by Radke, K. E.
The stale air was welcomed as he stepped inside and swiftly passed the empty tables and booths to get to the large counter between him and the kitchen. He knocked on the counter to alert anything lurking in the back. Footsteps squeaked behind him and he swiveled aiming the Glock at the sound. Noah lifted his arms in the air, “Just me.”
Lincoln lowered his weapon and continued behind the counter until he was in front of the grill. He wrapped his hands around some spatulas and tongs and handed a set to Noah on his way out.
“Did I ever tell you, you’re a lot smarter than you look?” Noah joked.
“I can’t wait to get back to that pile of shit so you’ll keep your trap shut for lack of breathable air,” Lincoln’s voice echoed through the empty restaurant before he exited.
Kneeling next to the steaming human remains, Lincoln used the spatula to scrape the mashed tissue off the concrete. The tongs picked through the pureed flesh and tissue until he tossed it to the side and began searching another heap of mangled skin.
Noah flung piles of cloth and body parts around with the tongs until he triumphantly found a badge. Between the two of them they found four ID cards. Lincoln piled them up and took them back inside the burger joint while Noah looked out for Gloria.
Lincoln dumped the badges in a sink, gently scraped them clean the best he could without touching them and tried the tap. Water dribbled from the faucet until it dried up. Examining the full kitchen, Lincoln started opening drawers and cabinets until he found a closet in the corner.
A grin spread across his face when he wrapped his hand around the bleach.
While dousing the badges in chemicals, Gloria returned and idled in the middle of the road. Lincoln dried them off with a towel and put them in his pocket. Noah was waiting for him by the door and they walked back to the Jeep together.
Lincoln reached for the SUV door at the same time Gloria pulled forward a few feet to keep the handle out of his reach.
Everyone in the vehicle burst out laughing as Lincoln sighed heavily catching a glimpse of Gloria’s amused face in the side mirror.
“Sorry, automatic reaction. I’ve been doing it all morning,” Gloria snickered. Noah reached the second time around and Gloria pulled forward again cackling at her newfound entertainment.
“I can stop this shit permanently with a bullet to the tire,” Noah grumbled.
“If anyone’s shooting out the tires, it’s going to be me,” Lincoln muttered annoyed.
Gloria had to hold both feet out the window in order to get Noah and Lincoln in the SUV.
At the hospital, she parked in her old spot and waited with Wyatt as the three men exited the Jeep.
They were vigilant for stragglers, but the lobby was empty as they trekked to the first set of swinging doors and peered through the windows. The doors had locked again, the red light signaling no entrance. Four decayed bodies still milled around on the other side from their vantage point.
Lincoln took a badge out of his pocket and counted to three before swiping it against the access pad. The doors retreated and gave them access to the next room with a loud beeping noise.
Heads spun in their direction and jaws snapped simultaneously. Noah held the machete in front of him and dispatched the closest one.
Lincoln and Heath hastily pulled the trigger and killed one ghoul each.
They all aimed at the last one.
“Is she walking sexually to you guys? Or is it just me?” Noah questioned mesmerized and lowered the machete in his hands.
“That is . . . not what I’m looking at,” Heath said in a daze and tilted his head to the right.
The decaying woman sashayed forward in stilettos like she’d been born with them. Tiny puncture wounds covered her slim stomach and scratches marked her arms. She never reached out to try and grab her prey. Instead she cocked her head flirtatiously and sauntered in their direction.
Shredded navy-blue cloth was draped over her and covered nothing substantial. The black veins delicately sprouted from her chest venturing across her body like a well-thought-out tattoo. She was completely naked with one giant breast leading the way capturing everyone’s attention. The other one had been devoured.
“If I was a cannibal I’d start there too,” Noah murmured lightly with the machete at his side.
Both Heath and Lincoln nodded in agreement.
“For fuck’s sake,” Gloria bellowed and fired Wyatt’s HP&K. She missed the woman’s head entirely taking out her last perfect, perky breast. The silicone beneath the skin burst. Thick fluid mixed with fresh blood and spilled down her navel.
