Val: Prequel to The Zombie Chronicles

by Peebles, Chrissy

  “Doc, I’ve been surviving in the zombie apocalypse for some time now, and those booty-kicking boots have been part of my arsenal.”

  “So…they’re your lucky boots?” he asked.

  “Something like that. I’m sorry if I gave you a hard time though. I really don’t remember—”

  “It’s okay. Mind if I examine you?” he asked.

  “Go ahead.”

  He listened to my lungs, took my blood pressure, performed a quick exam, then smiled. “Believe it or not, even after your little tumble, you seem to be the picture of perfect health.”

  “That’s just what I wanted to hear. So you’ll discharge me?”

  “Actually, I’d like to keep you overnight, just for observation. You can leave first thing in the morning. We’ll give you your clothes and even supply you with a gun, as well as some survival gear and food and water. If you’d like, you may take a shower down the hall. There are buckets of clean water and lots of soap and shampoo, with fresh towels.”

  “That’d be wonderful. I guess one more day won’t kill me. But I want my vest. It holds a very special and dear picture of my family.” Of course I wanted the picture, but I wanted my vest back more than anything. Those vests were top of the line and hard to come by.

  “Bring the girl back their vests,” the doctor said.

  “Sure.”

  The doctor looked at me. “You’re severely dehydrated, Val, so I’d like to administer one more bag of saline to hydrate you.”

  “How can I ever repay you?” I asked. “You’ve both been so nice. I don’t know what woulda happened if you hadn’t come across us.”

  The doctor smiled. “The only payment we require is your quick recovery. Here at Mercy, we are true to our name. We open our doors to anyone in need of treatment.”

  “Even if they’ve been bitten or scratched?”

  His gaze narrowed. “You know what happens if that occurs. There’s only one way to deal with that dreaded situation so that no others are hurt or killed. We try to be humane about it and put those unfortunate victims under, in a deep sleep, so they can die peacefully and painlessly. That’s far kinder than a bullet hole in the head, don’t you think?”

  “Aw. You care,” I said, “just like my fiancé who was killed. He was a doctor, too, and he always went out on a limb for his patients. He was actually killed by somebody he was trying to help. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of him.”

  “I’ve lost loved ones myself.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I try not to dwell on it. I just think about surviving and helping people.”

  “If my fiancé would’ve followed your protocol with bite victims, he might still be alive, but it was when everything first happened, and…well, we just didn’t know.”

  “Nobody knew what was going on back then. Heck, most of us still don’t know for sure. Just try to stay strong and survive, Val. I’m sure that’s what he would have wanted.”

  I nodded and offered him a half-hearted smile.

  “You go ahead and get some rest now.”

  The nurse reattached my IV, and I closed my eyes. As soon as I woke up we’d be back on my journey to the island. I knew we’d have to be more careful, super leery of all survivors. I shuddered at the thought of almost being killed by those hoodlums. In my previous life, I’d tried to keep jerks like that off the streets. Now, they seemed to be running them.

  My body ached, and I’d never felt more tired in my life. I tried to stay awake so I could talk to Sammy, but sleep quickly captured me.

  Chapter 13

  I woke up just as disoriented before. This time, the room didn’t seem so friendly and happy, and there was no warm sunshine beaming in to greet me. I peered around in the darkness but couldn’t see much. Goosebumps prickled up on my forearms. Freezing, I pulled the blankets up around my neck and patted the bed around me. When I felt the bedrails and the lumpy pillows, I surmised that I was still in the hospital.

  “But why’s it so dark in here?” I whispered into the blackness. “Is it still night or something?” I looked toward the window but didn’t see any light whatsoever, not even the silvery light of the moon. “Why did they shut the drapes?” I wondered aloud.

  I felt completely discombobulated and loopy, like I was lost in a thick fog. I took a deep breath and tried to fight through the confusion that was flooding my head. My arm instinctively jerked to the IV that was pinching me. I wondered why they hadn’t taken it off, since they were only supposed to give me one bag of saline.

