The two men ran as fast as their legs could carry them, down the dark narrow corridor with a failing flashlight the only source of illumination between them. Dr Burke stumbled along, the pain on his twisted ankle increasing with each step. He knew Silas would have left him behind long ago if not that he was the one who knew where they were going. He glanced at the man in the darkness, trying to make out his facial expression, but seeing nothing. He had to hope this man wouldn't kill him as soon as they were safe.

Silas, on the other hand was thinking of his wife. He had woken up that morning happy to be alive, glad he had finally landed a job as a security guard in a banking firm, joyously calling out to his wife who usually lay by his side on the bed. She had been nowhere to be seen. Thinking she had decided to wake up early today to prepare him a special breakfast to mark his first day at a real job, he had sneaked in on her in the kitchen and found her squatting on the floor, her back to him and feasting on the cat.

He had screamed, which of course had attracted her attention and she turned around to face him. With bits of meat hanging from her bloodied mouth she had lunged at him, a mindless beast set on ripping him apart. He had managed to fend her off and finally beat her brains out with the kitchen skillet. He cried and cried but he knew there was no other way he could have stopped her.He had seen it in the movies too many times. She was a zombie.

"We are almost there." Dr Burke said, his voice cutting through Silas thoughts like a knife. Silas couldnt see his face anymore in the darkness but he dared not move the flashlight away from their path even for a second. It was true the shuffling sounds were mostly behind them but something could jump out from one of the dark corners at any moment.
"Doctor, are you sure we'll be safe when we get there?" He asked
"Its a bit too late to be having trust issues, isn't it?" Dr Burke said, wincing as pain shot through his leg.
Silas was going to say something when he saw a shape emerge from the shadows. Without thinking he flung the torch with all his strength. The flashlight spun through the air, momentarily revealing a member of the undead. It barely had time to register their prescience when the flashlight hit it squarely on the head. It grunted and fell backward, stumbling over a metal mopbucket which clattered noisily on the floor.
The shuffling behind them increased as growling came from behind them. Silas let go of Dr Burke's arm and picked up the mopbucket, smashing it down repeatedly on the zombie's head , keeping away from its swinging arms and legs as it tried to grab a hold of him. Finally the thing remained still and he picked up the flashlight which had miraculously remained on.

"Thank goodness." Dr Burke said, and Silas pointed the flashlight at him.

Dr Burke was an unkempt looking man wearing a lab coat, his facial hair growing untamed on his square chin. Silas placed him in his early fourties , a man with hard eyes used to making logical decisions. He winced again and Silas knew he was in pain. Silas hurried back to him and put his shoulder under his arm for support.

"The corridor doesn't seem to have an end, doctor." He said. His trust in doctor Burke was beginning to wane. The man may have just lied to him out of a desperate need to save himself. There might not be a safe haven after all.

"Just around the corner. We are almost there." Dr Burke said and then held his breath as another zombie rounded the corner behind them. More were sure to follow. They were slow bit persistent.

Dr Burke looked back at Silas.
"Trust me."

"I guess I don't have a choice now." Silas said and pulling the doctor after him, they continued their run for survival down the corridor.

Cool...how did she become a zombie downstairs?

pickabeau1: Cool...how did she become a zombie downstairs?

Beg your pardon?

5minsmadness:
Beg your pardon?

You said he woke up n went downstairs for food Na?

They were almost there, Dr Burke knew it. It had been 3weeks since he visited this facility last but even in the darkness he knew his way around. He passed by Louis' office and barked at Silas to make a right. As they moved, the pain in his right leg became almost unbearable but he dared not complain, the stranger was already losing faith in him. He couldn't afford to be left behind now, not with the unholy crowd right behind them, shuffling slowly but surely in their direction. The flashlight had gone out a few minutes ago amd now they were in darkness. He glanced again at the figure of the man supporting him. He hoped he was a survivor too.

Suddenly they came unto a dead end. Their reactions were vastly different with Dr Burke cheering in joy as Silas gasped in disappointment. Dr Burke quickly allayed his fears.
"Feel along the wall! Feel for a glass panel!"

"Got it!" Silas yelled even as the horde of the undead rounded the corner too. Silas couldn't make them out but it didn't matter. If this doctor didn't perform his miracle soon they'd both be dead.

"Punch it! Break the glass!" Dr Burke yelled.

Silas broke through, not minding the cuts he felt on his fist as he felt for whatever was there. His hands closed on the firm wooden handle of a fireman's axe.
"Its an axe!" He shouted, puzzled.

"Use it!" Dr Burke screamed.

Silas started swinging wildly as even wilder thoughts ran through his head. Wastl this their salvation? A battle axe? Was this why they had been running all this while through the corridor of this abandoned building. He swore under his breath as he beheaded the nearest lunging zombie. He would chop of the doctor's head if he got bitten, the bastard...

Suddenly the whole corridor flooded with light as the 'wall' slid back like a sliding door. The zombies backed off from the light, growling in pain as they were temporarily blinded. Silas spun around to see an immaculately white room with computers and chairs inside. The doctor was sitting on one of the chairs now, his features fully visible for the first time and a look of triumph in those hard eyes.

