The mass of subsumed people, that roamed above could now even be heard by… originals. She had no better term for people that hadn’t been altered. She moved even quicker, breaking into a jog and reached the next ramp. Groans, scratching and the occasional screech could be clearly heard. Even the ground beneath her shook slightly. It reminded her of when her ex-husband dragged her to a rock concert and the pounding on the muddy surface beneath her boots vibrated with the music.

  “Slow down!” said a concerned Todd. “They must be close. Over.”

  She heard his voice and didn’t care for his sentiment. The things that were now only tens of yards away, were like her. Yes, their condition was more extreme. They hadn’t been given an injection of immune blood, but they would see her as they saw themselves. She would be fine. And she needed to demonstrate that to her kids.

  She arrived at the ground floor level and looked along the rows of vehicles. The air was even more putrid at this point. Thicker with the remnants of the city’s population, alive and dead. Her head started to swim a little, the distant sounds becoming a chorus that was pulling her forward…

  “What’s happening?” said Todd, shaking her out of her reverie.

  “I’m okay. I just—”

  There was a figure in the gloom about a hundred feet from her. It must have scampered down the exit ramp while her thoughts were elsewhere.

  “What is that? We can see something moving in the darkness. Near the exit?”

  She walked forward. “It’s okay. Don’t worry. They won’t hurt me. Over.”

  “What are you talking about?” A child’s whimper could be heard behind Todd.

  “It’s okay, baby. They won’t harm me. I’m like them. They won’t…”

  Another shadowy form staggered down the slope, joining the first that was just standing there. She could see it was wearing a suit. Some of it burned in places. A man of middling years. She waved and forced a smile. “Hello?”

  She could see the person was opening their mouth, but only a rasping breath was produced. Her mind was swimming with thoughts and sounds. Images of crimson intensity were cascading through her. She shook her head again, looking again at the figure getting closer.

  “Can you understand—” The man started walking towards her. “— me?” She stopped. Why was he walking so quickly? Why was he not talking? Her hand instinctually fell upon her holster. Her fingers creeping over the release button. “I’m… like you. We’re…”

  He charged, almost bounding over the surface. Down the center of the concrete and directly at her. Was he… using his hands to run as well? She started walking backwards, her hand now on the grip of her gun.

  “Run!” shouted Todd in her earpiece.

  She turned and did just that, moving faster than she thought she could, arriving at the down ramp within—

  Something swept past her and landed horizontally on the concrete wall in front with a crunch. Its hands and bare feet digging into the surface. Its head turned awkwardly towards her, and amongst its missing teeth were others, longer, sharper, already red with dried blood. She screamed as the thing did the same, but its sound was one of hate and hunger.

  The booms of her weapon pounded her ears, lighting up the man, thing, whatever and its dark eyes reflected her own. It leaped at her and she fired again, this time a projectile luckily catching it square in the center of its head, exploding the contents back on the wall and the sign mentioning, three more levels below.

  *****

  “They’re coming into the parking garage!” shouted Callum. He and the others now packed into his room, were mesmerized by the hundreds of bodies that were flooding into the upper levels like a swarm of rats.

  Karl and Zoe were shouting as well, but Todd had already left and was running towards the elevator.

  Angel caught up with him, handing him his rifle from earlier and an earpiece. “I fully loaded the mag,” she said.

  He snapped the comms device onto his left ear as she held hers. “Callum, we’re going to need some light up there.”

  “Yeah, yeah I’m working on it. I can give you… one light per level. That’s all the batteries can manage. Over.”

  “It’ll have to be enough. Over.”

  “Wait up!” said Ramses running up to them, as the large doors of the elevator slid open with a scraping creak. He had replaced the Browning with an MP5.

  A bark made Todd glance back at Cash running out of the corridor in his direction, followed by Cole, Karl and Zoe. “I want to come with you!” shouted the brother.

  Todd shook his head. “Look after your sister.” He then looked at the small dog, wagging its tail bedside Karl. “Stay. Look after them both.” Finally he looked at Cole without having to say anything. Cole understood and nodded.

  Ramses hit the up button and the door slid closed. “Conserve your bullets. Shoot for the head. It’s about the only thing that puts them down.”

  “Hard to believe twenty-four hours ago they were like us...” said Angel to which no one responded.

  The elevator appeared to take longer than usual to ascend and as they drew close to their destination, they could already hear the droning growls of what was waiting.

  The elevator jolted to a stop and in unison they raised their weapons at the door, which dragged itself open. Countless bodies and limbs flicked in their direction, lit by the faint yellow, round light which sat above the creature’s heads, roughly halfway along the parking area. In the dingy illumination, most were huddled around a van, but were now more interested in the newcomers in their midst. As if a starting pistol was fired, they roared towards the elevator. A sea of what were once office workers, shoppers, policemen, the city’s denizens, all transformed into something else. Something which required feeding.

  A torrent of bullets streamed from the confined space of the elevator, each of those inside, knowing to fire in short bursts. Better accuracy, better ammo conservation and the projectiles smashed into the wall of flailing hands and bodies that were fighting to get closer.

