a truck bomb?'
'Supposedly, this building can withstand something like that.'
'You want to wait around to find out if it really lives up to the engineer's hype?'
'But surely we can defend ourselves. We have guns. Weapons.'
'So do they-and there are more of them than there are of us. It doesn't matter how many guns we have. We're outnumbered in any case.'
Bates was quiet for a moment, and then continued.
'When you've been doing this for as long as I have, you learn to trust your gut, to honor your instincts. Right now, my gut is telling me that something really bad is about to happen.'
'What?'
'I'm not sure. But whatever it is, it's getting closer.'
'Then how the hell do we get out of here?' Forrest rapped his large knuckles on the table in frustration. 'I mean, we can't fly everybody out. The chopper holds ten people, maximum, and that's with the pilot and co-pilot. We try sneaking ten of us out in the middle of the night, and those folks downstairs will string us up by our necks. And there's no way we could use the vehicles in the parking garage. They'd slaughter us as soon as we got outside.'
'We could airlift people out slowly,' the doctor suggested. 'If we don't want to oppose Mr. Ramsey, tell him you're doing scouting and rescue missions, and secretly take a group of people out every time.'
'And go where?' Bates shook his head. 'Where do you suggest we take them? The mountains? That's no
good, as long as the animals are reanimating too. There's also the small matter of our dwindling fuel supply for the chopper.'
'Okay.' Forrest's brow creased in thought. 'The wilderness is out. We're close to Philly, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. But they're no good either.'
'If we go to a major metropolitan area, we'll be in the same situation we're in now,' Bates agreed. 'And most of the mid-Atlantic region is near a major metropolitan area. So what does that leave us?'
Stern raised his hand. 'An island, perhaps?'
'No.' Bates shook his head. 'Same problem as the mountains, just on a smaller scale.'
'A boat then.'
'Again, you have to factor in the wildlife. A school of zombie sharks or an undead killer whale would destroy the type of boat we could safely get our hands on. Plus, there are the sea birds to think about. They'd massacre anybody that went topside. And how are you going to fit all of us on a boat?'
'So where would you go, Bates, if you could get out of here?' Forrest asked.
Bates creased his brow in deep thought. 'If I could escape the city, and had the capability to fly anywhere, I'd go to the Arctic Circle or Antarctica. It seems to me that below-zero temperatures and the harsh environment would slow them down somewhat. They have no body heat, so maybe they'd freeze. And the wildlife there is sparse, compared to other wilderness areas.'
'You'd live on a fucking iceberg?' Forrest snorted.
Bates nodded silently.
'Look,' Forrest said after a long pause, 'who says we got to take everybody with us? It would be a fucking logistical nightmare trying to sneak these folks from the building without Ramsey finding out about it.'
'You're not suggesting we abandon all these people?' Stern asked.
'Not everybody, but maybe we get the three of us, and seven other people and we get the hell out of here in that helicopter. I mean, somebody has to survive, right?'
Bates rubbed his eyes. 'That still doesn't solve the problem of where to go.'
'I know where to go,' slurred a voice from behind the podium in the corner.
All three of them jumped up in surprise. Forrest's chair fell over backward with a loud crash. Stern's hand flew to his chest.
Bates drew his pistol, crossed the room in three quick strides, and peered behind the podium. His eyes narrowed.
'Get out here, now!'
Pigpen crawled out of his hiding place, cradling a fat, calico cat in his arms. He petted the animal's fur, whispering to it soothingly.
'It's okay, God. That's Mr. Bates. He won't shoot us. He's a nice-'
'Shut up,' Bates snapped. 'What the hell are you doing in here, Pigpen?
You know damn well that this floor is off limits to non-security personnel.'
'I was looking for God. I found him behind the podium. Then we fell asleep. When I woke up, you guys were in here. I didn't want to interrupt. Sounded like you were talking about important stuff. God told me it wouldn't be polite.'
'What's he talking about?' Stern whispered to Forrest.
'His cat,' the soldier whispered. 'Its name is God.'
'Oh, that's right. I'd forgotten.'
