The doom room I found myself in was not complicated to navigate, so that made my choices easier. Despite unplugging, I knew the two main directions I could go. @pixel_princess and @astrowave were in one direction. @cyberneticflare and @photon_binary were in the other.

  I also knew that @cyberneticflare and @photon_binary were closer, probably just beyond that door I had sealed shut. That was my destination. I had to trust that the other two would be fine, and this was frankly my best chance at survival.

  The glen10 was gorgeous. I wasn't expecting the kickback, but I realized that it was probably because my "plugged in" self would have been adjusting the stability using my biotic implants. Unplugged was a different sensation, but I adapted quickly enough.

  My first shot caught an overtaken zombie-man in the neck, sending a juicy bit of blood out behind him, and then a pool drizzling out the front. I stepped aside as he toppled forward. I wish I could say that was intentional, but I was aiming for his head. Whatever. It worked.

  Because of the kickback, I was paying more attention, which means my shooting got worse. The overtaken were closing in, but not so fast that I felt like self-destructing. I would need to plug back in for that, and it would take a moment for the system to boot up. I'd probably be better off just bumping a bullet in my brain.

  But that was a last resort. I needed to secure these memories and get the hell out of here.

  As I deftly missed my charging targets, I noticed that they had started pulling wires out of themselves, just like I had seen in the video. For a moment, I wished I had a sword or a big pair of scissors instead of the glen10, so that I could hack off those wires.

  Here's the thing about viruses.

  They can be transmitted through physical contact, or they might be airborne. A digital virus is no different. You might get it by following a bad link on the Extronet, looking at a corrupt QR code and following it to the source, opening a message attachment, or accepting a transmission or signal. Two of the most common ways aiways get malicious code were by connecting to an unknown network or inserting unverified datashards. You leave a datashard lying around, and it's just a matter of time before someone loads it. Hopefully, they remember to do a virus scan.

  An airborne variety is easier to defend against. Almost everyone knows not to connect to unknown networks, and getting remote access to an aiways' core system is nearly impossible. We have too many security protocols.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  But they could still jam a wire into me to store malicious code or inject me with viral nanobots.

  I didn't need to be online to recognize that my human heart rate was sky high. I knew what panic felt like.

  I fired my pistol again, resulting in more misses as I tried to get the next closest zombie, and I nearly dropped my pistol.

  "Son of a bitch!" I shouted.

  I grabbed the glen10 firmly, raising it in both hands this time, and fired again. I clipped an overtaken in the shoulder. It winced and jerked, but otherwise didn't seem to care. If this was to be a gunfight, what I really needed was a shotgun.

  "Stop paying attention," I told myself. "Run and gun. Trust your instincts."

  Running is something I was good at, whether I paid attention or not. I ran toward the zombie I had clipped in the shoulder, ducked his whirling right arm holding the wire, and bashed him in the back of the head with my gun. Thud!

  Satisfied that at least he fell to the ground, I continued running.

  I'm quick and I'm agile. You want me to chase a mouse? I'll catch that cute little guy in no time at all. I felt slower unplugged, and I won't lie, I probably peed myself a little bit. But the muscle memory and overall training of my physical body still made me a force to be reckoned with. Slender but strong. I'm not going to punch anyone's lights out, but it will hurt, and I'll be gone before you know it.

  I charged forward, now just firing with my random gut feel as I got low to the ground and scrambled.

  Bam! Zombie headshot.

  Spin and dodge. Bam! Bam! Bam!

  Elbow to the face. Sorry, whoever you were. Phump!

  Whirly spin, dive forward to avoid the one behind me. Four more in front, and others closing in. I could see the door maybe 20 paces away. I started spinning and firing randomly.

  Bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam click click click.

  I swapped clips.

  bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam click click.

  I reloaded again.

  bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam click click click.

  I swapped clips again and ran the opposite direction, hopping over some of the fallen bodies. They pursued me, limping, slushing blood, or dropping from lethal wounds. I ran really fast in that direction.

  Then I pivoted the other way. I had to be faster than everyone in this room, zombie or not. I led them on a little chase away from the writhing mess from my bullet tornado. Then, as I changed directions, I started to get out in front of them.

  That's when I headed back to the mess of bodies, adroitly hopping over them, almost a gleeful skip, toward the door I had sealed shut. Four or five were still in front of me, so I didn't have a clear path, but I was getting the hang of this glen10. I politely clipped them one by one, adding them to the pile of bodies.

  And while I could skip over the bodies, the mess of zombies following me was not as successful. It only took a few of them to trip before others did the same, mindlessly pushing forward to fall on top of one another.

  It was a zombie stampede turned into a scrum of bodies on the floor behind me.

  I unlocked the door and reached to slide it open when a zombie I hadn't seen tackled me.