  Suddenly, I heard a faint, distinctive sound. I listened intently as crashing footsteps drew closer. I strained to see in the darkness, but I couldn’t make out any shapes or shadows, and my head began to conjure up all sorts of terrifying outcomes. When a hoarse, harsh sound echoed through the air, I realized I wasn’t alone. Groggy as I was, my heart still raced. I had no weapon other than my clenched fists, but the low, sinister growl was growing ever louder. When the stench hit me, I knew a monster had invaded my room.

  Paralyzed with fear and still loopy from drugs, I couldn’t tell if I was experiencing reality or some sort of hallucination or nightmare. It felt real, and the reeking stink made me want to gag.

  Squeaky wheels sliced through the air, as if the creature was dragging a rusty tricycle. Then I heard the creaky door opening. Gosh. Everything in this place could use a little WD-40, I thought, but even my own joke wasn’t enough to make me laugh in that horrifying, hazy moment.

  In my drugged state, I closed my eyes for a split second, then forced them open when I noticed light behind my eyelids.

  Sammy flashed a light, and in that moment, I spotted the zombie, with its glassy, white eyes and torn, green skin exposing layers of muscles. Two mutated hands with bloody fingernails hovered over my face. I gasped, and my heart lurched. It lunged right at me, reaching for me with its snapping jaws. With no other weapon at my disposal, I grabbed the aluminum IV pole and held it in front of my face. Snarling like a rabid dog, it bit down on the hollow pole, and I jammed it between it lips. As it bit down even harder in hungry frustration, its yellowed teeth broke apart like peanut brittle.

  Sammy came up behind it and bashed in its head in with some kind of blunt, heavy object.

  As soon as the zombie crashed to the ground, I jumped out of bed. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Her baby-blue eyes widened with fear. “It’s wearing a gown,” she said, pointing down at the zombie’s naked, greenish backside. “It must have been a patient who died from an overdose of all the drugs they’re pumping into us.”

  Upon closer inspection, we noticed that the thing was also hooked up to an IV. “I think you’re right,” I said, barely a whisper.

  Sammy shined her light around, and I gasped again. Unbeknownst to us, we’d been moved into a new room, a huge one with no windows. Dozens and dozens of beds were placed in perfect rows, like some kind of Army hospital or barracks, and an unconscious patient lay in each one of them, hooked up to an IV pole.

  “Are you okay?” I asked. “Did they hurt you?”

  She ran a hand through her messy, blue hair. “I got a few stitches, but I’m fine.”

  I grabbed the flashlight from Sammy and swung it around, unable to believe my eyes. I pulled the tape off and slid the IV needle out of my arm. A wave of dizziness washed over me, but I knew I had to stay sharp and focused. I felt so sleepy, and my body begged me to just close my eyes for a minute, but I feared that if I went back to sleep, I might never wake up. I fought hard, but unconsciousness began to take me prisoner again.

  Sammy suddenly screamed in my ear, “Wake up, Val!”

  My eyes flew open. “What’s wrong with me? I’m so tired.”

  “Like I said, we’ve been drugged—with the good stuff apparently. That’s all I know.”

  “Who are all these people?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

  “I dunno,” she said, terrified. “You tell me.”

  I glanced around. “Ma
ybe they plan to use us for some kind of…human experiments.”

  “Makes sense. We are in a hospital, after all.”

  I let out a long breath. “How do you know? I didn’t see a sign or anything. You’re just going by what they told us. For all we know, this could be some mad scientist’s laboratory.”

  “Well, they’re obviously keeping us alive for something. But what?”

  “How did you wake up?” I asked, still befuddled and feeling like I was caught in The Matrix or an episode of The Twilight Zone; I half-expected Keanu Reeves or Rod Serling to show up any minute.

  “By the hands of fate, I guess. My IV came loose, and when I came to, I was lying in a big puddle of whatever is in those bags. I took your bag off the IV pole and set it on your bed so it wouldn’t flow. They rely on gravity.”

  “Why didn’t you do that for everyone?” I asked.

  “I didn’t even know if it would work.”

