The odd green glow was brighter up ahead, but it wasn’t enough to show him any details of the tunnel, much less who or what might be moving in it.

  Shit, gotta get up to that light. Whatever it is. Gotta get where I can see.

  A shriek came rolling down the tunnel in front of him. He couldn’t tell how far away it was, and felt like he should fire, but he remembered Sergeant’s G’s order to conserve ammo. He kept moving, trusting his instincts, reaching out with everything he had and praying for safety for him and the whole squad. Another shot cracked at the back of their formation.

  Is that Sergeant G or Dom? What are they shooting at? Are the sucker faces coming in now?

  Jed kept moving, focusing on the path ahead and letting the green light guide him. He had to be under the lawn between the high rises now. He’d taken at least forty steps. Another shriek came toward him, but still he couldn’t place it at a distance. Electrical conduit and water pipes lined the tunnel at eye level. The green glow reflected off the conduit lines.

  Where the fuck is the light coming from? How long is this tunnel?

  More gunfire popped in the tunnel behind him. Sergeant G was probably picking off sucker faces that tried to get in at the door. They’d be silhouetted at least a little bit. Jed paced forward another two steps and stopped.

  “Holding here,” he said to whoever was behind him. “Sound off back there, okay?”

  They’d come into the tunnel so fast, he didn’t know if it was Matty or Jo at his six. And he had no idea where Reeve was. Did he even make it to the steps?

  Someone back there grunted. It might have been Jo, but he couldn’t be sure. Sergeant G was still popping rounds off at their six.

  How long until we’re surrounded at both ends and just fucking killed?

  ***

  Gallegos covered Jo while she reloaded the Mini-14 they’d picked off the dead col-lab. They stood side by side in the tunnel putting sucker faces down with single shots when they entered the corridor. Matty and Dom were a few yards farther along, carrying Reeve into the darkness behind Welch.

  “Close it up,” Gallegos said to Jo.

  “They’ll come in and swarm us,” she said.

  “I don’t think so. They’re not doing it now, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t. That tells me we’ve got breathing room.”

  “Or they’ve figured out how to set traps and they’re going to ambush us from the other end.”

  “Could be, but if it is, then it is. Right now it ain’t, and we need more room if we have to use the thump gun. Close it up. I got our six.”

  Jo took a slow step backwards, then another. Gallegos aimed down the hall at the doorway where a mound of dead sucker faces blocked the entrance. More of them could easily crawl inside using the walls or ceiling, but they weren’t just rushing forward.

  It’s like they’re learning to avoid an obvious kill box.

  If so, then they still have the upper hand. Either way, I hope I’m right.

  ***

  Jed kept his eyes front, using the green glow to pick out shapes in the dark corridor. Footsteps slapped on the floor behind him.

  “Who’s back there?”

  “Me and Dom,” Matty said.

  “You got Reeve with you?”

  “Yeah, ya deke. I’m here.”

  Jed almost laughed, but the blast of a rifle behind them put him on alert.

  “Sergeant G back there still? Why doesn’t she come up? Where’s Jo?”

  “They’re both back there,” Dom said. “Let’s keep going.”

  “I can’t fucking see, man. This green shit helps, but only a little. What’s it coming from?”

  “Looks like the shit on the pipes is doing it,” Matty said.

  “Stay frosty, Welch,” Reeve said. “Sergeant G wants us moving in case they need to use the thumper. So pinch it off and get going, rah?”

  Jed bit his tongue. Reeve was making jokes when all Jed could think about was the hit he wouldn’t see or hear coming.

  He took a step forward and his foot landed in something sticky on the floor. He lifted up and almost stumbled when he had to use twice as much force to free his boot.

  “There’s something on the floor here, y’all. It’s sticky as hell.”

  Dom and Matty said they’d watch out for it. Jed kept moving, one step at a time, deeper and deeper down the corridor.

