Free LZR-1143: Evolution by Bryan James Page B

movement. No light escaped any of the adjoining rooms, no emergency lights were active.
    The hallway was pitch black.
    And something was moving behind us.
    I whispered softly, “Kate, Hartliss, don’t move for a second. Something’s back there.”
    Kate muttered almost imperceptibly, sarcasm laid thick, “Well that’s a good reason to sit still. You know there’s definitely a couple things in front of us!”
    A slow shuffling of feet, sounding as if they were kicking through jello as they moved through blood and gore, indicated we had company and that they were close. The pitch black was oppressive and disorienting and as I moved my left foot slightly to adjust my weight, I jerked, feeling the touch of another moving body part.
    From far behind, another sound of a body moving against the floor echoed against the metal walls. In my mind, it was the faceless Marine, pulling himself to his feet, his mangled face and bulging eyes searching for us in the dark, hands raised, mouth opening in a soundless grin.
    “Okay, point made! Let’s go!”
    I raised my voice, acknowledging that they could hear the whispers as easily as the shouts in the small space. From ahead of me, I could hear Hartliss pushing himself up.
    “Bloody hell, this is disgusting,” he said, and I could hear him moving in liquid as he fought for a grip.
    I moved forward, stepping cautiously but quickly, feet searching for safe footing. In front of me, Kate was doing the same. I heard her feet sliding along the ground, slowly and carefully searching for obstructions, shoes sloshing in the dark, kicking matter onto the walls as she shuffled forward.
    I could feel the blood and effluent soaking through my shoes. I imagined the air moving behind me as a zombie thrusted forward for my leg, felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck as I imagined a floor-bound creature reaching up for my thigh.
    From my left, I heard the sound of sudden and slow movement, as if a body was sliding along the floor or the wall, moving closer. My breathing quickened, my pulse rapid. In the dark, the sound of my breath was loud, the telltale mark of moving food.
    I turned, not able to help myself. My eyes narrowed as I searched in vain for any glimmer of light or movement. Absently, I remembered my third grade teacher telling us all about how blind people’s hearing was so much better than ours because they couldn’t see. I wondered how long that process took.
    Probably wasn’t going to happen in two minutes.
    Ahead of me, I heard a metallic creak as Hartliss turned the latch quickly and pulled the door open. I heard his heavy footfalls as he stumbled through the opening, whispering for us to follow. I could hear Kate breathing heavily in the pitch black. I imagined her stepping forward as I heard her foot fall on the other side of the open doorway.
    The movements behind us were many. The very steel seemed to be moving in the darkness, the air alive with the sound of the dead.
    I reached forward, hand searching for the edge of the doorway to steady myself and guide my steps. I found a cold ledge of painted steel and stepped forward to follow Kate, but my right leg was caught. I struggled quickly, mind turning through the scenarios I had imagined; the darkness held, and it was holding me back. Making me wait for them.
    Turning, I reached down, hand trembling, hoping that my shoe was caught in a protruding bulkhead. My heart rate skyrocketed as I heard the closer, more urgent movement of bodies in the slush of gore behind us.
    From my right, I knew that it was a matter of seconds before the shambling crewmen from around the corner made their way to the open doorway.
    My hand inched down slowly, cautiously. I shivered in anticipation, expecting gnashing teeth to bite into my calf at any time. A hand grabbed my other foot and I bit off a high-pitched shriek. Suddenly, the emergency lights flickered, bathing the hallway in a sickly, blood-red glow. The carnage of the enclosed space was