It was simple and brilliant.
If what he was going to do worked it was also something that he could easily do. Instead of having to do something to thousands of the dead, he would only have to do what he was thinking to nine men.
The doctor put the syringe back down on the table.
He went to the closet and took out a bed sheet.
He found the center of the sheet and grabbed the center and let the rest of the sheet fall to the sides.
He picked up the scissors and cut an opening six inches wide and three inches high a few inches below where he held the sheet.
“That looks about right,” he thought.
He carried the sheet over to the creature with the painted eyes and puttied nose. He set the sheet down on the bed next to the creature.
He picked up a knife, after securing the mask over his nose he cut open the creature from the middle of the chest down to the groin area.
He pulled the ribs apart leaving the creature’s gruesome bloody insides visible.
Next he picked up the sheet and pushed it inside the creature.
The creature’s reactions were no different than reactions of the one on the bed next to it. It showed no signs of pain or acknowledgement of what the doctor was doing.
After the sheet was saturated with the creature’s blood and bits of decayed organs, the doctor pulled it out of the cavity.
It was going to be gross and totally disgusting, but he did it anyhow. He put the sheet over his head and let it fall down around his body.
The hole he had cut in the sheet lined up perfectly with his eyes.
He now looked like Casper, the bloody smelly ghost.
The doctor walked over and picked up the syringe.
He left the room and went to room where John was waiting.
The doctor opened the door and stepped inside.
John looked at the doctor but he didn’t groan.
He began to sniff at the air and then began to look elsewhere, seeming to lose interest in the doctor.
The doctor walked around John’s bed to be sure John would see him moving close by and around him.
John didn’t show any interest. He continued to look around the room and paid very little attention to the doctor.
After a few minutes the doctor was satisfied.
This could work. If the group had to get out of the hospital and cross the Boulevard of the Allies to repel down the cliff to get to the river, this could work.
It would be disgusting and the smell would be horrific with a gory blood soaked sheet over their heads, but it could give them a chance.
The hardest park could be walking among the dead out on the highway. Walking with the dead bumping into them could make someone panic and start to run. The doctor wasn’t sure how the dead would react. He was sure the quick movement would make the dead want to investigate what was moving so quickly. That could be fatal. They would have to walk like the dead, slow and staggering, but it could work. All they had to do was fool the dead for a few minutes. If everyone could remain calm it could work.
To test his thoughts he began to move around John’s bed quickly. John immediately focused on the doctor. The Doc stopped and began to stagger around the bed slowly again.
John lost interest and continued to look around the room as he had been doing.
Doc moved closer and pushed the needle into John’s ear and injected the acid.
The doctor could hear the acid sizzling, burning through the bone and brain matter.
In a moment it was over.
The doctor removed the gross sheet from over his head and draped it over John’s now unmoving body.
“Thank You, John,” the doctor said. “You were of great help. You may have helped save us all. Rest in peace my friend.”
The doctor left the room. He wanted to get cleaned up and hopefully get the smell of death off of him.
As horrible as it was, he at least had a plan that could work and help them get out of the hospital. No one would like this plan, but like everything else in the world, there wasn’t much to like about anything anywhere.
They would do what they had to do to survive. If it was the only way to survive, they would do it. It was what it was.
It was a chance.
Carrie guided the helicopter over Heinz Field on the way to Allegheny General.
They glanced down at the packed stadium but didn’t say anything. They were focused on the helicopter at Allegheny General and the hope that it would run. If it would run like they hoped, their world could quickly change.
It at least was what they were hoping for.
They passed over the stadium and approached the fifteen story building that towered over the surrounding buildings around it on the north side of Pittsburgh.
Carrie circled around the hospital and hovered a few hundred feet out from the helipad.
“It looks a lot better down there than it as the last few times we flew by,” Carrie said.
Carrie let the helicopter drift to the right so she could see Allegheny General’s helicopter from different angles.
“At least from up here the outside of the craft looks good,” Carrie said. “It seems to be a little larger than ours.”
“Do you know if it is newer than the one we have?” Bob asked.
“It’s hard to tell.” Carrie replied, “I can fly but other than that I don’t know that much about the different models of helicopters except that they all have the same basic controls.”
“It looks large enough we should be able to get the whole group in at one time,” Bob smiled. “Tom, grab our bats. Red if you could lure the half dozen dead to one side of the pad and then swing around to the other side of the pad and set us down, Tom and I will jump out and finish off those last few then we can get to work.”
“How is our time?” Carrie asked.
Bob looked at his watch, “We’re good. We still have ten minutes before we have to land or head home.”
“Since we have a little cushion in our time, let me see if I can knock those things off the pad,” Carrie said. “So you don’t have to face any more of those things than you have to.”
“That’s fine with me, Red,” Bob replied, “What are you going to do?”