  A heavy silence wrapped around him as he walked in the darkness, and the green glow finally grew bright enough for him to make out more than the pipes running along the walls. He could see the ceiling better now, and when he did, he almost wished it had stayed dark.

  ***

  Gallegos and Jo stepped back down the corridor, moving in tandem with their weapons up and aimed at the path back to the stairwell door. Jo had the thump gun slung still. The pile of sucker faces had grown by five more during the last few minutes.

  “They’re not coming in anymore,” Jo said.

  “I think they’ve learned not to.”

  “I’m starting to believe you guys. They aren’t just monsters without any brains left. They can learn, and that scares the shit out of me.”

  “I’d think there was something wrong with you if it didn’t,” Gallegos said. “Let’s catch up with the others.”

  Jo turned on her heel and went down the corridor. Gallegos followed, switching her view to their six with every other step.

  Let my squad be safe. Let us get out of this alive.

  The corridor stayed still and quiet between her and the stairwell door. As she stepped back, and the pile of dead suckers grew smaller and dimmer in her vision, the green glow around her revealed shapes in the walls. Lines of conduit and plumbing framed her path down the corridor.

  “You back there, Sergeant G?” Welch’s voice called to her through the dark.

  “Rah. You got anything?”

  “I got blood. A lot of it on the ceiling.”

  “Fresh? Old?”

  “Can’t say. It’s like paint up here. And I think there’s a patch of something else on the floor right behind us. Y’all watch your step coming up.”

  Yeah, we’ll do that.

  “How long does this tunnel go?”

  “Looks like it opens up soon. This green shit—”

  The chop of a machine gun broke through Welch’s words. Gallegos dropped to her stomach yelling for everyone to hit the deck as bullets ricocheted down the corridor.

  ***

  Jed stared into the darkness ahead. He and the rest of the squad were all prone in the corridor. Nobody had been hit, but every few seconds a muzzle flash would light up the corridor and reveal a room maybe five yards ahead of their position. More rounds would come their way, but whoever was shooting at them didn’t want to hit them. Or if they did, the darkness made it so they couldn’t aim for shit. But with a machine gun, aim wasn’t as much of a concern.

  Volume of fire. It’s all about filling the air with enough lead to make people too scared to move.

  And it was working. Jed lifted his head between the bursts, straining to see into the room at the end of the corridor. But every time the gun fired, a series of ricochets forced him to suck the floor again.

  Shuffling sounds in the room sparked Jed’s trigger finger. He didn’t even raise his head to look, just fired once and then once again. He caught more shuffling in the lull between his shots and risked lifting his head. He sent another burst into the space and spotted a figure running. The effect of the green glow was weakened by the constant muzzle flashes, but Jed could still make out shapes in the room and the outline of the doorway leading into the corridor in front of him.

  Someone grunted in the room. A sound like an ammo box being slid across the floor came down the corridor. Jed fired again. Whoever was in there cried out and the scuffling sound stopped.

  “He’s down!” Jed said, lifting up to a high crawl. He flattened out again just as fast when another burst of machine gun fire lit up the hallway.

  The chop from the weapon was heavier than a SAW.

  Gotta be a 240 or something just as big. If it’s a team weapon… Shit!

  Like she was reading his mind, Sergeant G yelled up to him, “Welch, there’s probably two of them! Sustained fire!”

  Jed fired another burst into the room. Sergeant G slid up the floor at the edge of the corridor and stopped when she was even with his position. She kept her weapon aimed forward.

  “Fire ’em up, Welch. Keep your sight picture to the left. I’m moving.”

  Jed lit up the room, sending rounds back in the direction of the enemy’s fire. More lead came their way and the constant rattle and chop of both weapons turned the corridor into a frenzy of violent noise. Jed’s ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton, but he could still make out the sound of a body going to the floor, followed by a gurgled cry. The gunfire stopped and Sergeant G slapped Jed on his back.

  “Move up, low and slow. I’m with you.”

  “Who’s got our six?”

  “Jo’s back there. Let’s move, Welch,” she said.

