Only two more floors to go, I think as I leave the door to floor two behind. Halfway down the next flight of steps, shock and terror grip me. I go to retreat and nearly fall backwards, up the stairs. I catch myself and manage to refocus the aim of my wayward M4 ready to pull the trigger. Caught in the beam of the M4’s light, a female Rabid stands in the corner of the no-man’s-land, its black eyes staring at me. My peripheral vision looks for others, I don’t see any. The trembling of my body races in time with my heart rate. I manage to keep it together though, just. Its mouth opens slightly to make a chilling low groan in my direction, the heinous sound rising from beneath its long straight hair that hangs around its grey face. I aim, ready for its attack. No attack comes though, it just stands there staring straight at me, groaning. The wretched creature stinks to high heaven, and I can smell it, even from where I am. Why doesn’t it attack? Is it injured? Not that I can see. I almost feel sorry for it as my finger squeezes the trigger on the M4 and I shoot it, straight through its forehead. The Rabid drops like a sack of spuds into a pile on the floor, its groaning noise instantly cut off.
My confusion over the Rabid’s behaviour is overridden by my reaffirmed concentration of looking for other Rabids that may be lurking in the shadows, ready to attack. Holding my breath as I step around the corpse to save me from the stench, the light from my M4 searches every corner as I proceed, eager to leave the dark stairwell behind.
I can see nothing of use through the panel in the door of floor one, it only shows me a blind corner of the corridor. Rabids are certain to be somewhere on that floor; it is the floor they broke in through the windows when the building was compromised. Grief for lost friends wells up, as does relief. I was so close to not making it off that floor when they broke through. It was Dan who arrived just in time to save me, a debt I will never have the chance to repay.
I take the last two flights down extra carefully, feeling sure that Rabids will be waiting down at the bottom. To my surprise, it is clear and the exit to the ground floor awaits. That is the easy part done, I remind myself as I go to see what I can through the glass panel. As soon as I exit, I am going to be out in the open spaces of the building proper, without anyone to cover my back.
Somehow, I’ve got to exit the stairwell, move down the corridor and get through the door into the storeroom. The door will be open because its electronic lock will have failed, along with the building's power. There is another problem however, in our wisdom, Dan and I parked one of the trollies, loaded with arms in front of the doors of the storeroom when we brought it up from the armoury. I’m going to have to move it before I can get through the doors. Under normal circumstances it wouldn’t be a problem, I could just take off the brakes and wheel it out of the way. That type of problem is the last thing I need right now. It could start drawing unwanted attention and the delay could prove fatal. Even so, only if there is a minimal risk I will wheel the trolley into the storeroom with me. I need to restock with ammo for one, and a few grenades wouldn’t go amiss either.
Again, the view out of the panel is very limited and doesn’t show me much. I’ve no choice but to push the door open and hope Rabids aren’t lurking nearby. Gently, I start to ease the door open with my foot, my hands poised, gripping the M4. The door’s well-oiled hinges are silent but the air piston in the door’s closing mechanism above the outside of the door makes a low hiss as it extends.
With the gap almost big enough for me to get through, I stop and listen for any sign of movement in the corridor. No noise comes so I peer out of the gap and down the corridor, which is the direction I need to go. The corridor is clear, and I can see the edge of the trolley protruding out, where it is parked in the alcove of the entrance to the storeroom. Swivelling my foot whilst keeping it against the door, I turn to look through the panel in the door to get a view of the other end of the corridor. The short run behind which goes nowhere and is a dead-end is clear also. Carefully, I open the gap slightly more and slip out into the corridor, my left hand stopping the door closing too quickly behind me.
Out, I double-check my rear and then hugging the left side wall, I stalk down the few meters to the end of the corridor behind my rifle. Just to my right now is the entrance to the storeroom with the trolley blocking the doors. Around the corner on my left is the longer corridor that leads up to the main entrance to the building and the reception area. I get my breathing under control before I attempt to look around that corner. Hopefully, when I get into the storeroom, I will be able to rest-up. My legs are waning, and my arms are struggling to cope with the weight of the M4.
Cursing myself for thinking too far ahead, I get my head back to the present and the immediate challenge ahead. Pulling the M4 up
