by Sue Edge
"We don't even know if it is a disease." Emma said without conviction.
"Disease, mass hallucination, act of God. Whatever it is, it kills people and then brings them back with an addiction for human flesh."Ken said dryly. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it would be bad if it has spread."
Emma shuddered. I wrapped a protective arm around her. "We are all aware of what's at stake here, Ken." My thoughts raced. What about the children's ward? ICU? Most of the patients in this hospital would be unable to defend themselves!
Ken deflated and looked sheepish. "Sorry. Bit stressed."
I couldn't help myself. I laughed out loud. "That's seems the understatement of the day."
Ken grinned and Emma giggled nervously.
The sound of moans filtered through the doors. We sprang up nervously. "We need to move." Emma's voice trembled. "There are so many of them. What if they get through?"
"We need to know what we are dealing with before we go anywhere." Biggs came over to stand in front of Ken and Emma. "Fill me in on what happened up here. The more I know, the better I can deal with the situation."
Emma nodded and took a deep breath, watching the doors anxiously.
"I was lucky." She smiled a little, aware of the irony of that statement. "The miners died within minutes of each other. We left them on the trolleys while we cleaned up. I was in the next room getting supplies, but Alana and Jan were in the room with the bodies..." She swallowed and looked away. "I heard them screaming and when I ran in, Jan and Alana were on the ground and two of those monsters were eating them, chewing on their faces, their stomachs."
Emma squeezed her eyes shut as the memories slid over her. "I ran back into the supply room and locked the door. They came after me and banged on the door for a while. I just prayed and prayed and then I heard them move away. They were making grunting sounds, like they'd gone back to ...eating. And then the screams from the other rooms started." She shuddered. " I hid in the cupboard until I heard Ken calling my name."
Ken's mouth tightened. "I was in the men's when it started. When I came out, the others were already dead or dying. That's how quickly it happened. When I trying to get out, I saw Jan and Alana dead on the floor and the supply room door shut; I thought maybe, just maybe, Emma was still alive." He looked at her with a half smile. "I had to know for sure."
She returned his smile. "I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life. I might never have let you go if I hadn't seen... "
"What?" Biggs tried to urge gently.
"Jan and Alana. They sat up." Tears filled her sapphire eyes. "No noses, lips, cheeks, stomach but they got up without any sign of pain." She bit her lip. "I knew that they were dead. Yet there they were...walking."
Ken continued. "When I felt her body tense, I turned around, and they were coming at us." He shook his head at the memory. "Thank God their faces were so messed up that they couldn't see very well 'cos they tripped over some boxes. I just grabbed Emma's hand and ran right past them."
Biggs frowned. "So your walking dead theory is all based on those nurses having more resistance to pain than you? Jesus."
"No!" Ken exclaimed. "We saw others - hell, Brian was dragging himself along the floor - and he'd been torn in half." Ken choked and looked away.
"Go look through the door window, Biggs, if you didn't get a good look earlier." I said steadily. "But I think you already know the truth in your gut."
For a long moment, no one said anything.
"Yeah." Biggs answered heavily. "Okay, then." He turned to leave.
"Biggs." I said, unsure of what to say but knowing I had to say something. "One of the paramedics was bitten this morning. He began showing all the same symptoms as these things, shortly after. It's probably nothing to worry about." I hastened to say. "The majority of people who are exposed to an encephalitis virus never go on to develop any symptoms but we really need to get these guys treated. Just in case."
He absorbed this new information silently and then shook his head. I heard him mutter as he strode away, "I knew I shouldn't have got out of bed this morning."
It seemed to take forever but it was probably only five minutes later when Jim returned. He entered the room at a trot, which immediately sent my alarm bells ringing. I sat up, heart beating faster. "Time to relocate, folks." He said, in his deadpan way. "We've got dead people heading our way. Most of the ER, if I am not mistaken."
6
"How long have we got?" Biggs barked, doing a quick count of his remaining bullets. I exchanged a long look with Emma. I knew she was thinking of all the people we'd worked with every day, just as I was. Was it possible that they were all dead - or one of these creatures?
Jim raise a brow. "Five minutes if we're lucky. The stairs were proving a bit of an obstacle but I wouldn't count on that stopping them for long."
"Right." Biggs turned to look at all of us. "Considering the loss of communication, we have to assume most of the hospital is lost. We need to concentrate on getting out of here alive now."
