The Z Contingency

Chapter 76

Gary opened his eyes, and started to panic. He could not breathe, not matter how hard he tried, he just could not draw any breath into his lungs. Don't panic. I've had the breath knocked out of me from the explosion. Just relax, and it will pass. Just relax....

As his paralyzed diaphragm unclenched, he was gradually able to draw in breath, much to his relief. He slowly picked himself up off the ground, head throbbing, and ears ringing. Looking around him, he spotted Amanda and Natalie nearby, lying next to each other, still sprawled on the ground. He could feel the panic returning as he moved over to them as quickly as he was able and knelt down between them. Looking first to one, and then the other, he was able to satisfy himself that they were still alive; both still had pulses, although neither was breathing. He leaned over Amanda, tilted her head back, and puffed a few short breaths into her open mouth. That was apparently enough for her to start breathing on her own, so he turned to Natalie, and began performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on her as well. With each long, slow breath he exhaled into Natalie's mouth, he watched her chest rise, and then fall again. After the third exhalation, he felt her arm wrap around his head, pulling his mouth against hers, turning the resuscitation into a kiss. When she finally released him, he did not want it to end, but he needed to check on the others. "Natalie? Are you okay?" He could barely hear his own words, and from the look on Natalie's face, it seemed clear that her hearing had not returned yet either. He gave her a thumbs up sign accompanied with a questioning look, and was relieved by her returning the thumbs up gesture. Gary then turned back to Amanda, who was now sitting, and trying to stand. He turned his gaze to the rest of his group, and saw that slowly, they were picking themselves up off the ground; some shaking the dust off, and some going to help others who appeared more hurt by the blast.

His hearing started to return, and he heard Agent Sanchez calling out, "Is anyone hurt? Agents! Help the civilians, and give me head counts," she shouted, referring to the numbers of people who were okay, injured, and dead.

"I think I'm the only one left." Agent Davis replied weakly. Gary joined Agent Sanchez where Davis was facing the still smoldering heap of rubble where the building had stood. Two burnt, and largely unrecognizable corpses lay on the ground in front of him, still smoking from the heat of the blast. Neither was complete any more. One was missing an arm, and the other a leg.

"Those are Agents Simms and Taylor. They were standing there," he said pointing to a spot several yards in front of him. "I was behind them. They blocked the blast...." Agent Davis' voice began to quaver.

"Pull yourself together. It's still not safe here. We still need to get everyone to the shelter," Agent Sanchez reprimanded, as she ushered the group members past the site of the explosion. Then more softly, "We'll have plenty of time for that after we get everyone to safety." None of them were seriously hurt, although Tyler seemed to be having difficulty regaining his balance. Gingerly, they all started moving in the direction Agent Sanchez was pointing.

Gary moved along as quickly as he could, half supporting, and half being supported by Natalie on his right, and Amanda on his left. After they passed the center of the explosion, Natalie gasped, causing Gary to look where she was pointing. He immediately saw what had startled her. It was a Rolex Milgauss, still ticking, still fastened around the wrist of an arm that was no longer connected to a body. "That's Simon's watch," he whispered.

Gary quickly turned his head away, and continued moving.

Amanda suddenly screamed, "It's them! The ones who took Victoria! Don't let them get me!" She ran to Gary, and grabbed him tightly.

Gary and the others looked around, and immediately spotted the source of her distress. Coming towards them were hordes of zombies. "Where did all of them come from?" Gary asked out loud. "We didn't see any when we drove through town."

"They must have been drawn by the explosion," Natalie said frantically.

"Quickly, everybody!" shouted Agent Sanchez, pointing to the featureless wall of a warehouse building about two hundred yards across the junkyard. The path in front of them was strewn with piles of metal parts organized by type and material, and was now also littered with debris from the explosion. "We have to get to the door as fast as we can before the zombies block our path."

"What door?" someone shouted back.

"There!" she replied, still pointing to the blank wall. "Get to that door! It leads to the lab," Agent Sanchez yelled. "There's an inner door that can be sealed tight against a nuclear blast."

"I don't see any door!"

"It's camouflaged in the wall. It will be open when we get there. Agent Davis, help who you can. Now everybody start running!"