  Jed crawled forward, sliding the SAW ahead of him. He kept his finger on the trigger guard, ready to snap it back and light up anything that moved.

  Shuffling and scraping sounds came from the room. Jed was only a couple meters away now. The green glow made it easier to see. Shards of another mirror lay against the wall near the door, reflecting the green glow. It was stronger here and Jed finally figured out what it was.

  Fucking black light paint. They used the mirrors to bring daylight into the hall to light it up.

  The shuffling up ahead stopped, then the room filled with scurrying and dragging noises like boots and a body being pulled across stone. A click of a door latch was followed by light slicing into the room.

  Fuck! That’s gotta be Tucker and he’s running away!

  Jed picked up and ran forward to the doorway, sending a burst into the room and sweeping to his left, firing a second burst at a door that was swinging shut.

  — 30 —

  Welch fired off two bursts as he ran forward. He stopped at the end of the corridor and dropped his ammo box.

  “Fuck! I’m empty!”

  Gallegos was on her feet and charging forward with her weapon up, aiming into the room beyond. Nothing moved.

  Welch backed away a step. Gallegos reached for her last magazine and handed it to him.

  “Get the others up here,” she said. Welch slapped the magazine into his weapon and shuffled backwards down the corridor.

  Gallegos stepped into the room. She swept left and right, looking into every corner and possible hiding spot. There weren’t many to speak of. The room was empty as far as she could tell, with only an easy chair shoved into the corner to her left.

  The glowing green light was stronger in the room. She could make out a cupboard on the far wall, and a janitor’s sink and mop bucket to their left. Two cans of paint and brushes sat on the sink. She could just make out their shape from where she stood inside the door.

  Smears of something trailed along the floor from near the mop sink, going toward the door. Gallegos crouched and felt it with her fingers.

  Fresh blood. We hit them. But not hard enough.

  “Bet that’s the glow paint,” Welch said, moving in beside her. He chuckled. “That’s what they used for night vision down here. Fucking raver glow paint.”

  “This is their blood, Welch,” Gallegos said, standing up.

  The others moved into the room behind him, with Matty and Dom holding Reeve in a seat carry again. Jo entered last, covering their path back into the darkness.

  “Where’s the machine gun?” Reeve asked, shifting off of the firefighters’ hands and stepping closer to her position. “I heard a 240 in here. Had to be.”

  “It’s gone. Whoever was in here got away. Welch hit ’em, so they’re carrying wounded just like us. Let’s take advantage of that.”

  The squad got in step behind her as she moved to the door leading out. Reeve sat back into Matty and Dom’s carry. He put his good arm around Matty’s shoulders.

  “Thanks for the ride, y’all, but next time I’ll just call a cab.”

  “Still full of shit, Reeve,” Gallegos said. “Keep it up. It tells me you’re still alive.”

  “Oorah,” he said, and let out a short chuckle that turned into a groan of pain.

  At the door leading out, Gallegos had Welch position himself opposite the opening.

  “I’ll breach. Throw your banger first, then go in hot. I’m on your six.”

  “Rah, Sergeant,” Welch said and lifted his last banger out of his vest.

  Gallegos tested the knob first to make sure it turned. When it did, she opened it a few inches. Welch threw his grenade and turned away. She pushed the door shut as the banger went off, then yanked the door open again. Welch stormed through and she followed him in.

  ***

  Jed rushed forward with the SAW up, roving his muzzle around the space beyond the door. He’d come into a landing like the one at the other end of the utility corridor, only this one didn’t have a mound of dead sucker faces on the floor. But it did have streaks of blood leading up the stairs.

  And it had something much worse.

  “What the fuck is this?” Sergeant G asked from behind him. Matty, Dom, Reeve, and Jo were at the door, slowly moving into the space.

  The underside of the stairs and the wall above the door were coated in some kind of glue or webbing. Sergeant G got closer to it and reached a hand out. Her fingers caught on it and she had to tug them back.