  Todd broke off left, felling one, then three of them by direct hits to the front of their skulls. He ran along the back of a row of cars, squeezing past the trunks and fenders as the things scrambled over the vehicles to get to him. He ducked as a shadowy blur swiped where his head had just been, the nails gouging a trail across the concrete wall, then turned and fired. Another direct hit, putting the thing down. It was a woman, her lower jaw bathed in blood. She bounced off the back of a coupe, dropping like a stone. He kept on going, as the thunder of gunfire and screeches of the things echoed off the walls.

  He was now in a place where the light could not reach and looked back. He couldn’t see the other two through the horde that kept funneling towards the elevator but the clatter of gunfire confirmed they were still fighting. More figures were steaming down the ramp to his left. He crouched behind a SUV, hoping not to be seen, hoping that he could slip past and find Evelyn, but suddenly one of the figures in the dark stopped and scampered towards him. Even in the almost complete black he could see it bounding as if it were an animal, not a human. He knew firing would just attract more of the things his way, but it was moving so fast he had no choice. Flicking his barrel up, he fired a short volley of bullets, each projectile illuminating a path across the dank concrete, past cars and square pillars to the oncoming hoard that was crashing down the ramp. They hit their target, knocking it back where it slumped to the ground, but more were behind, more were about to be on top of him. He looked back to the direction of the elevator. Had the shooting stopped? He couldn’t tell over the incessant growls and primal sounds which filled the space.

  He pulled the trigger again and again, each effort just about stopping a hand or a bite, from snapping at his face. He staggered backwards, sliding along the wall, between the backs of vehicles, knowing that there was no out, other than the way he—

  A burst of gunfire erupted from his left, from the exit ramp. An explosion of flashes and booms were just visible through the sea of dark shadows that flittered left and right. He fired again at a lunging creature, vaguely human in appearance but anything but in movement. Bullets tore chunks from its ragged torso but it kept lunging, until another burst of gunfire slammed into its head, sending it careening into the wall, inches to the side of Todd. He lifted his hand to cover his eyes, momentarily blinded from a flashlight, which then spun a hundred and eighty degrees. The person, a young man from his silhouette had a semi-auto rifle and fired again, sweeping his barrel at those that were getting to close.

  He flicked back to Todd. “We gotta go!”

  Todd looked to the elevator, which was now open. Its single light showing a mound of bodies scattered all around it. He ran out from the car. “This way!”

  Ramses and Angel, shouted, waving them towards them and so Todd and the unknown man ran towards the light.

  The back of a van door flew open, Todd and the man raising their weapons at the dark contents.

  Hands emerged from the gloom. “Don’t shoot!” shouted Evelyn. She immediately recognized the man from the opposite rooftop. “Its you…”

  It was then that Todd noticed the man’s almost completely dark eyes.

  Angel ran towards them, shooting at the increasing shifting shadows in the distance. “We need to be gone from here.”

  All four ran inside the elevator, Ramses kicking a body clear from the closing door.

  “I’m Brad…”

  The other three eyed him with suspicion, but Evelyn forced a smile. “I’m Evelyn.”

  Their short journey ended with a jolt and the door slid open.

  They all looked at the four people with guns pointing in their direction, then realized the weapons were aimed at the newcomer.

  He sneered. “I just save your man’s life!”

  “I’m not their man,” said Todd. “But thanks, anyway.”

  They all cautiously stepped outside, Brad slower than the rest. August walked forward, looking at the young man. “Thank you. But you are now in my domain, and I don’t know if I can trust you.”

  Brad turned back to the elevator. “You do you. I’m out of here.”

  Evelyn raised a hand. “Wait.” He stopped, looking at her then the others. She looked at August. “You lost a lot of people tonight. This man has already saved one of us. We could use his help. And as you can see, he has certain advantages.”

  Silence hung in the air, but August finally nodded and the weapons were lowered. He looked at the others. “From now on we only go out in the day. The night belongs to them.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The brightness of Randall’s laptop screen was beginning to hurt his eyes. Ever since he had started taking the pills, he had noticed his sensitivity to light had increased. He wasn’t surprised by that, knowing what the side effects were, but knowing and experiencing were two different things.

  His eyes danced across the rows of text again. The estimations the council had given him. He had spent the last hour going over them, and still didn’t believe it. A population reduction of forty-two percent had already occurred and the statistics predicted that would increase to over sixty percent within the next thirty days and mid-eighties by the end of the year. The same devastation and pattern was repeated across the world.

  He knew he should feel sick. Should be ranting at those that killed the world. But instead he felt nothing. At least he knew what he should feel, even if he didn’t. That was something, he thought. The small pill hadn’t taken his morality from him.

  But even if he did feel those perfectly normal emotions, he couldn’t show them anyway. He was sure his room, despite being swept for bugs daily, still contained a camera and microphone. There was no way the council would allow their star scientist to be truly free of them. They would want to know what he was thinking twenty-four seven.

  Most of the increased short-term deaths would be from what the infected had become and were becoming. With each injection of tainted blood, their lust would increase. Just as the virus was designed to do. Make them addicts, and with that their minds would be given over to the rage until nothing of their humanity would exist. Mindless animals with inhuman strength and agility, would be left. These beings would clear up most of the survivors, but the true long-term damage would be done by the radiation from the bombs that were detonated.

