She was about to berate the man for looking so calm when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. The first zombie had managed to climb up on the dock and had entered the warehouse. It froze several steps into the building and turned its head down and to the side.
BB chose that moment to run back down the stairs to their landing. The result was immediate. The zombie snapped its head and seemed to look straight at Breanne. The look on the face of the former young woman was horrifying, and Breanne gasped in fear. The zombie made for the bottom of the stairs, as if it knew that this was the way to reach its prey. Another zombie lumbered through the door and followed without hesitation. Breanne counted another three behind that one.
Swiftly, BB kicked open the door to the office. “The door is locked. Got to find the key!” he said as he entered the office. Breanne turned on unsteady feet and entered the office behind him.
“I’ll help you search,” she announced, barely hearing herself over the blast of Bill’s rifle.
For once, luck was on their side. “A-ha!” BB’s gaunt face lit up with a smile as he reached into a drawer and held his prize aloft for Breanne to see. It was a key.
“Hopefully, it’s the right one,” Breanne said dryly. BB was ready, though, and dangled the little tag from the end of the key.
“Says ‘roof access’,” he said with a grin.
Their joy was cut short when they heard Bill outside.
“Guys, y’all better hurry in there!” he yelled between shots.
BB jumped past Breanne and out of the door. Breanne followed, still moving somewhat clumsily. What she saw shook her. There were at least twenty zombies inside the building now. And that wasn’t even the worst. They were climbing the stairs!
Breanne froze in amazement as she saw the clumsy and stiff zombies pick up their feet to take the steps and pull themselves forward using the handrails. Bill continued shooting. But getting a headshot on an approaching undead, bobbing up and down and side to side as it ascended stairs, was a challenge. Breanne watched as the first bullet perforated the neck and chest of the zombie. It jerked slightly with the impact and just kept coming.
“Hold them,” Breanne yelled and followed the lanky man to the top of the stairs. She noted with some dismay that the zombies seemed to be more agile than her at the moment.
“Ah! Motherfucker!”
BB slowly turned around. The lighting was dim, but she could clearly make out the top half of a key clutched between his thumb and forefinger.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Breanne said. Or she tried to say, as a steady stream of gunfire drowned her out. The staccato sound came to an abrupt halt.
“I’m out!” Bill called from below. She watched him draw a pistol from his belt, ready to make the last stand.
Breanne’s eyes met BB’s. His had widened in distress, the top half of a key still held out in front of him. Breanne looked past him at the door.
“Move!” she commanded. BB stepped aside without hesitation. Breanne climbed the last couple of stairs and leaned in to take a closer look at the keyhole.
“I broke off the key in it...” BB said in an apologetic tone over her shoulder.
“I know that, dumbass!” She shot him an annoyed glare. “Go help Bill!”
She could hear the sound of Bill’s pistol. It sounded about as impressive as a firecracker, compared to the noise his rifle made. A second firecracker started going off a few seconds later as BB joined Bill on the landing.
OK, I think I got this. Breanne reached into her hair.
“Ouch! Jesus!” she yelped as she touched a sensitive area of her head. She dug around her blood-slickened hair for a few moments; her fingers felt thick and clumsy.
Ah. There you are. Her fingers gripped the object she was after. She fumbled with the item, and it slipped through her fingers twice before she was able to pull it out.
“Gotcha!” she exclaimed, examining the blood-soaked hairpin in her hand. She rubbed off the blood against her shirt and bent down to examine the lock once more.
Breanne smirked as she saw the key. It was in all the way. All she needed was some leverage. She bent the hairpin and created a handle, then forced the end into the lock, right up to the key. She kept the pressure constant and slowly started to turn the lock.
She jerked slightly when heard an exclamation from Bill, followed by a few rushed shots, and the hair pick slipped out of the lock.
“Fucking motherfucker!” She continued to swear as she jammed the hairpin back in.
“Any time now, Bree!” BB shouted from below. He sounded closer than she’d expected, so Breanne had a quick look. The soldiers were slowly backing up and were only half a dozen steps from her. The first zombies had already made it to the landing.
Deep breaths now, Breanne ... Huh. Bree ... Yeah! I can roll with that! Oh shit! Focus now. Breanne took that deep breath she had promised herself and twisted the hairpin handle with a steady hand.
Click.
The sound she had been waiting for.
Fuck, yeah! Picking locks is my thing.
“Got it!” she yelled over her shoulder before opening the door and stumbling into daylight.
BB turned and sprinted up the stairs, nearly barging into Breanne. Bill brought up the rear and quickly shut the door on the advancing undead.
“This ain’t gonna hold ’em.” The national guardsman pointed at the simple door handle.
Breanne nodded, then let her gaze rise from the door.
“Up there,” she said simply.
BACK AT THE REN, THINGS were quiet. Too quiet, as far as Nat was concerned.
It had been only a minute since they’d heard the echoes of the