Lincoln, Noah and Heath all fled in different directions embarrassed they were caught ogling the infected woman.
Gloria took two more shots destroying the torso before she hit the ghoul in the kill spot. Shaking her head, she muttered under her breath, “Some things never change.” Positive the woman wasn’t a threat anymore Gloria raised her voice, “There, you can go eye fuck her now that she won’t eat you,” Gloria offered treading further into the area.
Wyatt was right behind her with his mouth agape. He composed himself when Lincoln rolled him forward and made sure the swinging doors locked behind them.
In a serious narrator’s voice Wyatt announced, “And one woman’s boob took down humanity. One man at a time.”
Gloria cackled from across the room but everyone else refused to make eye contact and pretended to examine the area as if seeing it for the first time.
Dry, encrusted blood stained the floor with bones and half eaten limbs scattered everywhere. Blood splatter decorated the walls and an emergency ax was lodged in the sheetrock.
Every surface was smeared with the red liquid and bodily fluids. Office supplies and anything with a sharp end had been launched around the room as weapons. Lincoln made calculated steps at the sight of needles and other broken medical supplies strewn across the floor. Beds were tipped on their sides and rolled against walls as barriers. Shuddering, Lincoln watched as Noah peeked behind one and immediately took a step away from it.
“This is a waste of time,” Wyatt complained loudly.
“What if we try the next set of doors?” Heath asked.
“It’ll probably look just like this,” Noah replied.
Heath and Lincoln continued to check every room until they both reached a corridor and another set of locked doors. They peered through the windows and had a clear view of similar mayhem on the other side.
They backtracked, and Heath delivered the news, “The little guy is right, I think those doors back there connect to the other side and it looks the same.”
Noah stood as tall as he could disgusted with the nickname and hollered viscously, “Little guy? Fuck you, you jolly red giant.”
Gloria chuckled at the insult causing a domino effect. A grin even broke out on Heath’s face.
With tears in her eyes from laughing so hard she said the obvious, “Maybe we should try the other floors? No one goes up to escape. And anyone who couldn’t escape is probably trapped in their rooms.”
“How are we going to get up there with all of the deadish obstacles?” Noah countered.
“Fire escapes. It’s a hospital, and building code requires them to have multiple escape routes even if the patients can’t use them. Or maybe the back will have an easier way in,” Gloria pointed out.
After a few seconds of silence, Lincoln decided for everyone, “It’s really the only option.”
“Really,” Wyatt said the word bitterly. “And how am I supposed to climb a flight of stairs?”
No one said a word until Noah spoke up, “Y’all are going to make me say it?”
Everyone stared at him and he sighed, “I have no shame in pointing out the giant, red elephant in the room that basically carried Wyatt and the wheelchair and his pack from the explosion.”
“I could carry him,” Heath shrugged without complaint.
“Damsel in distress or piggy back?” Lincoln chuckled at the question directed at Wya
tt.
“Just leave me in the Jeep,” Wyatt grumbled crossing his arms over his chest.
“I say damsel in distress, so I can have something to look forward to,” Noah answered for Wyatt.
“Okay ladies, let’s start moving so we can get this over with,” Gloria sounded excited and took the lead. They made sure the front lobby was clear before they opened the only barrier they had and exited the building. Before trekking over the grounds, Lincoln made everyone strap their packs on.
Wyatt opted to get on Heath’s back because of the different landscapes and uneven ground the rolling chair couldn’t maneuver over. Just in case they needed it later, Noah dragged the chair behind him with Wyatt’s pack on it.
Gliding against the brick walls in a single file line, they traipsed around the structure and searched for a better entry point. The eerie silence had everyone jumping at the slightest sounds. Necks craned in every direction waiting for the ambush that would happen eventually.
