"That's impossible," said Eriq. "That door's supposed to be damage proof."

"Yeah, well, you better tell the manufacturer that his products suck!" yelled the guard.

. . . BANG . . .

A third dent.

"It's not going to last much longer," said Eldridge.

Somewhere in the background, Lisa Millette began to cry uncontrollably and screamed.

And Father Gardenzia prayed.

. . . BANG . . .

The behemoth stood before the door. Its massive fists like sledgehammers against the steel plate.

. . . BANG . . .

Driving.

. . . BANG . . .

With methodical precision.

. . . BANG . . .

It was not about to be denied.

. . . BANG . . .

Chapter Forty-Five.

Skully and Funboy were working their way down the corridor with their weapons leveled when they began to hear indecipherable whispers ahead.

"We're closing in," Skully said into his lip mic. "About how far?"

"Sixty meters," said Meade.

"Copy that." He then redirected his conversation to Funboy. "How many Semtex grenades you got?" he asked him.

"One."

And Skully had one. "We'll use mine to thin out the herd, and then commit to headshots. Clear?"

"Clear."

They moved along slowly with their heads on a swivel.

The whispers were getting louder.

And then they ceased altogether, the sudden silence just as terrifying.

"They know we're here," Skully whispered. "Get ready."

How do you get ready for something like this? Funboy asked himself.

And then the chatter started up again, a slithering of soft hushes growing to a chant.

"Coooooome tooo meeeeeeeee."

And then something began to lope in their general direction, the steel grates shaking beneath their feet as the living dead closed in.

"Coooooome tooo meeeeeeeee."

Skully removed his Semtex grenade with his thumb in the ring, ready to pull it free. "Stand ready," he said.

"Coooooome tooo meeeeeeeee."

The shaking of the grate beneath them acted as a barometer of sorts. The closer they got, the more they shook.

"Sounds like a Hell of a lot more than fifty," Funboy said.

But Skully didn't respond. He simply held the grenade high.

"Coooooome tooo meeeeeeeee." The call of the mantra was much louder.

"Here they come," said Skully.

The undead rounded the bend of the corridor and leapt from wall to wall, from one side to other like insects, having learned that moving marks made for difficult targets. Particularly when headshots could permanently down their kind.

"Coooooome tooo meeeeeeeee."

Skully thumbed the pin free from the grenade and tossed it down the hall several meters before the horde, hoping that it would detonate within the first or second line of their approach. So timing was critical.

"Coooooome to-"

A Semtex grenade was extremely powerful, and when it went off it did exactly what it was meant to do.

A ball of fire erupted upward then outward, the concussion of the blast knocking Skully and Funboy off their feet, whereas it completely decimated the front lines of the undead. Limbs and viscous matter blew apart in an instant, marring the surrounding walls with dripping gore and gruesome designs. Pipelines were compromised, the tubes having holes through them; parts of the walls were damaged and dented.

Pieces of the undead lay scattered about as a battery of smoke rose from the floor. Behind the gray veil of smoke, the walking dead appeared partially restrained as if they'd been stunned by a flash bang, their surroundings suddenly alien to them as they reached their bony talons out for the support of a wall to use as a crutch.

Skully and Funboy were quickly on the feet with their weapons at eye level.

"Now!" yelled Skully.

They moved forward pulling triggers in quick bursts, the bullets finding their marks and trailing gray matter through the exit wounds.

Bodies fell.

The corridor filled with the light of muzzle flashes.

And the Force Elite began to take new ground.

Heads continued to blow out explosively, the bullets hitting true.

Internal fluids ran across the floors and down the walls as sludge.

"Keep pressing!" Skully took the walking dead on the left, Funboy the right side, firing calculated shots that thinned the corps of undead.

Body parts lay everywhere as Skully and Funboy waded through the pieces.

Hands, forearms, legs, thigh meat, and portions of heads smelled like death and decay.

The pools of honey-thick bile beneath their feet was as slick as ice.

And more bodies fell.

"Keep moving!" cried Skully.

Six remained. Those who were fortunate enough to hang back from ground zero.

As the soldiers approached, they fell back, clawing the air and hissing like serpents.

"Six," called Funboy, sending off a volley of shots.

Two more went down, their heads exploding from their necks as splashes. Then the other four attacked, bounding from one wall to the other, making themselves hard to hit.

Skully strafed his weapon from left to right, the high caliber bullets of the weapon cutting across upper legs and thighs, the impacts dismembering them from their bodies and taking away their means to move.

In the aftermath of the firefight, as the bodies tried to belly crawl their way to them, Skully and Funboy removed their Ka-Bars and proceeded to drive the points through their skulls, snuffing them out.

Funboy leaned against the wall and blew out a long breath of relief. Around them bodies lay everywhere. "That was a bitch," he said.

"Ammo?"

Funboy made a quick examination. "Still got a healthy level, but it won't be much longer if we keep running into these things. They're getting wise, Skully. They know enough to get out of the line of fire."

"Yeah. So I've noticed."

Skully lowered his lip mic. "Meade?"

"Right here, boss."

"You catching all this?"

"You guys are making me proud," he answered.

"Don't be too proud," he said. "We're not through this yet. Anything going on at your end?"

"No. Most of the tangos are either topside or in the stairwells. We're good."

"How far to the shaft?"

"Sixty meters. The left tunnel will take you to the central corridor, which will lead you directly to the shaft."

"How big is this damn ship?"

"It's big enough. But you need to get going. Your path is clear, but there's no telling for how long. These things seem to rebound quickly after they're given a bloody nose."

"Understood." Skully raised his lip mic.

"We good?" asked Funboy.

Skully pointed his weapon down the corridor. "We're clear. But we have to hurry."

"I can relate to that."

Skully took the lead.

And Funboy followed.

Chapter Forty-Six.

. . . BANG . . .

"The door's not going to last forever," said Eldridge. "Are we just going to stand here?"

Eriq grabbed the mobile rack of shelves holding the bottles of acid and maneuvered them over by the door. After locking the wheels in place, he stepped back.

. . . BANG . . .

"Are you serious?" asked President Michelin. "That's your answer? Placing bottles of acid in front of the door? Seriously?"