  “Well, it does,” I said. I began stumbling from patient to patient on my drunk, jelly-like legs, taking down the IV bags and setting them on the beds. “It’s time for all these sleeping beauties to rise and shine.”

  “I already got that guy next to us,” she said. “I figured he might be able to help us. He looks like a linebacker or something, all big and strong.”

  “Well, it’d be good to have a little brawn on our side. We’ve already got the beauty and the brains,” I joked.

  “And which one am I?” Sammy asked.

  “I’ll leave that up to you to decide,” I said.

  I suddenly noticed she had her bag. “How did you find that?”

  In one of the rooms with people’s stuff. But I didn’t find our guns or vests. But I did find your Christmas picture with your family. It was shoved into my bag with my family picture. You know I brought my bag with me. I’m not leaving my precious picture. It’s all I have left of my normal life. It comes everywhere with me. What if the car exploded from a mine field when we got back? I take no chances. So that’s why it came.”

  “You don’t have to explain. I get it. And thanks for holding onto my pic.”

  She nodded, then looked around. “Do you think we can save all these people?”

  “We could take out their IV needles, but there’s not enough time. Maybe taking the bags down will give ‘em a fighting chance. We don’t have time to stick around and wait for them to wake up. We’ve gotta go while the coast is clear. We might never get this chance again. We can always come back with reinforcements, but we’ve gotta get out of this nightmare first. You went out to investigate, right?”

  “Of course. You know how nosy I am,” she said with a smile, her white teeth gleaming in the dark.

  “What’s out there?” I asked.

  “Well, there’s a long, dark hall and some kind of nurses’ station. That was where I got the pill-crusher.”

  “Pill-crusher?”

  “Yeah, that heavy silver thing I cold-cocked the zombie with. It was the only weapon I could find, so I snatched it off their medication cart parked in the corner. I found the flashlight by scavenging through a drawer. The few people who run this place are gathered in one of the rooms. I’m not sure what they’re doing, but we’ll have to walk past them to get to the exit sign.”

  Somebody coughed and cleared his throat. “Wh-what’s going on?”

  Sammy rushed back over to me. “That’s him, the dude I helped earlier.”

  The man sat up and looked at all the people resting quietly in their beds. “What the…?”

  “Let me get your IV out,” I said.

  “Huh? Who are you? What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Not exactly sure,” I answered, “but it doesn’t look good, and we don’t wanna wait around to find out. We’re getting outta here, and you’re welcome to come with us. Can you stand?”

  He slowly stood and ran a hand through his brown, wavy hair.

  Sammy quickly explained the little she knew, then asked his name.

  “I’m Rob,” he said, looking dumbfounded and shaking his head, “and, boy, do I got a major buzz.”

  “I’m Sammy, and this is Val,” Sammy said.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too, but we’ve gotta go now,” Sammy said.

  “I can’t—not without Mindy.”

  “Girlfriend? Darn,” Sammy said, nudging me playfully. “Guess I woke up the wrong guy.”

  “Sammy!”

  “I’m kidding.”

  “Mindy’s just…a childhood friend,” he said, then ran off to look for her, checking one bed after another.

  Meanwhile, I rushed to the door and peeked out. All was clear, but I knew that could change at any given moment. “Hurry!” I whispered.

  Footsteps echoed in the hall, and I saw at least eight shadows moving in the distance, possibly a dozen. There were far too many of them for us to take, in any case, especially since we were still loopy from the drugs, and we had no real weapons.

  “They’re coming!” I said. “We either take them on or hide.”

  Sammy grabbed my arm, her eyes wide. “They’re just coming in to get somebody. I’ve seen them do it. Just get back in bed and pretend like you’re out.”

  I nodded. “As soon as they leave, we need to get the heck outta here.” I rushed over to Rob. “You can find your friend later, but get back in bed now. Try to put your IV back in place…and I hope you’re good at playing possum.”

  “The zombie!” Sammy said. “They’ll know somebody was awake when they see its head bashed in.”

