Chapter Eighteen: The Zombie Dog

A black backpack landed beside Zhao Qiang with a thud, startling him just as he was settling down for a rest. He glanced at the bulging bag, then at its owner. “What’s in there?” he asked.

“See for yourself,” Wei Tao replied, keeping him in suspense.

Zhao Qiang grabbed the backpack and unzipped it. Thank God! he thought with relief. The bag was packed full of weapons. “Wei, you’re really something else. Where did all this come from?” Zhao Qiang asked excitedly, picking up a Type 95 rifle.

“It’s just my habit—always keep something in reserve. Can’t hurt,” Wei Tao replied coolly.

Zhao Qiang leapt up from the bed, shoving the backpack behind him. “Even me? You’re guarding against me too?” Until now, Zhao Qiang hadn’t known Wei Tao had made such preparations. He couldn’t even imagine where Wei Tao had hidden such a cache of weapons.

“I trust only myself,” Wei Tao said coldly, finding a place to sit down.

“So you suspected a plot all along?” Zhao Qiang slumped back onto the bed, realizing there were still so many things about Wei Tao he had yet to learn. “Did you do nothing to stop them?”

“The path they chose is their own. I won’t interfere.” Wei Tao’s voice was devoid of anger or outrage at betrayal. “My path is to protect those around me.”

“So what do we do now? These weapons aren’t nearly enough,” Zhao Qiang muttered as he rummaged through the backpack, taking stock of what remained.

“We go back to the unit and get more ammo,” Wei Tao said in his usual icy tone.

When they’d left the SWAT unit, they hadn’t stripped the armory bare on purpose—so that, when supplies ran out, there’d be somewhere to resupply. Zhao Qiang hadn’t expected he’d be returning to the SWAT unit so soon after leaving it.

“Are we leaving right now?” Zhao Qiang pulled a few magazines out of the bag, stuffing them into his chest pocket. “What about the others?” With only Zhang Yongming left to guard the place, Zhao Qiang was uneasy about everyone’s safety.

“I’ve made arrangements. The defenses here will hold.”

…

Night had fallen, and the sky was still cloaked in thick clouds. In the courtyard of the SWAT unit, dozens of zombies wandered aimlessly, devoid of all life.

A pair of headlights swept across the yard, illuminating the zombies’ ashen, grotesque faces. One of them, drawn by the light, turned and shambled toward it—only to be tackled by a dark shape that pinned it to the ground and began tearing at its rotting flesh.

Zhao Qiang and Wei Tao were oblivious to this scene as their armored van rolled to a stop at the entrance to the main hall. Zhao Qiang, familiar with the layout, headed straight for the armory. The main goal this trip was ammunition. He switched on his flashlight and began methodically gathering the right caliber rounds, while Wei Tao stood guard at the door, eyes peeled for any zombies.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out.

Zhao Qiang’s heart tightened as he hurried to finish grabbing the ammo. It sounded like Wei Tao had engaged the zombies, but from the gunfire it didn’t sound like there were many of them—Wei Tao should be able to handle it.

Wait, why are there different gunshots? That’s not Wei Tao’s style… Could it be them?

Hastily, Zhao Qiang dumped the selected ammo into his bag and sprinted toward the exit. In the darkness, he saw Wei Tao taking cover behind a pillar, trading fire with several figures at the doorway. A corpse lay by his side—caught in the flash of gunfire, Zhao Qiang recognized the dead man as one of the traitors from earlier that day.

“Listen, Wei, be smart and surrender!” a voice jeered from the entrance—it was Li Zixin. “You saved my life once, so here’s your chance: I’ll let you live.”

Wei Tao answered with bullets. A burst stitched the wall beside Li Zixin’s face, spraying him with painful flecks of concrete. Infuriated, Li Zixin fired a wild burst in Wei Tao’s direction, yelling, “Damn you, ungrateful bastard! Kill him! Take him out!”

No one dared stick their head out after witnessing Wei Tao’s marksmanship. Hiding by the door, the group of former police officers only dared to stick their gun barrels inside and fire blindly into the hall. The intense firefight drew more nearby zombies, as well as the dark shape still feasting in the shadows.

Wei Tao returned fire sporadically, constantly shifting his position. He gave his opponents no opportunity, but they were cunning and heavily armed, and for the moment, they were evenly matched.

“Wei, all we want is the weapons. Let us through and I’ll let you live,” Li Zixin shouted between shots, hoping to force Wei Tao into revealing his position. Once again, Wei Tao replied with a hail of bullets.

Growing anxious, Li Zixin saw the zombies outside creeping closer, yet they still hadn’t dealt with Wei Tao. If this didn’t work out, they’d retreat and try again another day. Gritting his teeth, he fired a few more shots into the hall.

The dark shape in the yard raised its head, listening to the gunfire, sniffed the air, and then abandoned the zombie it had been devouring, sprinting like an arrow toward the sound.

Soon, Li Zixin quietly passed the order to retreat to his accomplices. One by one, they slipped away from their positions, careful not to draw Wei Tao’s attention.

One man, still prone on the steps, squeezed off two rounds into the hall before preparing to leave. Suddenly, something heavy landed on top of him. Before he could react, the dark shape bit deep into his throat. His scream rang out, horrifying Li Zixin and his fleeing men. They turned to see a black beast hunched over their fallen comrade, greedily sucking the blood from his corpse. Seeing there was no saving him, Li Zixin gritted his teeth and led the survivors back to their bus.

When Zhao Qiang arrived, he saw Wei Tao locked in a savage struggle with something. The shadow was faster than any zombie he’d seen, and it certainly wasn’t human. Zhao Qiang flicked on his high-beam flashlight, training it on the creature wrestling with Wei Tao.

Damn—zombie dog! Its bare, hairless body glistened with slime, drool oozed from its monstrous jaws, and its huge, colorless eyes fixed hungrily on Zhao Qiang.

“Watch out!” Wei Tao shouted, seeing the zombie dog lunge for Zhao Qiang.

A foul wind reeking of decay swept toward him as Zhao Qiang dodged the beast’s deadly pounce. With a swift, chopping motion, he slammed the flashlight down on the zombie dog, knocking it to the floor. The creature rolled, absorbing the blow, and sprang back at him.

Wei Tao swapped magazines in a flash. Seeing Zhao Qiang locked in combat with the zombie dog—and the confusion of darkness—he holstered his pistol, drew his knife, and charged in.

The zombie dog was far more agile than ordinary zombies. Zhao Qiang’s attacks were easily dodged or absorbed by the beast’s body. Now he understood why Wei Tao hadn’t had time to reload; even he barely had a chance to draw his own blade.

With Wei Tao joining the fight, the tide finally turned. Working together, Zhao Qiang risked grabbing the dog’s jaws with his gloved hands while Wei Tao drove his knife into the back of its skull, the blade thrusting out between Zhao Qiang’s gripping hands. Even with its brain destroyed, the zombie dog clawed desperately at Zhao Qiang’s chest, trying to break free, until Wei Tao twisted the knife inside its skull and, at last, the beast collapsed in a heap.

Wei Tao glanced at the heavy backpack behind Zhao Qiang, then pulled Zhao Qiang to his feet. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” Zhao Qiang replied, kicking the zombie dog’s corpse away. “We’ve got the ammo—let’s get out of here!”