Free TAGGED: THE APOCALYPSE by Joseph M Chiron

check her for bites ,” Sven said.
    Dixon barked at the window. Candy said, “Holy shit! Have you seen what’s happening out there?”
    All present immediately looked out the one-hundred-and-eighty-degree windows to see what appeared from there to be ants covering the twelve foot high fence, crowded against the entrance and spread out along each side. Behind that was a mass of black shapes jumping and writhing and moving in the darkness.
    “They’re rushing the fences,” Sven said. “We need to get out there.”
    “Candy, you’re in charge of the two prisoners and the girl. Accompany the doctor to medical and stay there,” Jackie ordered.
    “Where am I gonna go , out there?” The guard said.
    “You need me to run this plant ,” Dennis reminded them. Candy unclipped his badge from his belt and hung it around her neck.
    “Lock them in the exam room at medical. Don’t let them out of your sight.”
    “Keep Dixon with you. I don’t want him getting hurt.” Sven reached for Eve, but she recoiled closer into Candy. “And take care of Eve.”

CHAPTER 9: October 15, 7 p.m.
     
    “The good news is that the bullet didn’t hit any vital organs and just passed through,” the doctor explained over the unconscious Brit on the exam table. “We stopped the bleeding. As long as he rests for twenty four to forty eight hours, he’ll probably be fine. As long as…well, a lot of things could go wrong, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Please don’t shoot him , Eve prayed silently.
    “So he’s not infected ,” Dennis said.
    “No. I’m fairly certain the ravening infection is transmitted primarily through bites. Although, any direct saliva to blood transmission method will suffice.”
    “So you have to be bitten to get infected,” Dennis explained.
    “Or scratched or have an infected spit into an open wound…”
    “Ewww…” Eve said.
    “I ’m afraid I have some bad news.” The doctor folded his hands and assumed a professionally somber tone. “Several hours ago, your friend Needles succumbed to the infection.”
    “What?” Candy looked at him confused. She, like the others, was still recovering from the sprint from the control tower with the injured Brit. They carried Brit on a stretcher. On one end was the doctor. Initially two nurses took the foot end , but were more unwilling than unable to carry the load, so the guard replaced them, easily carrying his half of the load. The guard seemed to feel better about his imprisonment after helping out.
    There was a pitched battle going on at the fence. The shooting, the shouting of the men was only a hundred yards away. It felt like it could break through at any moment.
    “Brace yourselves.” The doctor grabbed a floor -length heavy curtain with both hands and then yanked it back to reveal the darkened glass-enclosed examination room. Immediately, something threw itself at the glass to get at them; then again and again. Whatever it was clearly did not understand that there was thick glass between them and it.
    The examination room was darkened with all the lights out , inside the room with lights on outside the glass where they stood. They could only hear the pounding and see glimpses of the dark shape as it threw itself against the glass to get at them. It’s red eyes glowed eerily in the darkness.
    “Watch this .” The doctor flicked three light switches and the room was flooded with light. The beast shrieked and with lightning speed crumpled itself into a ball under the gurney, covering its eyes and head to escape the light. “They are very sensitive to the light. Apparently, they are only active during dusk and evening. They see better during the night than we see in the day.” The doctor flicked two of the three light switches and then another switch beside. Now the room they stood in was darkened and a few track lights illuminated the opposite wall leaving the rest of the exam room in darkness. With lightning speed the beast