one.
I guess the only reason I'm making an issue of it is because I'm actually close to finishing this novel, and the ending would greatly greatly influence how the second one might play out - from the surviving characters to the level of devastation the zombies [may have] inflicted on the world. If I'm going to write a sequel, I need to start planning it now and alter the ending of this one accordingly.
After much deliberation, I told Rubble I would consider it. I'd need 2 things:
* A really good story idea. I need some sort of action, a problem, a quest - some driving force for the novel to exist. It seems obvious, but the current novel took shape over weeks of planning, and in the end there was a very poignant rescue story to tell, amidst the backdrop of the zombpocalypse. My theoretical sequel needs a similarly epic premise, and as of now I have none.
* Lots and lots of encouragement and readers. You guys have been awesome so far, helping me fix problems and providing lots of constructive criticism. Your enthusiasm has become mine, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate and enjoy it.
For now I'll keep thinking it over. If you have any thoughts, please [as always] leave 'em.
Thanks!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Chapter 29 - Blackout
????
????
Location Unknown
Ryan drifted in and out of consciousness.
"Teeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Rehhhhhhhhhhcks..." he vaguely heard somebody calling his name. The syllables sounded like a church bell or perhaps a foghorn, played in slow motion. He tried to respond, but his body refused.
Ryan heard more conversation nearby, but it was garbled and he could only guess which mumbles went with which Fool. As he listened, it was fairly clear which belonged to Kamikaze, the only female of the group - the pitch was much different. T.Rex wondered how long he'd been out, and what might have happened since then. He realized he couldn't remember why he'd lost track of the world. It all reminded him of the time in high school he was in the hospital for surgery, and under heavy medication.
As time passed, T.Rex fought back a panic. What if I got bitten? What if this brain deterioration is part of the zedification process? What if I'm destined to eat - wait a second. If I was gonna end up a zombie, the Fools would've taken care of me by now, surely. Besides, he assured himself, a zed couldn't think of a word like "deterioration". His brain started to warm up and he took a few stabs at some mental math to convince himself no permanent damage was done.
Finally, after several tries, T.Rex's eyes fluttered open.
"Hey!" Peace said from Ryan's side. He yelled something else to the group, but T.Rex couldn't quite make it out.
As the world slowly came into focus, T.Rex blinked awkwardly. The room was mostly dark, except for a flashlight now aimed yet again at his face. The Fools all gathered around him, and T.Rex could see hope in their faces.
Angel Hair spoke to him, but all T.Rex heard was "Jabbajaabba head jabba dabba zed jabba jaabba?"
T.Rex moved his lips tenatively. "Talk...slow," he said with effort. He hoped the rest of his body would catch up to his brain, and fast.
"GLLLAAAD. YOUUU. ARRRR. BAAAACK," Angel Hair tried again.
T.Rex rolled his eyes. "Not loud-er. Head hurts. Think-ing slow."
They all nodded in acknowledgement. "Can you move?" Cowboy asked.
Gritting his teeth, T.Rex managed to move his hand slightly.
"You just wiggled your finger! That's wonderful!" Rubble said, excited.
"Quick heal-er," T.Rex grinned. "Tell me what ha-hap-pened." He was frustrated that he was thinking quite clearly, but the words weren't forming correctly. It was as if he'd just gotten back from the dentist, and his mouth was numb.
"The door hit you when you opened it," Beard explained. "A huge fat zed was leaning on the door and flew out at us. Kamikaze and Angel Hair immediately grabbed you and pulled you away to safety. Rubble dove out and grabbed the crowbar you dropped - he swung it around and caught the zed's ankle, causing it to trip right in front of the three of us." He pointed to Cowboy, Peace, and himself, the group previously stationed on the other side of the door.
Angel Hair chimed in: "You shoulda seen it! The zed face-planted, and Peace and Beard jumped onto it, kicked away the helmet and chopped its head off with their hatchets!" he punctuated his speech with hand motions, smacking his hands together to illustrate the zed falling and chopping motions for the combat.
T.Rex just smiled, and already felt a little better. "Sounds great- sorry I missed it. So where are we? How long was I out?"
