The Hungry (Book 2): The Wrath of God by Steven Booth, Harry Shannon Page A

we've been over this before. I did what I had to do then, and when I saw how wrong it was, I did what I had to do to get you and Terrill Lee and Scratch the hell out of here. I learned my lesson. I'm on your side, remember?"
    "Don't Penny me, Karl. As a matter of fact, don't talk to me at all."
    Miller threw the papers up and away. Sheppard frantically grabbed at them. Miller turned and stormed out of the room. No one followed, not even Scratch. That fact hurt her all over again. She stomped down the hall, determined to locate a weapon. Moments later, she found herself in a dark corridor, alone with a few headless corpses. She searched them for guns, found one 9mm with an empty magazine. Miller tossed the empty clip down the hallway with a clatter but kept the gun. If nothing else she could pistol-whip somebody. She squatted on her haunches, thinking.
    Every man I've ever trusted from Daddy on has let me down. Every one of them turns out to be as unreliable an investment as a shitfaced bartender…
    Something moved in the shadows. Miller stiffened. She eased back to her feet. Her left knee popped faintly. She watched, her fist balled up around the gun butt, a sour taste in her mouth. Seconds later a huge, gray rat squealed out from beneath a pile of bloody rags. It seemed to grin at her. It was fat and sassy from feasting on the corpses. Miller hissed and growled. The rat turned and ran away.
    She was alone again. It dawned on Miller that this hadn't been one of her brightest ideas. She was by herself in the corridor with God knows what hiding in the next room over. If she got lost and left behind but survived the zombies, she'd have her ass blown to Cleveland when that nuke went off in about one day's time. And all she had was an unloaded weapon. This was not a good situation.
    Enough pouting, girlfriend. Miller decided to find Ripper and his crew. That way she'd at least have some company.
    She was quickly reminded why coming on this mission was a bad idea.

CHAPTER SIX

    9:12pm – 20 hours 48 minutes remaining

    "Ripper? Brubeck? Psycho?"
    Miller's voice sailed like a paper airplane down empty hallways, only to return faint and badly shaken. There was no answer. She walked further still, almost on tiptoe, the empty gun clenched in her right fist. She spotted a bit of light. The lab door was partly open. She could hear muffled conversation nearby and movements beyond the moveable white wall. She was not alone, though the premises seemed empty.
    Miller entered the room. The lobby area was shadowy, but she could see light coming from the far side of the large laboratory, so she wasn't in total darkness. Nevertheless, the blind corners seemed packed with imaginary zombies. Miller saw large, bulky desks with scattered papers. Medical and office equipment sat in hulking silence throughout the room, as if playing possum but ready to pounce. She felt exposed and vulnerable, especially since her only weapon had no bullets. Her eyes couldn't seem to adjust. For a long moment, she stood where she was, listening to the whispering darkness, hearing nothing clear enough for her to understand. She couldn't smell anything but the medical cream she'd rubbed on her upper lip ages before, but something was wrong and she knew it.
    Miller could feel the rumbling of the generators as a low, thin vibration under her feet. She swallowed dryly. It was ridiculous for her to stand in the dark as if she were still a rookie, waiting to be chum for an undead feeding frenzy. Might as well suck it up. It took her a moment to find the light switch. She flicked it on.
    "Shit on a shingle."
    Miller gaped. The room was a horror show out of a mad scientist movie. Everything was clinical and clean, bloodless. A shelf held neat rows of lab reference books. Someone's ID badge sat up against a microscope. Decapitated corpses lay on medical tables, partially dissected, chests pried obscenely apart. Severed limbs, unnamed innards, and other body parts lay neatly on