"Well, are you coming in or what?" He yelled with a grin. Silas needed no further promoting. He swung out at the zombie crowd one more time, dismembering a few limbs as he did so, and then jumped into the room even as the doctor pressed a button and the sliding metal door slid quickly shut.

Silas collapsed on the floor in a heap, thankful for the blast of cool air that pervaded his nostrils. The doctor had turned on the air conditioning.

"Well? Was I right?" He asked from his seat , grinning.

Silas nodded.

"You were right. Thanks. Mr...or doctor...?"

"Its Dr Burke."

"Ah yes. I saw the lab-coat but didn't want to assume. I'm Silas."

Dr Burke stretched out his hand in friendship. "Mr Silas, welcome to my panic room."

pickabeau1:

You said he woke up n went downstairs for food Na?

I didn't o. Check well.

5minsmadness:
Silas, on the other hand was thinking of his wife. He had woken up that morning happy to be alive, glad he had finally landed a job as a security guard in a banking firm, joyously calling out to his wife who usually lay by his side on the bed. She had been nowhere to be seen. Thinking she had decided to wake up early today to prepare him a special breakfast to mark his first day at a real job, he had sneaked in on her in the kitchen and found her squatting on the floor, her back to him and feasting on the cat.

He had screamed, which of course had attracted her attention and she turned around to face him. With bits of meat hanging from her bloodied mouth she had lunged at him, a mindless beast set on ripping him apart. He had managed to fend her off and finally beat her brains out with the kitchen skillet. He cried and cried but he knew there was no other way he could have stopped her.He had seen it in the movies too many times. She was a zombie.

My bad.. I assumed the kitchen was downstairs...

Nice escape into the panic room!..

pickabeau1:

My bad.. I assumed the kitchen was downstairs...

Nice escape into the panic room!..

Thanks

They thought they had found the cure for the Ebola virus. Or a vaccine at least. Ebola had ravaged most of the populace and they needed some sort of interventionfast.
Dr SSelvig and his team had worked in the labs day and night for 3weeks and had finally come up with what was thought to be the miracle vaccine against the pandemic. Bypassing all standard protocol and wanting to shame his detractors, Dr selvig had injected himself with the experimental vaccine and then bravely exposed himself to the Ebola virus.

And it had worked.

He was awarded the Pulitzer prize. His team was well rewarded with funds and grants. Dr selvig's name was mentioned in every household across the globe. He became an overnight sensation and the vaccine was made into an aerosol and sprayed ball over Europe in a bid to quell the plague of Ebola as quickly as possible.

Three weeks later Dr selvig developed the first symptoms. They were vague enough; fever, nausea, headaches, symptoms that any other viral infection would produce. Then he started behaving irrationally and developed an insatiable craving for raw meat.

Dr selvig was admitted at the memorial general hospital where he was placed in restraints due to his now violent behaviour. On the third day of his admission he violently bit the nurse that was attempting to him and three of the hospital security men that came to hold him down. He was heavily sedated and monitored until he passed away 21days later.

In a few days the nurse was found in her house, having fed on her two dogs and the remains of her fiancee. By the time the CDC was alerted the others who had been bitten had run amok in the city. The military was immediately summoned and they placed a strict curfew around the entire city. It took two weeks before someone in Washington realised that the original vaccine had been spread to the populace as an aerosol.
By then it was too late. The vaccine affected certain people and left others completely untouched. Those unaffected people were soon bitten by those who had been turned by the virus. Law and order broke down.

The zombie Apocalypse had begun.

Make una encourage me with comments Na abi my writing dey bad?

I don't get the part of d vaccine causing d Ebola endemic on d populace

Rainstorms: I don't get the part of d vaccine causing d Ebola endemic on d populace

The vaccine that cured the ebola generated another problem

Rendering cured subjects into an undead, flesh eating monsters

Have u not seen Resident Evil... T Virus? 2

28 Days Later etc

5minsmadness: Make una encourage me with comments Na abi my writing dey bad?

Oga .. updates are too few and far between

Youve told us the genesis of the infection
What of the protagonists
Whats his backstory

5minsmadness: Make una encourage me with comments Na abi my writing dey bad?

OK, I hereby comment...
I didn't know you write stories, but you're really good.
Just give us more background info into the characters in subsequent posts.

Welldone.

Following

Zombies...
Even on paper sounds interesting

Pls update

5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness

Hmmmm sum1 is lukin for my trouble o. Haba, 5minsmadness y avnt u updated na? Dis is d first tym am readin ur story nd u ar lyk dis. Take tym o.
Anyway nyc story.

"Don't tell me the government knew something like this would happen?" Silas asked, taking a seat on the cold tiled floor to catch his breath.

Dr Burke smiled grimly. "Our government is very smart. We think through every possible disaster scenario and take er...appropriate measures."

Silas looked around the room. "So this is like, the zombie room?"

