Rewrite the Apocalypse dream (by Dee Cari) novel Chapter 154

Chapter 154 Pharmatec Monster

Fin hed

Jonna slowly pulled open the heavy lobby door to Pharmatec. A wave of chilled, metallic air rushed out to meet them as their flashlights cut through the gloom.

The entire lobby floor was covered with bodies.

Joanna crouched down, shining her light on a slumped security guard. “Why are they dead?” she muttered. “They aren’t turned. They aren’t zombies.”

Briggs inspected a nearby scientist, his brow furrowing at the unbitten skin. “That’s strange he grunted. “No trauma. It’s like their breathing just stopped.”

Joanna paused, feeling the heavy telepathic hum vibrating through her boots. She turned to him. “Julian you have your comms active?”

“Yeah,” Julian replied, faint blue electricity casually dancing across his fingers.

“Okay. Go upstairs and deal with the zombies on the third floor,” Joanna ordered. “Me and Briggs will start from the basement and make our way up towards you. Remember what I said about air ducts!”

Julian nodded, completely unbothered. “No problem.” He glided silently up the escalator, leaving Joanna and Briggs facing the heavy door leading down to the basement.

Joanna and Briggs slipped through the heavy door and descended into the dark sub-level, instantly plunging into the suffocating stench of decayed flesh.

Briggs moved ahead like a seasoned commando. Holding a high-powered rifle equipped with a massive suppressor, he checked corners with deadly, mechanical precision. Joanna split off to clear the adjacent side, her physical strength coiled and ready.

The basement floor was a labyrinth of high-tech research labs, now transformed into an eerie, horrifying slaughterhouse. There were no active zombies roaming the halls, which only made the silence more terrifying. Instead, the beam of their flashlights illuminated severed limbs, shattered bones, and unidentifiable body parts scattered across the linoleum floor. Joanna had a mild headache but it really was like the mind control was aimed at someone else.

Every single glass partition was either cracked into spiderweb patterns or entirely shattered into glittering shards. Dried, black blood ran in long, sickening streaks down the pristine white laboratory walls. The telepathic hum RJ had warned them about was incredibly loud down here, a physical pressure vibrating behind their teeth as they pushed deeper into the horrific maze.

Joanna rounded the corner into a dark sterilization room. Suddenly, a figure lunged from behind a row of metal cabinets. A heavy iron pipe sliced through the dark, swinging straight for Joanna’s head.

Joanna reacted instantly, raising her forearm to block the blow, but the sheer desperation of the attack caught her off guard. Before the pipe could connect, Briggs materialized from the shadows. His massive frame slammed into the attacker, effortlessly wrenching the iron weapon from her grip. With a swift, calculated strike, he knocked the woman out. She slumped to the floor, her wild hair falling away from a pale, sweat-streaked face.

The adrenaline of the sudden ambush left the room thick with tension. Briggs stood breathing heavily, just inches from Joanna. For a fraction of a second, his cold, deadly aura completely vanished. He looked down

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Chapter 154 Pharmatec Monster

at Joanna, his gaze searching hers with an intense, unreadable energy. Joanna froze, her chest heaving as she met his stare, the sudden closeness between them sparking a moment of heavy, undeniable intensity.

Then, just as quickly as it flared, the moment shattered. Briggs’ expression snapped back to its usual icy, military mask. He stepped back abruptly, his demeanor instantly turning cold and detached.

He cleared his throat, looking down at the unconscious woman on the floor. “She’s alive,” he muttered, his voice flat. “Genuine heartbeat.”

Joanna shook off the lingering static of their moment, her mind locking back into place as she crouched over the survivor. “How is a human even alive down here? And why did she attack us instead of asking for help?”

Without a word, Briggs knelt, efficiently tied the woman’s wrists with a plastic zip-tie, and motioned Joanna forward. As they moved down the corridor, Joanna stared at his broad back, her mind racing. He saved me. she thought. Trust has to be given and earned. I will keep an eye out.

They quickly swept the rest of the lab area before advancing down the final stairwell to the bottom floor. This was the utility level, a cramped maze of thick plumbing, massive boilers, and electrical conduits. It was completely engulfed in pitch-blackness. Briggs handed Joanna a pair of infrared night goggles, and they both slipped them on.

Stepping out onto the tight metal walkways, the air felt suffocatingly heavy. They rounded the first dark hallway, and their thermal lenses illuminated a horrifying sight: a row of people hung from the ceiling, strung up tightly by their wrists. They were alive but entirely unconscious, swaying gently like meat in a locker.

As they rounded the next corner, they found the source of the telepathic hum. A massive zombie stood in the center of the utility room-easily twice as big and twice as strong as a normal person. This creature was definitely a Level 2 variant or higher. It was actively feasting on a woman in a lab coat. A question formed right away. He had hung those survivors up to keep them fresh? Who knows, but he possessed actual, terrifying intelligence.

The monster suddenly snapped its head around. Sensing their presence, it unleashed a deafening roar that vibrated the metal pipes and charged blindly toward them.

Joanna’s reflexes kicked in; in a literal blink, she teleported behind the beast to strike. But the creature’s speed was monstrous. Before she could land a blow, it violently grabbed Briggs by his tactical vest and threw him across the room, smashing his massive linebacker frame against the concrete wall and leaving him momentarily dazed.

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