Yan shifted her position. "That's not an ordinary one."
"Stay outside the doorway."
"I know."
Bai looked over her shoulder. "I'm serious."
"So am I. I'm not entering the room. I'm covering the corridor."
Bai accepted that. She was not asking Yan to stay back because she
doubted her strength. She was asking because the office was cramped, and
the door opened toward a stack of shelves that might fall during a
fight. Yan could do more useful work from the corridor, where she had
room to aim and move.
Bai pushed the office door open with the tip of her boot. Inside, a
zombie had wedged itself between a desk and a filing cabinet. Its upper
body had swollen until the shirt on its chest had split, and its hands
were thick and dark. It tried to reach her through the gap. Bai shifted
the desk aside with one hand and struck it down before it could force
its way free. The filing cabinet tipped, and a stack of papers spilled
