Linda

The door knob to the meeting room turned fruitlessly, halted by an office chair jammed under the handle. After a momentary respite, the unseen struggler resumed shoving against the obstruction. The legs of the chair squealed across the tile floor before toppling over, freeing the path. The door instantly flew open, banging against the interior wall. Rebecca Chambers burst into the room, pistol drawn. 

Her eyes methodically scanned the dim space, flickering past the scattered paperwork and focusing on a water cooler still burbling out a stream. A discarded glass rested on the carpet below the spout. Rebecca crept toward it, her aim dropping to check under the broad conference table.A faint whimper of fear caught her attention. Rebecca's stance softened as she lowered her gun. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help."The concealed woman emitted another whimper. Holstering her pistol, Rebecca said gently, "I'm putting my gun away, see? I just want to talk.""Wha-who are you?" quavered the hidden woman."My name is Rebecca Chambers. I'm a field medic with the special forces. Are you hurt?""N-No, are you? Are you bitten?!" The woman's voice quivered with panic."No, I'm fine," Rebecca assured her calmly. "Why don't you come out from under there so I can check you over?""You're alone? No team?" Asked Linda."We split up. I'm trying to contact them for help." Rebecca inched closer. "Listen, I know you're scared, but if we want to get out of here we need to cooperate, okay?""O-Okay." The woman crawled hesitantly from her hiding place. She was an African American in her thirties, dressed in a business suit with her hair in a tight bun.Rebecca extended a hand and helped pull the woman to her feet. "Please, have a seat." She guided the shaky woman into a chair, then shut the door and poured a glass of water from the cooler. This she placed on the table beside the seated woman. After sanitizing her hands with alcohol wipes from her med kit, Rebecca clicked on a penlight and checked the woman's pupils."Sorry if I scared you earlier. I didn't know anyone was in here." She pressed two fingers to the woman's wrist, taking her pulse. "I didn't catch your name.""Uh, Linda. Baldwig.""Nice to meet you, Linda. Did you know your name means 'pretty' in Spanish?" Rebecca asked conversationally as she felt Linda's forehead for signs of fever. Linda blinked in surprise. "Uh, no I didn't know that.""Are you in any pain?""No, I think I'm just hungry."Rebecca tucked her penlight away and settled into the chair opposite Linda. "Well, you seem okay physically. Linda, is it alright if I ask you some questions?""S-sure.""What are you doing here?"Linda straightened her posture. "I'm an executive economist for Umbrella. I came here two days ago to present a restructuring plan.""I guess you don't know how all this started then.""No, I'm in charge of finance. I didn't even work at this facility. They transferred me from another location." Linda rubbed her temples. "When the evacuation notice sounded, we tried to escape but it went wrong. I ended up coming back here."Rebecca leaned forward intently. "Do you know if anyone else is alive?" Linda shook her head helplessly."Damn. Billy had the map." Rebecca sighed in frustration."I know who might have one - a map, I mean." Linda sat up. "Carla, the architect. She was here exhibiting her project with me. She must have the plans in her briefcase.""Where is she?" demanded Rebecca.The long corridor was lit by a few flickering ceiling lamps, casting an eerie glow over the polished hardwood floors. Three doors stood closed on the right side, while tall, arched windows lined the left, moonlight filtering in to reveal smears and pools of blood staining the floorboards. Rebecca took a few cautious steps forward, her boots creaking on the boards, but Linda remained frozen in place behind her. Rebecca turned, the shadows carving deep lines on her face, and grasped Linda's clammy hand to pull her along."Behind me," Rebecca said, her voice steady despite the gruesome scene. Linda nodded, her complexion paling as she eyed the blood. She positioned herself directly behind Rebecca, using the other woman as a shield. Rebecca slammed her fist against the wall in a sharp rap that echoed down the corridor. They waited, breaths bated, as low moans drifted from behind the second door. It slowly creaked open and two lumbering zombies emerged, ragged clothes hanging off their rotting flesh. One dragged along a severed hand, now nothing but chewed up meat and bone, before dropping it with a wet splat to fix its white eyes on the women.Linda recoiled with a shudder, taking hurried steps backward as her heart hammered against her ribs. Rebecca stood firm, her jaw set with determination as she drew her gun in one smooth motion. She widened her stance, arms straight and elbows locked, exhaling slowly as she aligned the zombie's forehead in her sights."What are you waiting for!" Linda cried, voice shrill with panic. "Shoot them!"Rebecca kept her aim steady, finger resting lightly on the trigger. Linda's wide eyes darted between Rebecca and the zombies shambling ever closer, fear twisting her stomach into knots."Shoot them now!"In the span of a heartbeat, Rebecca squeezed the trigger twice in rapid succession. The first bullet tore through the knee of the lead zombie with a spurt of rotten flesh and viscous black blood. It crashed to the floor, causing the second to stumble and collapse on top of its writhing counterpart. Before it could rise, a third shot split its skull open in an explosion of bone and brain matter.Linda tentatively lowered her hands from her ears as the sharp gunshots faded, peering around Rebecca at the sprawled corpses. Rebecca kept her pistol trained on the zombies as the first one dragged its mangled leg underneath itself and struggled to stand once more. But as it lunged forward, she planted one final bullet between its eyes, sending it crashing back into the window in a crimson splatter. "What took you so long?" Linda asked incredulously, her voice still shrill."You have to shoot them in the head," Rebecca replied, her eyes scanning the surrounding corridor. "The body or limbs just incapacitate them."Rebecca moved toward the door the zombies had emerged from, keeping her balance over the slippery floorboards. Muffled groans emanated from within the room, growing louder as she eased the door open. A foul stench wafted out, accompanied by the wet squelching of something dragging across the floor. Peering inside, Rebecca recoiled at the sight of a zombie torso crawling toward her, rotting intestines trailing behind in a gruesome scene. She quickly pulled the door shut, face contorting with disgust."What's going on?" Linda asked anxiously, craning her neck to see past Rebecca."Nothing..." Rebecca muttered, smoothing her features. "Don't worry."They continued on toward the staircase at the end of the hall. But Linda's attention snagged on the vista outside the windows, and she drifted closer to take in the view. Rebecca followed her gaze."Wow." Rebecca breathed.Below sprawled a massive circular garden, illuminated by warm yellow lights positioned around the perimeter. An ancient tree stood at its center, thick gnarled branches spilling over with vibrant pink flowers. Roots snaked across the ground, breaking through the brick walls in places. Among the tangle of branches and flowers, Rebecca could just make out a human shape.Linda pointed a trembling finger at the camouflaged body. "That's Carla."Rebecca shot her a questioning look. "How do you know?""She was wearing pink heels like those," Linda said with certainty.Rebecca continued to gaze out into the night, keen eyes probing the shadows around the garden, searching for any sign of movement. Satisfied they were alone, she turned toward the staircase, the wooden steps creaking under their combined weight as they descended.