The Demented Z (Book 3): Contagion by Derek J Thomas Page B

In
front of her sat a 1970s yellow snowmobile with a torn and cracked vinyl seat.
  If it had ever seen better days, they were a
long time ago.
    It took nearly an hour of pulling, praying, and kicking, but
finally she gave the pull handle a swift tug and the engine rumbled to
life. A thick white and black cloud of
exhaust poured out, the engine sputtered several times, and then caught,
issuing a steady purr .
  The gas tank was full, so she left it running
and headed back inside to get final preparations in order.
    ******
    Tom climbed over the mass of bodies that lay at the bottom
of the stairwell. He could just see
Hannah ahead of him, making the turn half way up the stairs.
  Everything had turned eerily quiet.
  The attackers noticed their targets’ retreat,
and stopped shooting.
    Tom hesitated at the stairs’ entrance.
  He glanced back to the rec room and stood
listening. White sheetrock dust floated
in the air, obscuring the view out the front.  
The sounds of voices and boots could be heard from above.
  He focused, tuning out the noises of his own
group. Voices…he was almost sure he
could hear voices; more than one, but difficult to tell anything more than
that.
    When he could hear nothing more, Tom turned and made his way
up the stairs. At the top, the others huddled
in a small group partway down the hall.
    “They’re using the infected.”
  Hannah said.
    “No way, that’s crazy.”  
Axel responded.
    “Crazy…it’s not crazy.  
You saw what happened. And I
guarantee the ones after you last night were released as well.”
    Tom stepped up to the group.  
“Hannah’s right. We know there
are no breaches in the fence other than the small one we made.
  We watched the base for a long time before
coming in and there were no infected meandering around.”
  He looked back to the stairs and then back to
the group. “These were contained and
released.”
    The group stood in silence, letting the words sink in.
  It was unimaginable that someone would ever
want to keep these things contained, let alone try to use them as a
weapon. They all had the same question
in their minds – why would anyone keep them alive…in the middle of nowhere?
    “We will find the answers, but for now we need a plan.
  Right now they have the advantage and we need
to change things…turn the tables on them.”  
Tom said.
    “What do you propose?”  
Hannah asked.
    “I was hoping you or Hank would have some thoughts.”
  Tom said while looking over at Hank.
  When both Hank and Hannah shrugged their
shoulders and said nothing, he added, “So far they have set the stage,
initiated things, let’s change that.  
They know the buildings, the layout, but if we can keep them from
knowing our location, we can use that.”
    Hannah nodded in agreement. “This building is big…
make ‘em work to find us.”
    “That’s right, and hopefully gather some
intel…go after them.”
  Tom said.
    “Where do we start boss?”  
Hank asked.
    “First off, we need to split into groups.”
  Tom answered.
    “Are you sure that’s a good idea?
  We are stronger as a group.”
  Hannah said.
    Tom nodded his head.  
“We are, but by dividing, if one group engages the ghosts, then the
others can maneuver and attack unseen…at an advantage.”
    Hank nodded his head.  
“There aren’t many of ‘em.”
    “And how would you know that Sherlock?”
  Axel said.
    “Other than a couple tours in Vietnam and a sensitive
gut?” Hank said.
  When Axel said nothing he went on, “If there
were a bunch they would have pressed things early on and why bother with the
dangers of using infected. If they had a
numbers advantage we would already be dead.”
    Hannah nodded her head in agreement.
  “How do we split up?”
    “We make three groups.”  
Tom said. He looked at Axel.
  “You and April find a location up here…maybe
the empty office. Hunker down, keep