  Luckily for him, the pills also protected him from radiation poisoning. Something the DOD were insistent on, with his research. But for anyone else left alive out there. Eventually it would get them.

  He smiled with a nod, and closed his computer. The fake expression being for anyone watching.

  Soon he was in bed, his bedroom being behind his office. Not that he could sleep. The pill took that away from him months previously. Another prerequisite his work needed to produce in the required super soldiers. The ability to soldier on only a few hours sleep.

  He switched his light off and laid, looking up at the ceiling, wondering where his son was. Or even if he should still call himself a father. He knew he should feel different to how he did. Should feel despair that Brad wasn’t with him. Wasn’t safe. But he felt none of those emotions. Instead, the likelihood that Brad was one of the forty-two percent, stirred a mere curiosity within him.

  *****

  Todd wanted to close his eyes, but there was no way that was going to happen with the two individuals just a few feet from him. He wanted to believe Evelyn was the same person he had quickly come to admire from the day before. But since the sun set and she and her daughter had awoken, she seemed… different. More assertive? But then he had only known her for what? Some hours during most of which they were fighting to stay alive. Maybe this was the real Evelyn Simmons. She was some hotshot attorney, after all. Maybe it had nothing to do with how she had been altered...

  He looked at her smiling at Zoe as her kid read a book. A normal scene apart from their eyes. She seemed to be taking the current situation well, all things considered. It was hard to believe it had only been just over twenty-four hours since everything changed. It felt like the same number in years had passed. His limbs certainly thought so. With every movement came an ache and his eye still throbbed. There was also the small matter of the laceration in his side which burned. Not a positive sign. He was going to have to get some antibiotics from the pseudo doctor next door. But that would have to wait until morning. When the mother and her daughter were sleeping again.

  He let his head, rest back on the wall once more…

  His eyes flicked open to a room empty of… dark-eyed people. Only Cash was still with him, asleep by his boot.

  A cool breeze made its presence known across his unshaven jaw and he turned towards the half-open door, then awkwardly got to his feet, stretching as he moved. He pulled open the door and fell against the frame in one movement. A wide smear of blood ran in both directions along the corridor. Not seeing any obvious sign of danger, he ducked back into the room and grabbed his rifle, knowing it was low on ammo, but not caring. He would use it as a club if he had to.

  Silence came from all directions, not even the distant hum of music he had gotten used to. His heart pounded in his chest as he moved right, into the large room and the flickering lights there. It was empty but every piece of furniture, every rug was covered in streaks of—

  A whisper of a voice made him spin around and raise the rifle at the same time. He creeped back into the corridor, noticing the draft was coming from the door to the cellars. He wanted to shout out. Enquire where everyone was, but fear gripped his throat.

  Had the things got into the bunker while he was sleeping?

  He stepped across the blood and opened the door to the lower levels. A damp rotting odor hit him immediately, as he peered into the dark which seemed more pervasive than ever. He swung back to the lab, starting to move in that direction when the unmistakable sound of a woman’s voice echoed from the cellar’s direction. Someone was down there. Someone calling for him.

  “Who’s that?” he enquired into the darkness which shrouded the stairs. The same ones which descended to where they fought the creatures. “Who’s down there? Evelyn, that you?”

  Was that laughter?

  He stepped into the gloom. The inadequate single light barely allowing a clear view of the brickwork, floor and old stone steps. He wanted to go back. Grab a flashlight at least but he continued on. Each step lower was like stepping into an icy lake, he could almost feel the numbness creeping up from his ankles, but still he moved down the staircase into the darkness. The light above him, now only giving him indications of the old arches and long hallway.

  “Anyone down—”

  Something skittered behind him, making him spin around. Then again, forcing him to do the same movement to face the original direction. “I’m going to shoot!”

  Two eyes lit up in the void. Cat like, and with them came a flowing white dress, which ebbed and flowed from an unseen wind. It was Evelyn, but not. He had always found her attractive but the woman in front of him was glowing. Literally. Her ashen skin lit the space around her and gone were the black eyes, replaced with… her mouth opened into a grin as she drifted towards him, seemingly floating rather than walking. He wanted to move forward, embrace her, but her mouth kept on opening, wider and wider, her skin stretching, showing teeth… not human, but something—

  “Hey man, wake up!”

  Todd awoke from his dream, his mind still lost to what was about to devour him. Noah was standing above him.

  “You had a nightmare? You were shouting.”

  Todd blinked, looking at the sleeping mother and daughter. He let out a sigh, his racing heart only just starting to slow. “The sun’s up?”

  Noah nodded. “Yup, and we got things to do. You ready for an outing? Or you need to sleep some more?”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Smog obscured the ruins and mounds of collapsed structures just visible through the early morning sun. Large and small that sat like scenes from impressionist paintings, thought Todd as with Noah, they drove through the streets of northern Chicago. Despite some flames still burning within the buildings that were left standing, the only other sound was their SUV’s engine.