Rain, J.D., and Matt were engrossed in a heated discussion when suddenly a distant sound caught their attention. "Wait, be quiet," J.D. signaled as he focused his attention on the noise.
The metallic clanging of a bar being dragged across the floor emerged in the distance, accompanied by the slow advance of an undead creature, crawling towards them.
The distant figures began to gradually take shape, revealing a large group of zombies approaching them.
"This can't be..." J.D. whispered in amazement.
"[Enemies detected...]"
"[Initiating mass attack.]"
Suddenly, drones emerged one after another from J.D.'s backpack, flying at an astonishing speed. As they approached the zombies, they exploded in their heads, generating a series of resounding explosions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"[It will take one drone to kill a single zombie. Change your positions and aim for the head!]" Jacob's intelligent assistant recommended.
The rattle of gunfire echoed in all directions as they slowly retreated under enemy fire.
"BOOOMMM!" A deafening roar pierced the air. A powerful explosion eliminated nearly a third of the drones in the air, rendering them destroyed and unusable.
Hearing the distant explosion, James and Jacob stopped their movements and watched Rain and J.D. approaching rapidly.
Upon seeing the overwhelming number of zombies, Jacob tightly gripped his weapon and began firing.
"Aim for the head," Jacob instructed as bullets collided with the zombies, creating a path to the left, clearing the way to the door that led to the stairs to Dining Hall B.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jacob was aware that behind that door, there would be even more walkers, but he didn't know their origin. He couldn't identify the entrance they had used to access from the laboratory to Dining Hall B.
"I'll get out of here, no matter the situation," Jacob promised himself.
"I'm out of bullets," Rain exclaimed, opting to pick up a pistol as he continued to advance.
"Here you go," Jacob shouted, handing Rain a magazine he had retrieved from Command 1.
The bullets they had only filled their magazines; no one had anticipated facing such fierce enemies in the facility.
The drones proved to be of great help, knocking down zombies from a distance and relieving the pressure to advance.
As Kaplan approached the door, Jacob stood by his side, anxiously watching as he entered the numbers slowly and made a mistake once.
"Hurry up, Kaplan, or we'll die down here!" J.D. warned with a nervous voice.
Matt Addison had already freed himself and was close to Alice behind James, while Kaplan continued entering the code.
"Why is it taking so long?" J.D. shouted again, visibly anxious.
"It's not working," Kaplan admitted as he tried to enter the code again.
"Let me..." J.D. said, pushing Kaplan aside and reciting the numbers:
"043... Damn."
"0345."
"What's the code?" Spence asked, frustrated.
"040319659."
"It was that simple," J.D. exhaled in relief.
"Ah!" A sudden scream drew the group's attention as J.D. was dragged backward by a horde of zombies. Jacob was already prepared to act.
The door opened, and Jacob turned, watching as J.D. was pulled by the zombies emerging behind him. If he looked closely, the stairs going up were crowded with the undead.
Jacob firmly held his Beretta 92FS Inox in his right hand and, with his left, helped J.D. through the entrance.
This time, J.D. was carrying the metal backpack that Jacob had entrusted him to carry, which proved vital in preventing him from being completely dragged away by the zombies.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots echoed as Jacob's initial shots found their target, creating a path through the crowd. J.D.'s escape was facilitated.
"J.D., no!" Rain shouted, rushing to help free him from the zombies pulling him.
"Quickly release the backpack straps!" Jacob urged Rain urgently, his palpable adrenaline pumping.
"Help me!" J.D. pleaded in fear.
Just as it seemed J.D. was about to be bitten on his right shoulder, Jacob acted out of urgency and yanked forcefully.
The zombie bit Jacob's left hand, and a searing pain shot through his body rapidly.
"Ahhhhh!" Jacob screamed, driven by urgency to free J.D. even faster.
Both of them fell to the ground, and Command 1 quickly turned, firing at the numerous zombies emerging from the door.
"Get down!" James yelled, launching a grenade from his AG36 grenade launcher.
An explosion rocked Jacob and J.D. as their minds worked swiftly, and Jacob got back on his feet almost immediately.
Drawing his black katana from his back, Jacob quickly tore the sleeve of his shirt and pulled out a handful of his advanced medicine, while urging Rain, who was helping J.D., to get up.
"Rain, cut my hand quickly!" Jacob requested as he hastily applied a tourniquet.