  “Right. We have to hide it. Come help me.” I slid the heavy corpse under a bed, while Rob used a blanket to clean up any blood, but there was no way we could get rid of all the evidence of the zombie slaughter, nor could we put all the IV bags back up in time; I only hoped they wouldn’t notice in the dim light.

  I set the IV pole back up by my bed, then jumped in and stuck the tape back over the small hole on my forearm. I closed my eyes just as the door opened and voices drifted across the room, accompanied by flashlight beams.

  “Who’s next?” a man asked.

  I opened my eyes and dared a quick peek.

  A guard looked down at the chart with and pointed to the other side of the room. “Jennifer Rogers, Bed 56, Row 10.”

  “The IV bag fell,” a man said.

  “Just put it back up and let’s go,” another said.

  They rolled the bed and IV pole up the aisle. I was so thankful a nurse or a doctor wasn’t with them to notice the IV bags weren’t in place. They appeared to have no medical knowledge and didn’t suspect a thing.

  One of the men laughed as he callously pushed the bed. “So, Curlicue here is what’s for dinner tomorrow night, huh? What is she? Like, five years old?”

  “I don’t know, but there’s not enough meat on her bones to feed us. Look how skinny she is.”

  “Fine,” the guard said, sighing. “She can be the appetizer, and Daddy Dearest will be the main course. Kyle Rogers, Bed 55, Row 10. He’s twenty-eight, so that oughtta do.”

  “Mmm! Lots of meat on this one,” a female yelled. “He’s big and buff, like a boxer.”

  “Ew. You gettin’ all hot and heavy over your food source?” a guy teased.

  “No! I’m just saying…well, he looks like a nice catch.”

  “Gross. That’s like falling in love with a bucket of chicken.”

  “I think you’d be more apt to do that, since they’re all full of breasts and thighs!” she snapped.

  “You guys are both sick!” another man said.

  “Pssh. Listen to Mr. Holier Than Thou over here. You eat the same thing the rest of us do.”

  That was when it hit me, like the proverbial ton of bricks. We were just livestock to them, like cattle. That must be why they asked so many questions about my health. Medical experimentation would have been horrible enough, but we were intended to be used for something far more sinister: fodder for the cannibals’ plates. It was then that I realized why the town
speople had chased us down: They traded any strangers who dared set foot there. Sick as it was, it was a case of desperate times calling for desperate measures, and they hadn’t enough food and weapons to survive. So they traded and made deals with the cannibalistic city. Still, even though we were going to make a run for it before anyone made meatloaf out of us, the thought of that little girl and her father being devoured by human beings was too much too bear. I literally felt sick.

  The whole thing seemed worse than some psychotic chainsaw massacre. These were doctors, not Leatherface and his backwoods crazy kinfolk. It was all so well thought out and organized, and that made it seem even more insane somehow. We had woken up in what we’d presumed to be a place called Mercy Hospital, but there was nothing merciful about it. Without a second thought, they’d drugged us and hauled us down to the basement, like herding cattle into the slaughterhouse. Truthfully, I was surprised such coldhearted monsters even wasted their pharmaceuticals on us, but it must have done their crippled consciences some good to euthanize in some sort of seemingly humane way. Now, we were all stockpiled down there like sides of beef, just waiting to be butchered for somebody’s barbecue or casserole. How could the entire town be so willing to feed on people like that? I wondered. It just so sick, so…unconscionable.

  They laughed and made small talk as they pushed the beds out the door on their squeaky casters.

  A minute or two after the door slammed behind them like the thick, metal door of a meat freezer, I jumped out of bed.

  “Food!” Sammy said, gasping. “They plan to use us for freaking food, Val!”

  “Not gonna happen, Sammy,” I said.

  “Well, if it does, I hope they choke on me!”

  Chapter 14

  “Calm down, Sammy,” I said. “We’ll get outta here, one way or another.”

  “But what if they catch us?”

  “No what if. You already know the answer to that,” Rob said, cradling his friend, her long blonde hair almost trailing to the ground.

  “I can’t believe the whole town is in on this,” Sammy said.

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Rob said.