Resurrection Hour - Hidden in Ice(Nanowrimo)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Hannah and her team burst into the lunchroom, then she had them all stop so they could listen. Her gaze travelled around the room, over the four plain brown tables to the corner where there was an old greenish canvas sofa and a fifty-two-inch television, sitting on top of a hideous fake grass carpet. Someone certainly didn't put a lot of thought into this room.

The kitchen counters and silver appliances covered the east wall and next to them was a walk-in pantry. Only the cafeteria upstairs had a state of the art kitchen. This one was more apartment style than anything and was just for those who didn't really want to waste time leaving the floor.

The prep cook made sure their pantry was always stocked and they were never left wanting. The freezer always had individual portions of meat, and the shelves were lined with non-perishables.

"Fill up the bags with only things we can eat without preparing."

Darius pulled the lid of a tote in the back of the pantry. "Hey, it's an emergency supply kit." He started digging through it. "Eureka!" he exclaimed, holding up a bunsen burner and candles. "We can use this to warm things up."

Before long, their bags were packed and they were ready for the next leg of their journey. She had her own pack, along with a can opener. Darius took a sharp knife for their own collection, knowing they'd be going separate ways, unbeknownst to the other girls.

Cheryl would pitch a gasket the minute Hannah didn't follow them inside, but as long as Darius did his job, that's all she'd be able to do. Hannah had no doubt that her friend would do everything in her power to follow her, but that wasn't going to happen if she could help it. This might all be for nothing anyway, so no point in risking them both by staying together in a room that had a big window.

Hannah poked her head out of the pantry and listened carefully. There were no sounds to indicate anyone was coming their way. It was surprisingly silent for the amount of doctors and admins that worked on this level. They couldn't all be dead, could they? No one seemed to be trying to escape. No one was running the halls. She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Were they all turning or did any of them actually stay dead?

Well, that was not something she was interested in finding out. She motioned her group to move into the lunchroom, and then they made their way to the archway, flanking either side of it. Hannah adjusted the bag on her back and gripped the pointy broom handle, holding it by her side as she peeked around the corner. The hallway was quiet, except for a few grunts sounding from the middle hallway. She hoped to god that the rest of the mission was as successful as the first.

As she stepped into the hallway, a loud bang vibrated through the walls. It sounded like it came from the storage room. That could only mean that the zombies had broken the door down and were one step closer to getting into the lab hallway. She cursed under her breath as she heard shuffling coming down the middle hallway.

"We have to move now," Darius hissed in a low voice.

The morgue was along the back wall, completely opposite of where they were now and kiddy corner from the lunchroom. If only they had a straight path to the room, but they didn't. All they could do was run along the outer hallways until they reached the room and hope that they didn't meet anything along the way. The dead would have all been drawn to the sound of the loud bang so it shouldn't be too bad, she thought.

In a line, they made their way down the hall, their backs against the wall. Hannah was at the front of the line, Darius at the back. He was keeping watch behind them, while she watched the front.

When they reached the end of the first hallway, Hannah pressed her back against the inner wall, so she could poke her head around the corner. At the midway point down the hall, a body was lying on the floor. The person wore blue scrubs that indicated it was one of the cleaners.