  “Fuck, that shit’s like hot glue,” she said.

  Jed looked at the stuff and shuddered when he realized what he was seeing. Here and there in the tangled sticky pulp, he could make out hollows in the substance that would have held arms or legs. Some could have been for shoulders or hips.

  Jo let out a shout of disgust. “It’s like a meat locker. This must be where they kept the prisoners.”

  Jed moved closer to where Sergeant G was standing and reeled away when he saw a strip of skin hanging from the empty casing.

  “Whatever this shit is, you don’t want to get it on you.”

  The more he looked, the more he wanted to get away from the stuff. Spots and sprays of blood marked the hollows, along with strips of skin still embedded in the sticky material.

  The stairwell beside them led up to another landing and a door to the outside. It was open and Jed moved away from the crap on the walls to check their path out of the building.

  “Hold up, Welch,” Sergeant G said. He turned back to see her kneeling and pawing at the blood on the floor. Dark smears coated the tips of her fingers.

  “We definitely hit Tucker, or whoever that was back there shooting at us.”

  A groan outside snapped everyone’s attention to the door. Jed moved like he’d go through it, but he stopped short at the threshold.

  “What do you got, Welch?”

  “It’s him, Sergeant. It’s Tucker out there. Gotta be.”

  “You got eyes on him?”

  “Negative, Sergeant. But I can hear him. He’s close by.”

  “Stay frosty. We don’t know who else or what else is out there, or if that’s even him.”

  “What about his cache?” Matty said. “Remember that man said they had a stash of gear under these buildings? Ammo, food, and water. Right? Or did I hallucinate the last twenty-four hours?”

  “It’s not here is it?” Reeve asked.

  “Nothing’s here,” Dom said. “The prisoners aren’t here. The monsters aren’t even here. I don’t like it. They’re playing with us again, like they did at the bus station. I knew we—”

  “You knew shit, Dominic,” Sergeant G cut in.

  “I got eyes on him, Sergeant,” Jed said. “Our man’s getting away. Well, he’s crawling away.”

  “So go stop him, Welch.”

  ***

  Gallegos had Jo keep the squad covered with the Mini-14. Dom and Matty set Reeve down and Dom joined her at the door. He held Reeve’s M4 at the ready. It wasn’t like having a Marine at her side, but Dom had done all right so far. Most of his shots went into walls, but he’d hit some sucker faces back at the other building. Or he’d sent them scrambling away, making it easier for her and Jo to pick them off.

  “Good to see you stepping up with that weapon, Dominic,” she said.

  He mumbled something that sounded like thanks and she left it at that.

  As long as he doesn’t get friendly with his fire.

  Through the doorway, she could just see Welch crouched by a park bench in the middle of the lawn between the two high rises. Rubble and ash covered almost everything around them, but this little area had been spared destruction.

  Welch was looking back toward the other building. Gallegos put a foot outside and said to Dom, “Stay here and cover me. Watch high and low for any movement.”

  Gallegos moved out to join Welch. He pointed back the way he’d been looking. A body was lying in the ash and debris up against the side of the building. The figure slumped against a weapon on a bipod. It looked like an M240 and had a belt of ammo hanging out of it. The person’s hands were flat on the ground like he was dead.

  “Cover me, Welch,” Gallegos said, and stepped forward with her weapon up and aimed at the col-lab’s head.

  — 31 —

  Gallegos moved fast until she was a step away from the body. She prayed the col-lab hadn’t set a trap for them with a grenade under his chest. When she got closer, she caught the ragged breaths of a dying man.

  “We need the medics out here, on me,” Gallegos said. “Jo, stay with Reeve and keep watch on our six.”

  A few grunts and an Errr came back from the direction of the door. Welch was behind her, scanning the area. Gallegos put her attention back on the col-lab. Even though she expected sucker faces to come ripping down the walls or flying out of a doorway hidden under the debris, she knew better than to ignore a wounded enemy.