"No." Dr Burke said grimly. "This is the Alien invasion room. The zombie room is in the next building."

Silas stared at him.

"I'm not joking." Dr Burke said looking very serious.

Silas burst into laughter, shaking his head in amazement.
"So how long do we stay here then?" He said after a while. " We can't survive on air alone you know."

"This room is one of four rooms arranged in a row. The last room contains groceries that should last us for a year."

"Really?" Silas said getting up.

Dr Burke picked up a cane from beside the computer and used it to help himself to his feet. His ankle still hurt but not as badly as before. He limped over to the wall and felt along it until suddenly it slid back just as the entrance had done. Silas peeked in as Dr Burke switched on the light. It was a similar room like the one they were in but this one had rows upon rows of weaponry and ammunition. He whistled as he picked up a portable bazooka.
"What the hell..."

"I told you I wasn't joking." Dr Burke grinned. "That could take down an alien ship easily. Its not meant to be fired indoors. Come."

They walked across the room to the next door which opened up just like the last after some fiddling from the doctor. This room had sleeping quarters and two small closet restrooms.
The last door opened up to a cold room filled with food. Vegetables, meat, fruits, and even wine. A miniature kitchen was carved out in the corner with a tap that turned out clear water.
"From an underground spring." Dr Burke explained. "Very safe and clean."

Silas whistled appreciatively. He was very impressed.

Dr Burke sat down on one of the wooden chairs that adorned a desperate corner of the room.
"Now Silas, we must talk. Fate has brought us together and I've had no choice but to trust you with my stuff..."

"Well its not really 'your' stuff." Silas grinned.

"Yeah but I knew about it and brought you into that knowledge so technically its MY stuff!" Dr Burke shouted.

"Whoa, take it easy there, pal." Silas raised his hands defensively. "I'm not starting anything, you know more about all the stuff in this room and how it all works. You're the boss."

Dr Burke sat back. Beads of perspiration had appeared on his forehead. Silas made a mental note-this doc must be really hot tempered and a total authoritarian. Best to keep on his good side.

Dr Burke reached for a large fridge and opened it. He brought out a bottle of water and drank from it and wiped his mouth. His eyes hardened.

"That's right I'm the boss. Now there are certain rules we have to follow if we are going to get through this. Take a seat, let me tell you all you need to know to survive a zombie Apocalypse.

pickabeau1: 5minsmadness 5minsmadness 5minsmadness...

Bros I hail o. I don leave family section for una make I come update

alizenbohr:

OK, I hereby comment...
I didn't know you write stories, but you're really good.
Just give us more background info into the characters in subsequent posts.

Welldone.

Tank sir.
Am not a literary guru o, don't know about backgrounds and such, just telling the story as it comes.

5minsmadness:

Bros I hail o. I don leave family section for una make I come update

Oya.. update

Update

Nice one... Early strains between the Doctor and the soldier....Lets see how the relationship progresses

Ciela: Hmmmm sum1 is lukin for my trouble o. Haba, 5minsmadness y avnt u updated na? Dis is d first tym am readin ur story nd u ar lyk dis. Take tym o.
Anyway nyc story.

Ah sweerie pls don't vex, come and see av updated

@timothy3113, tension96, aisha800, rainstorms, alizenbohr you guys are welcome

Rule number one: if it shuffles, looks pale and wants to eat you then its a zombie. I dont care if it looks like your mom, your wife, your kid or the pope. Kill it. Kill it then cut of its head.

Rule number two: if either you or I have been bitten that person must be sent out of the panic room. On no account must anyone bitten be in the panic room.

Rule number three: no one else is to know about our little hideaway.

Rule number four: if anyone bangs on the door no matter who it is we must not open the door. Let them find somewhere else to hide...

Nice one... let me give another idea i got from DeathNote

Make the rules in form of a picture

You can use powerpoint and export as an image

5minsmadness: Rule number one: if it shuffles, looks pale and wants to eat you then its a zombie. I dont care if it looks like your mom, your wife, your kid or the pope. Kill it. Kill it then cut of its head.

Rule number two: if either you or I have been bitten that person must be sent out of the panic room. On no account must anyone bitten be in the panic room.

Rule number three: no one else is to know about our little hideaway.

Rule number four: if anyone bangs on the door no matter who it is we must not open the door. Let them find somewhere else to hide...

"That's cold, man." Silas interrupted.

Dr Burke didn't look like he enjoyed being interrupted. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and stared at Silas.
"What?"

"You mean to say if I had banged on that door with those demons on my heels and you were in here you wouldn't have opened the door? Really?"

"Yeah. And I would have slept soundly at night too." Dr Burke said simply. "Now dont interrupt me again, let me finish."

Silas sighed and said nothing.

Hmm.. But the update are to short.

pickabeau1: Nice one... let me give another idea i got from DeathNote

Make the rules in form of a picture

You can use powerpoint and export as an image

How? I don't get. Who will draw the pic??

Let me help you..

5minsmadness:
How? I don't get. Who will draw the pic??

@pickabeau hey cool.