Carrie moved the helicopter over the dead on the pad, then slowly lowered it on top of the small group of the dead that was reaching up towards them.
She almost landed the chopper on top of the dead.
“Way to go,” Tom laughed, “you just smashed three of them like bugs. Can you smash those other two?”
“I’ll try,” Carrie said as she tried to move closer.
“Careful Red,” Bob said, “The skid is getting awful close to the chopper on the pad. Knocking off three is good enough. Tom and I should be able to easily take care of those other two.”
Carrie laughed, “After all we have gone through to get to this point, I don’t want to wreck the helicopter.”
“Ken would be disappointed,” Tom replied.
“After hanging from a rope up here, he would be pissed,” Carrie laughed.
Carrie left the helicopter drift out off of the northern side of the hospital and held that position as they watched the two dead creatures slowly move towards them.
“Get ready,” Carrie said. “I’m going to swing around the top of the building and set us down on the other side of the pad.”
“Do it Red,” Bob said as he tightened his grip on the bat and put his hand on the seat belt release so he could quickly get out of the helicopter when it landed.
Carrie moved the stick and increased power to the blades. Instead of helicopter beginning its climb up over the side of the hospital, it began to lose altitude and slowly dropped towards the streets below.
“Shit,” Carrie shouted, “We’re losing power.”
“Do something Red,” Bob yelled as he looked at the creatures staggering around on the streets below.
“I’m doing all I can but nothing is happening,�
� Carrie yelled back.
“Is there any power at all left,” Bob asked nervously.
“Not much, I’ll try to put us down as easy as I can but I’m afraid we’re going to find out how strong that duct tape is,” Carrie replied.
“Get us as close to that church as you can,” Bob said. “We’re going to have to make a run for the church.”
“Do we have a bat for Carrie?” Tom asked. “I think we are going to need it.”
“Sorry Red,” Bob replied, “Just hang on to me when we land.”
“You mean if we get down?” Carrie said struggling with the controls.
Bob was just about to say getting down didn’t seem to be a problem, when the helicopter hit the street.
The right skid snapped and bent at an awkward angle to the right. The chopper leaned right as it rolled on to its side. The blades hit the pavement and broke free. The pieces of the blades rammed their way through the gathering dead throwing bloody body parts through the air.
The doors to the cabin broke free and bounced down the street and loudly crashed into the side of the hospital.
Carrie, Bob and Tom hung sideways from their seats, held in place by the seat belts.
“Is everyone still with us,” Bob yelled.
“Thank God we didn’t have a box of cans in the back this time,” Carrie replied. “When are we going to stop spinning?”
“Tom?” Bob yelled.
“I’m here, I think,” Tom said weakly.
Bob released his seat belt and dropped to the pavement below the open cabin.
“He staggered to his feet, “We have to get out of here fast.”
“I’m trying,” Carrie said but didn’t seem to be moving.
Bob reached over and undid her seat belt and lowered her to the ground.
“Tom?”
“I’m coming,” Tom replied and crawled out of the back of the helicopter. “Where are the bats?”
“Who knows,” Bob replied. “Probably somewhere down the street. Forget the bats. Follow me.”
Bob pulled Carrie behind him as he crawled out from under the helicopter.
Tom struggled to follow.
Bob pulled Carrie and Tom to their feet as he quickly looked around them.
They had crashed in the middle of Parkhurst Street in front of the large church that sat across from Allegheny General Hospital.
The dead were slowly approaching on Parkhurst Street from both ends of the street.
Pieces of the dead were scattered around them from when the helicopter blades broke free and ricocheted down the street.
The church door hung open fifty feet in front of them with a large section of one of their blades lodged in the large wooden door.
“Get in the church,” Bob yelled as he pulled at Tom and Carrie.
Tom and Carrie were groggy and disoriented.
Bob pulled them along with him.
Twice he had to let them go so he could knock down the staggering creatures that tried to get at them.
When he let Tom and Carrie go, they just stood and stared.
Bob guided them as quickly as he could but they were moving too slowly to reach the door before the dead at this pace.
Bob decided Carrie was in the better condition of the two and quickly bent down and picked up Tom over his shoulders.
He grabbed Carrie by the hand and ran towards the door.
They managed to get through the church door seconds before the dead.
Bob pushed the door closed as they ran inside but the door didn’t latch. The blade from the helicopter had shattered the latch.
Bob sat Tom down against the back of the door.
“Red, can you hold the door until I can drag something over here to put against it?” Bob yelled.
“I’ll try Carrie said as she weakly leaned into the door.
Bob turned and ran to the nearest pew and began to yank on the back of the pew. It was heavy as hell but he slowly began to make progress.
He pulled with urgency when he saw the door open slightly and two gray boney arms reached in through the opening.