"We took care of the zed and then dragged you back in here," Rubble said, spreading his arms out to indicate the room. "That is to say, the room we found with the zed in it. It's some sort of maintenance workroom, and we've found a few things you might like. You've been out for a few hours, and we didn't want to move you much because you were out. Plus it would've been a pain in the ass to carry and defend your lifeless body running around in dark tunnels."
With his strength returning, T.Rex nodded. "Thank you, guys. What did you find?"
Peace disappeared for a moment and returned with some crumpled papers, yawning. "The zed we found shut in here was a maintenance guy for Purdue, and he left a detailed journal. It's pretty disturbing. Here, lemme read you some highlights:"
Peace held up a finger as he scanned over the pages. "Wait, it gets worse. Here's another entry:"
"What's the last entry?" T.Rex asked.
Peace flipped to the final page. "It just says:"
"What the hell does that mean? Like, 4am?" Ryan asked.
Peace shrugged. "No clue. It just says four."
"And we're sure it's him?"
"Bite marks match the description, and we found a positive ID in his wallet," Kamikaze said.
A grim silence hung in the air as T.Rex pondered the meaning of the document they'd recovered. "Somebody take some notes of the important details, and then store them separately from the journal in somebody else's pack. If we make it out of here, this is firsthand evidence that we need to protect if we can."
Ryan gritted his teeth and stood, fighting back a wave of pain and nausea. As the Fools listed to him the various items they'd found in the maintenance room, he felt a renewed sense of purpose.
"Everybody suit up, and get ready to move," T.Rex commanded.
"Are you sure you're okay to go?" Kamikaze asked. The rest of the Fools paused to look at T.Rex.
Ryan narrowed his gaze. "I'll be fine. Let's go rescue Jenny." Together they exited the maintenance room, back into the shadowy tunnels beneath campus...
Current Word Count: 39,539
????
Location Unknown
Ryan drifted in and out of consciousness.
"Teeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Rehhhhhhhhhhcks..." he vaguely heard somebody calling his name. The syllables sounded like a church bell or perhaps a foghorn, played in slow motion. He tried to respond, but his body refused.
Ryan heard more conversation nearby, but it was garbled and he could only guess which mumbles went with which Fool. As he listened, it was fairly clear which belonged to Kamikaze, the only female of the group - the pitch was much different. T.Rex wondered how long he'd been out, and what might have happened since then. He realized he couldn't remember why he'd lost track of the world. It all reminded him of the time in high school he was in the hospital for surgery, and under heavy medication.
As time passed, T.Rex fought back a panic. What if I got bitten? What if this brain deterioration is part of the zedification process? What if I'm destined to eat - wait a second. If I was gonna end up a zombie, the Fools would've taken care of me by now, surely. Besides, he assured himself, a zed couldn't think of a word like "deterioration". His brain started to warm up and he took a few stabs at some mental math to convince himself no permanent damage was done.
Finally, after several tries, T.Rex's eyes fluttered open.
"Hey!" Peace said from Ryan's side. He yelled something else to the group, but T.Rex couldn't quite make it out.
As the world slowly came into focus, T.Rex blinked awkwardly. The room was mostly dark, except for a flashlight now aimed yet again at his face. The Fools all gathered around him, and T.Rex could see hope in their faces.
Angel Hair spoke to him, but all T.Rex heard was "Jabbajaabba head jabba dabba zed jabba jaabba?"
T.Rex moved his lips tenatively. "Talk...slow," he said with effort. He hoped the rest of his body would catch up to his brain, and fast.
"GLLLAAAD. YOUUU. ARRRR. BAAAACK," Angel Hair tried again.
T.Rex rolled his eyes. "Not loud-er. Head hurts. Think-ing slow."
They all nodded in acknowledgement. "Can you move?" Cowboy asked.
Gritting his teeth, T.Rex managed to move his hand slightly.
"You just wiggled your finger! That's wonderful!" Rubble said, excited.
"Quick heal-er," T.Rex grinned. "Tell me what ha-hap-pened." He was frustrated that he was thinking quite clearly, but the words weren't forming correctly. It was as if he'd just gotten back from the dentist, and his mouth was numb.