Near the back of the building they found a set of sliding glass doors with a keycard entry, and two delivery-loading areas. Lincoln eyed the raised platform for the trucks and glanced at Wyatt through his peripheral vision. Neither choice seemed optimal as Heath helped Wyatt into the chair and cupped his hands on the glass to peer down the corridor.
Smeared red handprints adorned the glass with a trail of dripping blood and bloody footprints down the empty hallway.
“If I’m remembering correctly, this is where the funeral homes load up the dead bodies,” Heath revealed taking a step back so Lincoln could take a look.
“So there’s a chance no one will be down here except the select few who worked here,” Lincoln murmured calculating their chance of survival.
“Or everyone without a pulse was sent down, and their brain was rebooted . . . and now they’re all waiting for someone to let them out—someone delicious,” Noah’s ominous voice trailed off.
Everyone simultaneously stared at Heath.
“What?” Heath asked as his eyes bounced around between everyone.
“You’re already cooked.”
“People tend to like white meat.”
“You’re fucking huge! They’d be fed for days.”
“Bunch of assholes,” Heath murmured under his breath chuckling.
“It doesn’t hurt to check,” Wyatt spoke up to get everyone back on track. “If something turns the corner, all you have to do is come right back outside.”
“Says the guy that can’t walk,” Gloria muttered before her voice became lighter and asked, “Any volunteers?” She lifted a challenging eyebrow.
“What a fantastic opportunity for someone with a death wish,” Noah said sarcastically and then volunteered himself. He stripped off his pack. Unlike Lincoln, Noah wanted to be able to run as fast as he could. Constantly carrying a pack won’t help him if he’s too slow to get away.
“I’ll follow and shoot anything behind you at the corner,” Lincoln said in a stern voice. He shifted the pack in place and pulled out a badge to unlock the doors. The first one denied him entry, but the second gave him clearance.
A rotten stench burst out of the building giving them a preview of what’s inside.
Lincoln handed the working card to Heath, “Just in case you need it.”
“This will stay open, and anything chasing you will get a bullet,” Heath guaranteed placing his foot in the sliding doors path.
Noah entered first, breathing through his mouth to stop himself from accidently gagging. No matter what he did his eyes kept flickering back to the blood trail smeared in front of him like arrows to his death. Silently, he tiptoed down the hall with Lincoln five feet behind him. The corridor automatically turned left and about ten feet away was a room. Noah inched forward and stopped at the next threshold. At an angle, he stealthily maneuvered himself to peer inside the giant room.
Against the backwall, steel square drawers—all the same size—were stacked on top of each other in columns, like a giant filing cabinet. Noah’s heart rapidly fired against his chest as his neck craned further inside the room.
Motionless bodies filled the space facing every direction, dispersed among the four long metal tables with wheels in the room. At one point the tables were probably all equal distance apart, but present company had moved them around.
One twitched and Noah ducked, disappearing back into the hallway. Against the wall, he stopped breathing and waited for all hell to break loose.
Nothing happened.
Slowly letting curiosity take over, he leaned inside the room again to peek at the various decaying bodies. The next step squeaked against the tile floor and he froze. Low hisses and unnerving growls filled the room setting off a clambering party inside the closed metal chambers against the backwall. All the blood drained from his face when he realized how many dead people were trapped. He took a careful step back at the same time he heard something slide open. One chamber opened slightly, and Noah had to put his hand over his mouth to stop himself from automatically yelling run.
Fingers peeked out from the slightly opened drawer. Pink fingers. A girl with pitch black hair peered over the top searching for the reason her smelly neighbors had been disturbed. Her dark brown eyes met Noah’s as Lincoln’s hand wrapped around his mouth and the other pulled him out of the room.
He shoved Noah’s back against the wall and gestured to stay quiet while taking the same position. Feet shuffled in the other room and Lincoln nudged Noah to follow his lead away from the area filled with chompers.