Handing his katana to Rain, Jacob looked at the bloodied wound on his knuckles. The injury extended from his knuckle to almost his wrist.
Rain was momentarily surprised but then composed himself, looked at Jacob, and said, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, if I'm infected, I'll be beyond help and turn into one of them. It's either this or you'll have to shoot me," Jacob replied, and though he didn't want to lose a hand, as the chances of finding a virus cure were on the train, he couldn't take the risk.
After swallowing a handful of advanced pills, Jacob clenched his teeth, and at that moment, Rain cut off half of his hand. Although it was painful, Jacob had endured much more pain in other situations, so he could withstand it. Furthermore, his intelligent assistant blocked the pain in that part of his body.
As they advanced and retreated, Command 1 and the doctor kept the approaching zombies at bay from the door leading to Dining Hall B.
In a few minutes, they reached the door where they had sealed the Red Queen, and everyone entered.
...
"Where are the bodies? They've scattered. Damn it!" Kaplan exclaimed, visibly agitated.
"Wherever they are, there are too many of them for us, and we don't have enough bullets!" Rain replied.
"Wherever they are? It's pretty clear who they are. Lab coats, ID badges. Those people worked here!" Kaplan exclaimed.
"The ones who worked here are dead!" James interrupted with a deep voice.
"Oh, really? Well, that doesn't seem to stop them from being everywhere," Spence retorted.
"Where did they come from? Why didn't we see them when we entered?" Kaplan questioned with agitation.
"When we shut down the Red Queen, the doors opened. In other words, we released them," Jacob explained as he got to his feet.
"How are you?" James asked the doctor, his eyes turning to Jacob with concern.
"Stable. The bleeding has stopped, and he didn't lose much blood. He'll be fine, but we need to get him to a different location. Pain won't be a problem as long as he's on painkillers," the doctor explained as James nodded.
"My God, it seems like we'll never get to the surface!" Kaplan muttered, lost in his thoughts.
"Is everyone okay? Where the hell is the officer and the agent?" James asked, a note of anger in his voice.
"We got separated in this area..." the doctor replied.
"Is anyone else bitten, besides me?" Jacob asked, turning his gaze to the group.
Luckily, he was the only one bitten, a survivor in a group of decent people.
"We're all okay," J.D. replied, looking at Jacob with gratitude.
"Thank you for helping me. I'm sorry about your hand," J.D. expressed with a touch of pain in his voice.
"Don't mention it," Jacob replied with a calm look.
"If it weren't for the items Jacob provided us, we wouldn't have been able to take down so many of them," Rain said, observing the orb floating around Jacob.
"What's that?" James asked, furrowing his brow.
"A special drone with integrated artificial intelligence and a special combat system," Jacob explained with a tranquil gaze. "It helps me control the explosive drones in my backpack."
"Whatever it is, it has allowed us to survive this place," Command 1 affirmed.
"Rain, you can keep my weapon. You'll use it better than me in my current condition," Jacob said, handing over his firearm.
"Then this is yours," Rain responded, handing the black katana to Jacob.
The door abruptly swung open, surprising everyone. "Don't shoot, don't shoot," Alice pleaded when Rain aimed toward the entrance.
"Close the door, close the door," Spence exclaimed as he helped to shut it.
"They're coming!" Alice warned.
An arm seized Spence, while Jacob gripped his katana tightly and warned, "Police, step back."
When Matt Addison obeyed, Jacob cut in a single motion. "Slash." The katana's blade plunged into the zombie's hand, and the door closed shortly afterward.
"Damn it!" Spence cursed.
"You nearly took my hand off, you idiot!" Spence protested, furious.
"When did you get rid of the handcuffs?" Jacob asked, pointing his gun at the now-free Spence.
"Did you expect me to sit still and wait for you to save me?" Spence retorted, angered.
"Yes, you're the most obvious suspect here. You were out of your jurisdiction when we arrived, and we found you on the train. What were you doing on the train? You were clearly fleeing from the Hive, and besides, you were inside as an agent tasked with protecting the entrance," Jacob argued, eyeing Spence. "You weren't the one who caused this whole disaster, were you?"
"I don't remember anything," Spence replied, angry and agitated.
"If you don't remember anything, it's best you stay handcuffed until proven otherwise. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize later, if we manage to get out of this hell alive," Jacob said, looking at J.D. "Cuff this agent."
J.D. exchanged glances with James, and they nodded silently. "Do it, go ahead, to avoid delays."
"Agreed."