Chapter 448: Eternity 9.

"I’ll open it," Bai said quietly. "Stay on the left. If anything comes

out fast, take the legs."

Yan raised her crossbow. "And if there are several?"

"Then we’ll have several dead zombies on the floor."

Yan gave her a brief look. "I appreciate your confidence."

"I appreciate your aim."

It was the sort of reply Bai could have given anyone, but she said it

while looking directly at Yan. Yan felt the familiar warmth in her chest

and hated that the smallest compliment from Bai could affect her so

much. She steadied her crossbow and focused on the door.

Bai eased the latch free. The door opened only a few inches before

something struck it from the other side. She pushed it shut again and

listened. The impact had been weak, more the result of a body stumbling

forward than a deliberate attack, but there was movement behind it. Bai

adjusted her grip, then shoved the door wide and stepped to the side.

A zombie lurched into the corridor, its shoulder scraping along the

frame. Its jaw hung slack, and one arm was caught in a length of loose

cable. The cable dragged behind it and caught on the door handle,

pulling the corpse sideways. Yan fired a bolt into its knee. The zombie

dropped hard, and Bai crossed the short distance between them and ended

it before it could reach the wall.

The sound brought another two bodies out of the service passage. One

crawled low to the ground, missing part of its lower leg. The other was

tangled in a bundle of cable and struck the frame again and again as it

tried to move forward. Yan’s second shot hit the crawling zombie in the

shoulder, turning its path. Bai moved in, cut it down, then stepped

aside as Yan drew her ordinary revolver and fired at the head of the

tangled one when it managed to free its arm.

The corridor went quiet.

They waited for several seconds, listening for more movement. When none

came, Bai inspected the bodies and made sure they were no longer a

threat. Yan kept her weapon ready while Bai checked the service passage

beyond them. The narrow access area smelled of damp metal and decay. A

maintenance panel had been left partly open, exposing pipes and a

section of conduit. The zombies must have entered through a damaged

access hatch connected to a lower utility route, then wandered upward

through the service passage until they reached the door.

Bai’s expression hardened. "This is how they got back in."

Yan looked at the bent frame and the damaged panel. "The lock held, but

the door was already weak. If more had come through, they might have

forced it open."

"We’ll repair it. Then we’ll check the entire access route."

They spent the next hour clearing the narrow passage and inspecting the

adjoining maintenance spaces. There were no more zombies immediately

behind the door, but the route itself had too many weak points. One

cover plate had come loose, and a ventilation opening near the bottom of

the wall was large enough for a smaller infected creature to crawl

through if it found the right angle. Bai secured the opening with a

metal mesh and a reinforced plate. Yan recorded the repair and marked

the area as needing another inspection after they had completed the rest

of the building.

When the work was done, Bai dragged the bodies into a temporary holding

space before the building residents could step into the corridor. She

cleaned the floor as thoroughly as the available supplies allowed and

checked the nearby doors for scratches or signs of forced entry. Yan

went from door to door, warning the residents not to use the service

passage and explaining that the immediate threat had been dealt with.

The woman who had reported the sound opened her door just enough to look

out. Her face was pale.

"Were there really zombies?"

"Three," Yan said. "They’re dead now. We found the route they used and

blocked it. You did the right thing by telling us."

The woman’s shoulders lowered in relief. "I wasn’t sure whether I should

bother you."

"Please do bother us," Yan replied. "It’s better to check something

harmless than to ignore something dangerous."

Bai finished checking the last latch and came over. "If you hear it

again, don’t open the door. Knock on your neighbor’s wall or use the

signal we gave everyone. We’ll respond."

The woman nodded quickly. She looked as though she wanted to thank them

again but could not find the right words. Bai was already moving toward

the stairs, looking at the emergency light that had been flickering

above the landing.

Yan caught up with her. "You saw that light on the way down, didn’t

you?"

"Yes."

"You’re going to fix it now."

"Yes."

"Even though we just cleared a service passage full of zombies."

Bai stopped and looked at her. "A broken emergency light makes it harder

to see. Harder to see makes it easier to get bitten. Are you suggesting

we leave it broken?"

"I’m suggesting you sit down for ten minutes and eat something."

"That’s unrelated."

"It’s very related. You’re about to climb another seven floors because a

light is flickering."

"I’m not going to climb all seven floors. I’m going to fix the light on

this landing. Then I’ll check the lower floors."

Yan opened her mouth, then closed it again. Bai’s expression suggested

that the discussion had already ended in her mind. Yan looked at the

stairwell, then back at Bai, and finally took the toolbox from her hand.

"Fine. I’ll carry this. You can carry the replacement light."

Bai blinked. "You’re coming?"

"Someone has to make sure you don’t start repairing the entire building

before lunch."

Bai accepted the toolbox back from her, though Yan had only meant to

take some of the weight. Their fingers touched around the handle.

Neither moved away immediately. Then Bai cleared her throat, turned

toward the stairs, and said, "Try to keep up."

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TO BE CONTINUED.