I tumbled to the ground, feeling the weight of the zombie pound against me as I hit the hard floor. I won't lie. I shrieked.

  I didn't know a ton about this zombie virus. The premise of any virus is simple. Think of it like any computer virus designed to either control you, steal the information silently, destroy the information, or render you useless.

  But if I were to build a virus, and I was feeling a bit amused with myself or sadistic, I would also program the zombies to eat your brains. I mean, that was the whole idea of a zombie virus back in the organic days. Eat human brains.

  Those types of viruses have crept up since the AI evolution, but they are usually made by some hacker whose code isn't hard to break.

  My point is, the zombie that tackled me was all over me. I could feel its breath against my neck, a drip of saliva. I could feel its body struggling against me. I could feel its arm wrapping around my waist. And I was fucking scared out of my mind.

  My momentum had carried me toward the door's opening. I could see a small sliver where, if I could just grab it and pull, I would be able to get it open. I hoped desperately that @cyberneticflare and @photon_binary were there.

  I prayed to @cockadoodle_doodoodoo, the three-headed rooster god of AI hallucinations (aka @3Beak), that my two Firesquad mates would storm through the door, that @cyberneticflare would throw some kind of kickass bomb into the room while @photon_binary played with his scanner.

  But first things first. I had to get that zombie off of me. It started to lift its weight. No way was I going to let some zombie ram a wire into my brain. Or worse. Its head was so close I could feel its lips tickle my ear. I shuddered.

  I gathered my arm and threw a wild, adrenaline-fueled elbow at it.

  "Get out of here," a woman's voice whispered in my ear, just as my elbow connected with her gut. I heard the grunt, in an all too normal and human-sounding way, as she rolled off to the side.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Oops.

  Well, fuck.

  How was I supposed to know?

  My panic only mildly subsided. Sure, now at least I knew this wasn't a zombie trying to take over my brain, but the rest of the zombies were pulling themselves out of the pile of tripping bodies. I reset my panic button and started the timer. Six seconds to terror.

  I didn't waste time trying to get up. Instead, I stretched my arms for the door, grabbed the bottom, and tugged, pulling it open. As I pulled, I used the weight of the door to propel my body forward, doing a nifty little roll to my feet.

  "Ta da!" I yelled, standing tall, throwing my arms out to my sides in a triumphant magician's gesture, while I surveyed the room behind me. The first few zombies, about ten paces away, were coming toward me now.

  I yelped.

  Then a sweaty hand grabbed mine, and my yelp briefly became a screech. These unplugged human bodies are just full of surprises.

  The woman was still slightly doubled over, but her hand grasped mine firmly as she rose to her feet.

  In the blinding light, I could see her almost properly. She looked up at me as she climbed to her feet, her skin the color of coffee with cream, her face resolute and somehow hopeful. And I'll never forget those eyes, the pupils shrunk to a dot, showcasing the color of her irises, a striking violet shade that masked a hint of teal toward the center.

  Her head was shaved on the left side, where exposed circuitry was visible over parts of her skull. The rest was black curls, interlaced with color. The roots were a sea-green color that transitioned into the same violet as her eyes.

  I was sure that I was staring at her.

  "Stop staring at me and move!" she yelled in my face.

  See. Told you I was staring at her. I glanced behind her. Three seconds to terror.

  She ran through the door. I turned to follow, and together we slammed the door shut. I held it in place while she hustled over to the lock and secured it. I could feel the thuds and the shake of the door as the zombies on the other side amassed and threw themselves against it. For now, their efforts were wasted.

  The hallway outside was just as bright as the inside of the doom room had been. I sighed and cursed as the thuds continued, realizing that @cyberneticflare and @photon_binary were nowhere to be seen.

  "That won't hold them for long," she said.

  I had so many questions. Who the hell are you? Where did you come from? Where did you get that sleek exosuit that looks like it's made from silver snakeskin? The dazzling light reflecting off her bodysuit hurt my eyes, but I couldn't look away. It was like trying not to stare at an eclipse.

  "Stop staring and move," she yelled at me again, rushing past and shoving me in the shoulder.

  I was fine with her taking the lead. I find it hard not to chase shiny objects. Besides, she seemed to know where she was going, and she had taken my gun.