The fish flopped around on the boat, its pink gills gasping for oxygen until someone ended its misery by slitting its throat. Blood pooled onto the wooden floorboards, and the fish ceased its struggles as its life bled away. She stared at the spectacle, half sorry for the creature until Saul gripped her arm.
“You should lie down and get some rest. I’ll call you when it’s time to eat,” he said.
“Thanks,” Tara said, grateful for a chance to get out of the heat. She made her way to her bunk and sank onto the thin mattress. A breeze swept through the open windows of her cabin, cooling her fevered skin. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.
***
Tara gasped as she came awake with a start. Her cheek lay nestled in a puddle of blood, her blood, not fish blood. It took a few seconds for the dream to fade back into her memory bank. She was at Fort Knox inside her lab. The boat was long ago and far away.
She blinked, taking in her surroundings. The lights were back on, but the sirens still wailed their awful song, which meant she had to find Saul. They had to get out of there before the Fort was overrun. My research!
Tara stifled a groan as she sat upright, one hand pressed to the bleeding lump on her temple. It hurt like mad, and her head swam until she wanted to puke. The sirens weren’t helping much either. They melded with the throbbing pain until she thought she’d pass out again.
Suddenly, a chair scraped across the floor, and an inhuman shriek cut through the air. She stopped moving, her eyes wide with fright. One of the infected was inside her lab. While she’d been passed out on the floor, it had made its way into the facility. In an instant, her mind cleared as adrenaline coursed through her veins.
Dropping low to the ground, Tara peered underneath the tables and counters, looking for the infected. Her eyes fixed on a pair of booted feet running up and down the length of the room. One of the guards, probably. She knew what he was doing. He was hunting, searching for prey. And when he found her, he would kill her.
Tara closed her eyes for a brief moment, gathering the courage to act. She picked up her fallen gun and gripped it with both hands. She’d never killed before. Not even an infected. It hadn’t been necessary with Saul always around to protect her. But he wasn’t here. She was alone, and she had to defend herself and her work.
She made a swift calculation in her head. Her gun wouldn’t be accurate at that range. She needed to draw the zombie closer. Close enough for a shot to the head. It was now or never. She tensed her muscles and jumped to her feet. “Over here!”
The zombie charged.
The distance between them closed.
Chairs, desks, notepads, and electronics went flying.
Her finger trembled on the trigger, and she itched to pull it. “Come on, come on.”
When the infected was almost upon her, she took the shot. A blast of iron pellets tore through the zombie’s head, and its face disintegrated into a cloud of blood, bone, and brains. The corpse fell to the ground where it lay twitching.
Tara stared at the gory mess in front of her, unable to move. She’d done it. She’d killed a man. All sound faded away. The sirens. The echo of the shot. None of it mattered as horror froze her to the spot. Then a familiar voice caused her to wheel around.
“Tara! Tara, are you okay?” Saul cried, running toward her. He grabbed her by the shoulders, his hands brushing over her face and body. “Did you get bitten?”
Tara shook her head. “No. No, I’m fine.”
He pulled her against his chest, crushing the breath from her lungs. “Thank God. I don’t know what I’d do if you were hurt.”
Tara buried her face in his jacket, allowing his familiar scent to calm her. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”
Finally, they pulled apart, and Saul brushed the tears from Tara’s cheeks with a gentle thumb. “Can you run? We need to get out of here.”
“Is it gone? The Fort, I mean,” Tara asked, unable to believe that the mighty institution could fall. She’d thought it was safe.
“They’re trying to turn the tide, but there’s too many infected. Thousands and thousands of them.”
“How’s that even possible?” Tara said.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Saul said, grabbing her hand. “Let’s go.”
“Wait,” Tara cried, pulling away. “Just one second.”
“We don’t have time to waste,” Saul said, his voice rising in urgency. “We need to go now.”
“I know, but it’s the last of the cure. Three vials. That’s all I’ve got,” Tara said, running to a metal safe bolted to the floor.
Saul paced up and down as she thumbed in the code to unlock it, his body coiled as tightly as a spring. “Hurry, Tara!”
“Got it,” she shouted with a triumphant look in his direction, waving a metal case in the air.
“What about your research?”
She patted her pocket. “Got the hard drive right here.”
“Good. Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and rushed her out of the lab. They ran through the corridors, their footsteps echoing around them. Luckily, it was deserted — none of the other staff put in the kind of hours Tara did.
They reached the exit, a set of swing doors usually guarded by two soldiers, one of whom just tried to kill her. Saul barged through after a quick look to make sure the area was clear. In front of them loomed a Humvee. Military issue.
Saul opened the passenger door and hustled Tara inside before running around and jumping into the driver’s seat. “Right. Let’s get out of here.”
As he ignited the engine, Tara said, “One more thing.”
“What’s that?” Saul asked with exasperation stamped across his features.
“We need to get
