The Demented Z (Book 3): Contagion by Derek J Thomas

hopeful cures on the man.
    Eight feet away from the window the hall split again.
  On his left a narrow stairway led to the
third floor. Leaving the stairs for
later, Hank tucked in close to the wall and slowly moved toward the
window. He tried to stay tucked to the
wall using the shadows as much as possible.
    It was just as he stepped up to the window that the glass
shattered and white hot pain shot through his neck and shoulder.
  He dropped to the floor, landing on the
shards of glass. Another boom sounded
and a round slammed into the wall above him.  
Drywall debris flew into the air.  
Hank lay on his side using his feet to slide along the floor.
  Warm blood oozed from his neck and shoulder.
    Once he reached the corner that led to the stairs he dragged
himself into the narrow opening and rose to a sitting position on the first
step. “Son of a…
ahhh …man that hurts.”
  He grumbled to himself.
  His hand went to his neck, feeling the
gash. His fingers probed the torn flesh
and he was glad to find that it wasn’t very deep.
  The round had been fired from down low,
catching the edge of his shoulder and winging his neck as it passed up toward
the top of the wall. “Dirtbags.” He
said under his breath. As the blood
slowed, he rose back to a standing position and turned, heading up the worn
stairs.
    ******
    When the shots rang out, Axel grabbed April by the arm, “We’re
not sitting in here.” He began to pull
her to her feet.
    “They said to stay here.”
    “No way, we’re trapped.”
    She had a panicked look on her face.
  The thought of going back out there, with
only Axel, terrified her. “The plan was
–“
    “They’re going to leave us.”
    “They’ll come back.”
    He forced her to standing.  
“We’re leaving.”

Chapter 11 - Cost
    Tom jumped when the shots rang out.
  They sounded close…maybe just outside the
cafeteria. He was almost sure they were
from outside, ground level, which would mean it was from the ghosts.
  Hannah must have thought the same thing,
because her head turned and she was looking directly toward the wall that lay
between them and the outside. Tom gave
her a “stay put” motion, knowing that unless there were more shots they had to
hope someone would get antsy and start moving into the building.
    It didn’t take very long.  
Tom heard it before he saw it; the slight metallic
rattle of a doorknob. A sliver of
light cut across the floor of the cafeteria.  
With a barely audible creak the door continued to swing open and the swath of light grew until it lit most
of the cafeteria tables.
    Tom’s heart pounded in his chest.
  His body knew it was go time and began
pumping adrenaline through his veins. He
tried to take a few steadying breaths, knowing he had to control the
energy. His grip tightened on his rifle
as he tucked back into the shadows as much as possible.
    Hannah on the other hand had never been so ready for
something in her life. This is exactly
what she had been waiting for, and they finally had a tactical advantage.
  She held the rifle tight to her shoulder and
used her thumb to double check that the safety was off.
  She knew it was off and also knew she would
check it again in about fifteen seconds, but it helped calm her nerves.
    A rifle barrel poked through the open doorway, followed by a
man in camo.  
He was slightly crouched with his rifle tight to his shoulder, eyes
focused on a quick acquisition scope mounted to the top of his M4.
  He checked left and right for any immediate
threats and then began to work heel to toe across the cafeteria.
  His trajectory would take him right in front
of Tom and Hannah. He was oblivious to
the fact that he would soon be entering their kill zone.
    Tom wanted to interrogate the man, but knew it would be very
risky to remain exposed after shouting the rifle out of his hands.
  He was just about to twist into the opening
and light the guy up when the man