The door jiggled, and the large metal wheel moved back and forth with force.
"Let me in! I need help!" the voice called, more insistent.
Hiding in the hall, Neil whimpered; the seven others waited, guns poised to shoot. The female alien, Shelia, stood; still in chains, sniffing the air, her fear growing.
Zack looked over at Shelia. "Is that something your people did or is it something else?" his tone neutral. He was not blaming her; he was only curious because if her people did this to him, there might be an antidote.
Shelia shook her head. "We didn't do this. This is something different. It is as if he is alive, yet not." A shiver ran through her. "Those that smell like this consume live flesh. They only consume a little of one victim, then the victim dies then returns like them."
Shelia was watching the door, fear growing.
"Zombies!?" Jamie asked, in disbelief, his pitch a little higher, his fear growing.
"I do not know what those are. I am sorry. What are Zombies?" Shelia asked, glancing over at Jamie.
Alice spoke up, not removing her eyes from the large metal door. "Zombies are exactly what you just described."
"How do you kill people who smell like that?" Tammy asked Shelia.
"You have to cut off their head and incinerate the body," Sheila told her. "Your human weapons won't kill them, nor will my people's weapons." Then, looking over at the door, "Cut off his head and incinerate his body; turn it to ash, or he will come back."
"Are they contagious like a virus? Or only if they bite or scratch you?" Zack asked, glancing at Shelia and then back to the jiggling door.
"They create more by biting. I do not know if a scratch will create more. I do not believe you can turn into one by merely being around them," Shelia told him.
Joe understood their weapons were useless. "I need a machete. Tracy, love, get me the machete. If you see more, bring them too."
Tracy rushed out of the room, disappearing down the hall.
"Do you smell more than one?" Carrie asked Shelia. She was worried that there was more to deal with.
"I only smell one," she said, watching the door in fear. "Do not discount that; there might be more. Just because I can only scent one does not mean that others are not present."
Zack watched her, noting her fear and words. "Thank you, Shelia; we are grateful for the information."
Shelia looked at Zack in surprise; there was kindness in his tone. She just nodded at him, then went back to watching the door.
Tracy rushed in, holding four machetes, handing one to Zack, Joe, Carrie, and Jamie, the only competent fighters in the group. Taking the large knives, they holstered their weapons, raising their machetes.
"Everyone with a shotgun or blaster, aim for the neck; it might take his head off. I doubt our regular guns will do that," Zack told them, eyes fixed on the solid metal door. "Don't get bit or scratched. I don't want to have to kill one of my friends."
They all looked at Zack, fear washing over them, but nodded in understanding. Carrie said, "If any of us gets bit or scratched, we'll contain them until we know if they turn into one of those things. If you die, we will cremate you." Then she looked at her twin, "I don't want to kill anyone until we know they will turn into zombies. We will take precautions, but no killing unless we are given no other choice."
Zack nodded. "Agreed."
The heavy metal door continued to jiggle, moving back and forth. The yelling from the other side of the door continued.
Zack looked down the hall where Neil was crouched and motioned for him to come out. "Neil, get out here!"
Neil shuffled into the small entryway, head hung low and stood next to Zack.
"Alice, Tammy, Tracy, and Shelia, go back into Shelia's room. Neil, you're going to open the door like last time. The rest of us will be sheltered in the hall and doorways. We must deal with this; I don't think he will go away." He looked over at his twin, Carrie, "You take a shotgun; the rest of us will have machetes with our shotguns next to us, ready to shoot. Keep your machete handy just in case."
Everyone went into place except Zack; he walked to the large metal wheel, silently slid the bar out, and stepped into position. Zack Looked at Neil. "If he goes after you, run. Don't let him bite or scratch you."
Neil nodded, then spun the heavy wheel quickly, yanking the door open and plastering himself to the wall behind the door.
There was only one person outside; he looked like he had the same disease as Nick before he exploded in the bedroom. The man stepped into the doorway, then stepped into the bunker, a huge grin on his green-tinted face.
Chuckling, he inched forward, his tinted green teeth pointy as if filed to sharp points. He looked around the small entryway until his eyes met Neil's. Then, turning, he started to take a step toward him.
Carrie aimed her shotgun; it was already racked and ready; sighting him in, she shot.
They only needed a moment to see that he was a danger. The toxic human was about to attack Neil. The grin on his face told them the insistence was to get them to open the door.
The man's head blew off, exploding like a watermelon, spraying dark green brain matter on the walls.
Getting on hazmat suits, they cleaned up the green-tinged body, exploded head and blood, making a pile outside and setting it on fire. Next, they cleaned the entry with bleach, something they were starting to run low on. They couldn't keep this up.
Closing the large, heavy bunker door, Zack spun the wheel to lock it, then slid the bar back into the wheel to secure it. He walked into the intersection of the hallways and called out, "Everyone, meet me in base control." Then headed into base control and waited for his friends.
Slowly, everyone made their way into base control. Shelia was still in chains.
They all sat on the overstuffed sofas and waited for Zack to explain whatever he wanted to tell them.
Zack leaned on the heavy desk in the middle of the room, his palms resting on the desk. He looked up, eyeing Shelia. "Thank you for warning us about that man. He wanted us to open the door, not for help but to attack. He was tinted green, like our friend Nick who died from the poison of the blaster. I think something about your people created him because of the way he looked. I'm not blaming you; I'm just giving you information."
Shelia nodded in understanding, keeping quiet so he could continue.
Zack looked at the rest of the inhabitants of the bunker, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and opened it carefully. "This was in the zombie's pocket. It appears to be a map of a sanctuary city," he said. "The back inscription says that it is a hidden city, protected from the outside. Look here," he said, pointing to a spot on the map. "It says it's a utopian city. A city for invasion survivors."
Joe glanced over at Shelia, his eyes narrow. "Maybe it's a trap." His voice was even.
Zack looked at Shelia, gauging her reaction; she didn't waver. "I don't think it's a trap," he stated, scanning his friends. "I think we should prepare to go. First, we need to find a way to drive there, a bus or something, so that we can take our supplies. I don't want to leave without food or protection," Zack explained. "I'm not saying we leave right now, but when we have to leave. If we start to prepare now, we won't have to leave everything we need behind."