Issue #3 “No Way Out”

Chapter 3 — The First Bite

The man’s lunge was fast — too fast for someone in his condition. His blood-slicked hand shot out, fingers grasping for anything to pull himself forward.

Harper reacted first. His EMT instincts kicked in, and he grabbed a metal broom leaning by the door. He jabbed it hard against the man’s chest, forcing him back a step. The man staggered but didn’t fall. Instead, he gurgled — a sickening, wet sound — and lunged again.

“Get behind the counter!” Renee barked.

“I’ve got this!” Harper grunted, shoving the broom harder against the man’s chest.

“You don’t!” Renee snapped. “Get back!”

But Harper didn’t listen. The man’s hand lashed out, grabbing the broom handle and yanking it with surprising strength. Harper lost his grip and stumbled back, crashing into a rack of potato chips. The man staggered forward again, lips peeled back in a twisted grin.

The door. The lock.

“Ethan! The door!” Harper shouted.

Ethan was already moving, skidding across the floor toward the entrance. He grabbed the metal bar, slammed the door shut, and drove the lock home just as two more shadowy figures stumbled into view outside.

“Jesus…” Ethan muttered, his breath fogging the glass. The figures pressed against the window, their faces blank, their skin grey and cracked. Their fingers scraped against the glass in slow, mindless patterns.

“Help me with him!” Harper barked, scrambling to his feet. The man was still coming, eyes wild and unfocused.

“I told you to get back!” Renee’s voice was sharp now.

In one swift motion, she unzipped her satchel, pulled out a scalpel, and gripped it like a dagger.

“You’re not gonna—” Ethan started.

“I will if I have to,” Renee cut him off.

The man lunged again. Renee stepped in, swift and precise. She pivoted on her heel, driving the scalpel deep into the man’s side — just beneath the ribcage.

He barely flinched.

“What the hell?” Harper gasped.

Renee twisted the blade and yanked it free, blood spurting across the floor. The man stumbled — but again, he didn’t fall. Instead, he let out a low growl, something animalistic. His glassy eyes locked on Renee.

“Move!” Ethan yelled. He grabbed a glass jar of candy from the counter and smashed it over the man’s head. The glass shattered, sending shards and gumdrops flying. The man staggered, swayed — then fell hard to the floor.

For a moment, no one moved. The three of them stood in silence, breathing hard.

“That… shouldn’t have been that hard,” Harper muttered.

“It’s getting worse,” Renee said. She knelt beside the fallen man, careful not to touch him. The gash from her scalpel still bled freely, but the man’s face had already taken on that greyish hue Harper had seen earlier.

“This isn’t just some sickness,” Renee said. “His body’s… shutting down. He’s already starting to decompose.”

“That fast?” Ethan said. “No way.”

Renee opened her metal case and pulled out a syringe. “I need a sample of his blood.”

“You’re gonna poke that guy?” Harper asked, still gripping the broom handle like a spear.

“I need to know what this is,” Renee muttered.

Outside, more figures gathered. Three… four… seven. They clung to the glass, their faces slack and empty. One man’s lips were curled back, revealing a ragged line of broken teeth. Another woman’s face was split with deep, jagged cuts — yet she stood there like she didn’t feel a thing.

“They’re not right,” Ethan whispered. “They’re just… standing there.”

“They’re not just standing,” Renee corrected, still drawing blood from the fallen man’s arm. “They’re watching.”

Harper moved to the window, staring out. The figures shifted and swayed, their heads tilting in eerie unison.

“What are they waiting for?” Harper muttered.

A thud hit the back door. Then another. Someone — or something — was trying to get inside.

“We need to leave,” Ethan said.

“We can’t,” Renee snapped, capping the vial of blood. “Whatever this is, it’s spreading fast. We can’t just run without knowing what we’re dealing with.”

“You wanna wait around and ask questions?” Ethan shot back. “They’re everywhere!”

“Shut up!” Harper hissed. He pressed his ear to the back door. Another thud — closer this time. Then came a sound that turned his stomach cold:

A low, wet growl.

“That’s not a person…” Harper whispered.

CRASH! The back window shattered, and something clawed at the splintered frame.

“Go! Go!” Ethan yelled.

Renee grabbed her satchel and bolted for the door. Ethan snatched his duffel bag from the floor. Harper followed close behind — but as he passed the man’s motionless body, the hand shot out and grabbed his ankle.

“Shit!” Harper kicked hard, but the grip tightened. The man’s fingers dug into his boot, cold and rigid like iron clamps.

“Help!” Harper barked.

Ethan spun back, drawing the hunting knife from his boot. Without hesitation, he drove the blade down into the man’s wrist. The fingers twitched — but still didn’t let go.

Renee knelt beside them, grabbing a metal flashlight from the counter. She swung hard, slamming the heavy end against the man’s skull with a sickening crack. The grip finally loosened, and Harper staggered back.

“Get to the stockroom!” Renee shouted. “We can barricade the door!”

The three rushed into the narrow storage room, slamming the metal door behind them.

The pounding on the windows grew louder.

“I thought you said you didn’t know what this was,” Ethan said, his voice low and accusing. “But you sure as hell knew what to do.”

“I know how infection spreads,” Renee shot back. “I’ve seen viruses like this before — but never like this. Whatever’s happening here… it’s faster. More aggressive.”

“Yeah?” Ethan snapped. “Then what stops it?”

Renee didn’t answer right away. She looked down at the vial of blood in her hand — the dark, almost black liquid swirling inside like oil.

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “But we don’t have much time to figure it out.”

Outside, the pounding on the walls grew louder. The shadows moved across the parking lot, growing thicker — a slow tide of bodies closing in.

To Be Continued…