"The door hit you when you opened it," Beard explained. "A huge fat zed was leaning on the door and flew out at us. Kamikaze and Angel Hair immediately grabbed you and pulled you away to safety. Rubble dove out and grabbed the crowbar you dropped - he swung it around and caught the zed's ankle, causing it to trip right in front of the three of us." He pointed to Cowboy, Peace, and himself, the group previously stationed on the other side of the door.
Angel Hair chimed in: "You shoulda seen it! The zed face-planted, and Peace and Beard jumped onto it, kicked away the helmet and chopped its head off with their hatchets!" he punctuated his speech with hand motions, smacking his hands together to illustrate the zed falling and chopping motions for the combat.
T.Rex just smiled, and already felt a little better. "Sounds great- sorry I missed it. So where are we? How long was I out?"
"We took care of the zed and then dragged you back in here," Rubble said, spreading his arms out to indicate the room. "That is to say, the room we found with the zed in it. It's some sort of maintenance workroom, and we've found a few things you might like. You've been out for a few hours, and we didn't want to move you much because you were out. Plus it would've been a pain in the ass to carry and defend your lifeless body running around in dark tunnels."
With his strength returning, T.Rex nodded. "Thank you, guys. What did you find?"
Peace disappeared for a moment and returned with some crumpled papers, yawning. "The zed we found shut in here was a maintenance guy for Purdue, and he left a detailed journal. It's pretty disturbing. Here, lemme read you some highlights:"
Marshall Franklin, United States Army Corporal, 249th Battalion, Retired. June 6th, Third Shift.T.Rex shook his head slowly. "Aww, c'mon. He gets bitten and then stays-"
I was asked to work a double shift tonight because one of the new guys called off again. I cannot stand the work ethic of this new generation, and I can only hope I can set a good example to follow. At any rate, we are still dealing with power outages across campus, and complete blackout areas are noted below. I've managed to re-route what little power we have left to the critical locations, as ordered by my supervisor. I'll be surprised if it lasts through the weekend at this rate.
One other item of note: while checking the master fuse box in section eight, I heard a strange noise at approximately 2:30am. I went to investigate, and confronted a transient hiding behind one of the dormant steam pipes. I lost track of him, but there was a scuffle. I was bitten once on my right hand, and treated myself with the medical kit at the supervisor's station. I will continue to monitor the power situation from the West Control Center.
Peace held up a finger as he scanned over the pages. "Wait, it gets worse. Here's another entry:"
Peace squinted in the limited light provided by the flashlight. "It gets harder to read, but then:"
Marshall Franklin, US Army, retired. June 7th, 10:15am.
Nobody reported in for the morning shift, but I'm not feeling well. I feel dizzy and constantly hungry. I've decided to nap in the break room instead of trying to drive myself home. I will check on things after I rest a bit.
M. Franklin, Army. J 8, 9pm."It goes on and on like that," Peace said. "The guy got bitten one night and stayed here, trying to keep things going and his journal basically records his transformation into a zed. My guess is either somebody locked him in here after he came back to life, or possibly he just locked himself in to protect others."
Still sick. Haven't heard from the replacement shift, so I'll stay here overnight to keep an eye on things. Power outages all over.
"What's the last entry?" T.Rex asked.
Peace flipped to the final page. "It just says:"
4. Hungry.
"What the hell does that mean? Like, 4am?" Ryan asked.
Peace shrugged. "No clue. It just says four."
"And we're sure it's him?"
"Bite marks match the description, and we found a positive ID in his wallet," Kamikaze said.
A grim silence hung in the air as T.Rex pondered the meaning of the document they'd recovered. "Somebody take some notes of the important details, and then store them separately from the journal in somebody else's pack. If we make it out of here, this is firsthand evidence that we need to protect if we can."
Ryan gritted his teeth and stood, fighting back a wave of pain and nausea. As the Fools listed to him the various items they'd found in the maintenance room, he felt a renewed sense of purpose.
"Everybody suit up, and get ready to move," T.Rex commanded.
"Are you sure you're okay to go?" Kamikaze asked. The rest of the Fools paused to look at T.Rex.
Ryan narrowed his gaze. "I'll be fine. Let's go rescue Jenny." Together they exited the maintenance room, back into the shadowy tunnels beneath campus...
Current Word Count: 39,539
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