Noah closed his eyes for a second and tried to ignore the images of the girl peering back at him inside the metal box. He knew without a doubt, she’d die if he didn’t help her. Instead of following Lincoln, he tried to observe the room from a different angle. Unable to check on her from his spot, he almost took one more step forward when the inhuman croaks and screeches stopped him. With a mind of its own, his foot stepped backward until he was safely against the wall again.
Lincoln waved at him from the corner and Noah shut his eyes for a few seconds breathing heavily before he shook his head with determination. The agitation on Lincoln’s face changed to fear as Noah’s hand pulled the gun from his holster.
Shaking his head feverishly, Lincoln whispered several times before Noah heard him over the cannibals, “What the fuck are you doing?”
“I saw a girl,” Noah replied, quietly hoping his words weren’t heard over the trapped ghouls banging inside their confined spaces.
“I know we’re in the middle of an apocalypse, but you can do better,” Lincoln whispered seriously.
Noah flipped him the bird and glanced back at the open doorway of doom.
He inhaled and, on the exhale, took the three steps where he positioned himself to shoot everything in sight. Every time a body hit the floor, Noah took a step toward the steel boxes. The examining tables slowed some of them down as Noah picked them off one at a time.
In the corridor Lincoln yelled at Noah, “You fucking asshole.” He swiveled toward the exit Heath kept open, ready to leave Noah to his fate. Each foot set off in a different direction and Lincoln struggled to pick one before he finally yelled at Wyatt to start moving toward the platform. He cursed loudly and disappeared around the corner to drag Noah’s dumb ass out of the building.
Lincoln slowed down before the threshold and tried to hear each suppressed shot over the pounding fists on metal competing with the groans. Inside the infested room, the first thing he saw was a teenage girl’s arms wrapped around Noah’s neck. He aimed at her until he realized Noah was trying to free her from a metal drawer where dead people were stored until they were picked up.
Seven bodies were strewn across the floor and Lincoln shot the remaining six as Noah helped the girl out of the human sized drawer. He cut across the room and found a ruckus on the other side of another door leading further into the hospital.
“I can’t see beyond the tongues,” Lincoln said loudly.
“One problem at a time,” No
ah’s voice was tense. The girl could barely walk and put all her weight on him.
They were halfway to the hallway before Lincoln begrudgingly offered, “Do you want me to carry you out?”
The contemptuous look she gave him took more energy than necessary and caused her focus to shift from walking. Noah could barely hold her weight as she dropped to one knee wincing in pain.
She didn’t smell any better than the corpses lying on the ground. It was a mix of piss and sweat and she was too weak to be embarrassed by it. Clumped, black hair fell into her face as she took a minute to catch her breath. She glanced up fiercely pinning her eyes on Lincoln and then shifting them to Noah before her raspy voice threatened, “I swear if either one of you try to hurt me, I will be your worst nightmare.”
Noah rolled his eyes at the warning and caught Lincoln’s smirk. Of course the feeble girl he saved would threaten them. He only risked his life to get her out of the metal box. The weak girl didn’t faze Lincoln as he passed them in a flash and gave Noah a wink. Over his shoulder he called, “She’s all yours bud.” And continued to the exit without a second glance.
“And there goes the easiest way to get you out of here quickly,” Noah said winded, his voice strained under her weight.
A sly smirk emerged on her face. “I have a knack for getting rid of people,” she croaked, her voice raspy from disuse.
“It seems to happen only when you open your mouth,” Noah replied in a sarcastic tone. “Thank God you were quiet long enough for me to save you, otherwise you’d still be locked in that drawer.”
She plowed to the ground and refused Noah’s helping hand. “Do you think I’m too weak to fight you off?” she asked defensively and slapped his hand away. Her voice carried down the hall and Noah took a step back to give her some space.
“Leave her,” Lincoln shouted. “She’ll just be trouble.”
Noah kneeled and stared straight in to her eyes, “Whether you like it or not you need my help, but I’m not going to fight you the whole way. So either you take my hand, and let me help you or I walk away. I’m trying to survive too. I leave the fighting for those things out there.”