He almost had the pew to the door when one of the creatures fell into the church.
Bob leaned back into the door to hold it closed as he moved the pew the final foot and wedged it against the door.
Bob ran over at the creature that was struggling to get up off the floor. He pushed it back to the floor with his foot and then stomped on its head.
Bob moved over to Tom and Carrie and slid down to the floor next to them.
“Sorry Bob,” Carrie said, “everything is still spinning. Half the time I couldn’t tell where the damn door was so I could push on it.”
“That’s OK Red, you did OK,” Bob replied. “Other than your head spinning, anything else hurt?”
“I don’t know yet,” Carrie replied, “but now what do we do?”
Bob looked around.
His eyes settled on the large alter of the church that towered above the other end of the aisle from where he sat.
“Now we pray,” Bob answered.
Chapter 15
Jamal woke up. The sun was shining brightly in through the center windows. But it wasn’t the light that woke him, it was the wind that blew through the community center. That and the damn mosquitos that were buzzing around his head.
“Damn bugs,” Jamal shouted, “I hate everything about this damn place and these damn hillbillies.”
Jamal swatted at the bugs and hit himself on the nose.
It hurt like hell and brought tears to his eyes.
He sat up and swung his feet out of bed and let them drop to the floor.
He was pissed as he glared at his surroundings.
He had been pissed every morning he had to wake up in this place, but today the damn bugs had made it even worse.
First he looked at Devon who was still asleep with his blanket pulled up over his face.
Then he saw George, rather he heard George’s loud snoring.
He felt the cool air across his face when he noticed Ricki’s bunk was empty.
That didn’t make him happy. He was even less happy when he saw Denny’s bunk was also empty.
“Get the hell up,” Jamal yelled.
“What’s up,” Devon asked, still only half awake.
“Not so loud,” George said, “I’m still sleeping.”
“Get your asses up,” Jamal yelled again, “the runts are gone. I’m going to kick their asses if they are screwing around.”
“They are probably down pretending to play basketball again,” George said as he rolled over in his bunk.
George sat up, “OK, I’ll go down and tell them to get back up here, but then I’m going back to sleep.”
“Damn hillbillies,” Jamal complained.
George pulled on his pants and stumbled over to the stairwell. Now he was pissed too. “Those two know better than to get up and rummage around the community center without one of us up,” George thought. “He should have kicked their asses yesterday when he got up and found them down on the basketball court, but after seeing those two down their shooting baskets, it just seemed too funny at the time.”
George walked down the steps.
The first thing he noticed was the open door at the end of the court.
“What the hell are those two doing outside?” George thought, then he chuckled. “Maybe they are probably outside playing baseball. It still won’t help them. I’ll clobber that runt’s little curve ball. I should probably lock the door and leave them outside until Jamal is ready to go look for supplies. That will teach them a lesson. If we’re lucky the dead might save us the trouble and just kill them for us.”
George walked over to the door, planning on closing and locking the door and leaving those two outside for an hour or so.
When he arrived at the door he stood looking confused when he reached out for the door handle.
Before he realized that the door was gone, he noticed the car wasn’t where they had lef
t it.
George walked to the door way and stuck his head outside.
He glanced first at the ball field, but there was no one on the diamond.
Then he realized the door was gone. He glanced around quickly and then it hit him, the car was also gone.
“Those bastards stole our car,” George thought.
George turned and started to yell, “You guys better get down here, we’ve been robbed.”
Jamal and Devon came running down the stairs.
“What the hell do you mean we’ve been robbed?” Jamal shouted.
“Those two bastards took our car and they’re gone,” George said. “They also took our door.”
“They took our door?” Devon asked.
Devon walked over and looked at the empty door frame,” I can’t believe they took the door. Why would they take the door?”
Jamal ran over and walked outside the building, “So the dead could get in. I’m going to kill those sneaky bastards.”
“If we can find them I’ll help you,” George said, “but how are we going to find where the hell they went? “
“And how are we going to find them without a car,” Devon added, “How far can we go on foot?”
“Damn it,” Jamal shouted as he stood in front of the community center and looked around.
Jamal spotted the door leaning against the corner of the building, “Here’s our door.”
Devon and George walked out and looked where Jamal was pointing.
“Put the door back on the damn frame before any of those dead things come around,” Jamal ordered.
George and Devon ran over and dragged the door back over to the frame, “We need the screws,” Devon said.
“Go take the screws out of the locker room door,” Jamal yelled.
George walked over to Jamal after Devon ran back into the community center, “What are we going to do for a car?”
“Damn if I know,” Jamal complained, “go help Devon get this door back on then we’ll worry about a car.”
Jamal stood back and watched as Devon came back with the screws from the locker room door.
Survivors in a Dead World Page 18