They stood together near the entrance to the hospital, taking a short break from helping tend the wounded. The two old teachers were bent from exhaustion but straightened as they saw Gutsy and the California kids race past, with the soldiers out in front and the dogs racing alongside. The whole bunch of them vanished into the building.
“God,” said Ford, “now what?”
* * *
Gutsy was the fastest of all of them and burst into the hospital ahead of Nix and Benny.
Karen Peak was in the hall talking to a nurse, and yelled as they blew past. “What is it?” she demanded. “Did you find another tunnel, or—?”
“Collins got away,” cried Gutsy without breaking stride. “Not sure if she left town yet, but we think she might want to take Morton with her. Do you know where he is?”
Karen hurried to keep up, talking as she ran. “He finished his triage work, so he’s either in his office or out back having lunch. When he’s not working, we’re keeping him under guard and away from people.”
“Smart,” said Gutsy.
They raced through the hospital, which was still crowded with the injured and the dying. The sound of weeping filled every corner of the suite of treatment rooms and echoed down the corridors set aside for intensive care and recovery.
The only relative quiet was the research wing, where senior staff had offices next to various small labs and storage rooms. It was also where Dr. Morton’s office was. The bulk of the research data was stored there, and the entrance to the military access tunnel was hidden behind a false cabinet.
The hallway leading to Morton’s office was empty.
“Where are the guards?” asked Karen, but from the note of despair in her voice she already knew. There was a splash of bright blood on the outside wall of the doctor’s office.
Everyone drew their weapons, but Sam and Lilah took the lead, each of them ready for anything. Ledger and Grimm were behind as they cautiously opened the office door, fading left and right to avoid possible gunfire.
There was none.
The two guards were inside. They turned toward the intruders, moaning piteously and reaching with dead hands.
“No… please, not again,” breathed Spider. He looked sick and turned his face away.
“I’ll do it,” said Lilah, hefting her spear. A moment later both of the los muertos lay still and forever silent. Alethea took two lab coats down from pegs on the wall and covered them.
Benny hurried to the big cabinet in the far corner. Gutsy followed, watching as Benny pulled the doors open, her crowbar raised, ready to strike if there were more los muertos in there. The cabinet was a fake, hiding the entrance to a flight of stairs leading down to an underground passage that ran beneath the walls and far out into the desert. Benny and his friends had come through that tunnel and hidden door during the assault on the town. Now, Collins, Dr. Morton, and the others who were part of their twisted research project used it to get in and out of New Alamo.
The doorway and the dark mouth of the stairway were empty. Both dogs, however, growled down into the shadows.
“She went that way,” said Benny, pointing to a few drops of blood on the top step. He started to follow, but Sam’s strong hand shot out and caught his arm.
“If she’s down there, she’ll kill you,” said the sniper.
Benny took half a pace back. “We can’t just stay here.”
“You can,” said Sam as he unslung his rifle. “Hunting is more my thing.”
Benny studied his half brother for a moment, then nodded.
“Okay, Sam, you take point,” said Ledger. He clicked his tongue for Grimm, and the three of them went down the stairs into the black mouth of the tunnel. Gutsy listened but didn’t hear them make a single sound. Not even the big armored dog.
They all waited, weapons ready. The office became unnaturally still and quiet. Time seemed to hold its breath as if in fear of the next moment. Karen Peak had her pistol out, but Gutsy could see her hands tremble. The woman was on that ragged edge between violent anger and total exhaustion.
“There’s one good thing,” said Nix, breaking the silence but speaking in a hushed voice. When the others looked at her in surprise, she said, “When we first came here, there were ravagers and zoms in that tunnel. We dealt with them. But since then there doesn’t seem to have been any more.”
“So?” asked Karen. “They dug a whole new tunnel under the barn.”
“Sure, but this is a bigger and better one, and yet the ravagers didn’t use it.”
“You’re right, Nix,” said Gutsy, brightening. “Maybe the Raggedy Man doesn’t know about this one. We might have lucked out here.”