"If we get to the roof, there's a ladder on the side we can use to get down." Emma spoke up eagerly. There were nods all around.
"Okay, let's head to the elevator." Biggs snapped.
I snorted. "Oh I don't think so." He turned to glare at me but I met his eyes defiantly. "Think about it. We have no way of stopping the elevator from stopping at any of the above floors. If the upper floors are lost, as you put it, we could find ourselves being delivered straight into the arms of those monsters." Just the thought of it caused a shiver to run down my spine.
Jim grinned appreciatively at me. "She's got a point there, Biggs."
Biggs grunted a reluctant acknowledgement. "Stairs it is, then. Let's go!"
As our small group headed in the opposite direction to the ER, I couldn't help glancing nervously over my shoulder. The thought of being trapped in these narrow halls with those creatures made me feel sick. I blocked the thought and focused on where we were going. The hallway was really only wide enough for three people walking side by side. Biggs and Jim were cautiously leading the way followed by Emma and me. Behind us, Jack was being assisted by Ken while B1 and his mate, the blonde guard who was bitten in the calf, were keeping a close eye on the corridor behind us.
Up ahead, I could see the surgical wards looming. Biggs and Jim slowed down as we approached the doors and brought their weapons up. Biggs nodded at Jim, who slid along the edge of the wall and carefully peered around the wall. I held my breath as he pulled back again.
"Looks clear. Five patients lying in bed. "
Biggs nodded. "Move on, folks."
"Wait!" I grabbed his arm. "We can't just leave them here! They're sitting ducks."
The sudden compassion in his eyes made my heart contract. "There's nothing we can do for them. They can't get out of bed and we can't protect them. Our ammunition won't last five minutes in a confined space like that."
Emma suggested. "If we lock the doors..."
Biggs glanced at her. "You know those doors weren't designed to withstand significant pressure, like a horde of dead people pressing on it."
"It will at least give them a chance." I said grimly.
"Well, you'd better hurry!" yelled B1. "Here come the fucking zombies!" I jerked around to see a mass of dark figures appear at the top of the far stairs. They dragged, stumbled , lurched and fumbled over the steps. It occurred to me that it would have been an amusing sight in normal circumstances. Then the momentary humor fled as the creatures appeared to catch sight of us. Like a locust plague, the mass of torn figures surged down the hall towards us.
The others bolted down the hall. "Come on, Lori!" Emma called desperately over her shoulder as I hesitated.
"Damn it!" I grabbed the doors and pulled them shut, flicking the lock. I sent up a quick prayer that the ...zombies ...were too stupid to work out how to work the lock and then ran after the others.
Oh God. Another ward. A quick look behind me turned my guts to water as I
saw the horde was catching up. The pressure of the zombies pouring up the stairs seemed to be forcing the front ones to move faster. Some fell and were trampled, but not enough to stem the flow. I knew I didn't have time to lock all the doors and to my shame, I kept running past the wards. I starting screaming over and over "Lock down! Lock down!" in the hope that any remaining staff or able patients would lock the doors. I knew that the doors wouldn't withstand a determined onslaught by the zombies but with their current focus on us, maybe it would be enough.
I caught a glimpse of a startled nurse standing at the door to the Oncology ward. "Lock the doors!" I yelled at her. "Lock down!" I don't know if she listened to me. I hoped she did. Nurses are trained to react quickly and ask questions later.
Ahead of me, the group slowed as we reached a T-junction. The fact that we had seen no sign of the zombies so far filled me with hope that we might make it to the roof without trouble; that maybe the problem wasn't even widespread and that there was a perfectly legitimate problem with the phones. However, the sight that greeted us as we turned the corner dashed that hope as if it had never been. Blood pooled on the floor and dripped down the walls. Sheets lay scattered on the floor of the ward across from us. I caught a glimpse of a bloodstained mattress hanging off a bed. The complete absence of movement or sound made the scene surreal.
The stairs waited temptingly at the end of this suddenly endless corridor. Behind us, the susurrating moans of the zombie horde brought an image of a pine forest I had grown up near; the sound the wind made as it blew through the tops of the trees. Haunting. Mournful. Unstoppable. I shivered.
Beside me, B1's mate (B2, I nicknamed him immediately) looked over his shoulder anxiously. "What should we do?"
Before anyone could answer, slow moving figures started emerging from the wards ahead of us. By the pajamas they wore, they were - had once been - patients. Now they stared at us with empty, implacable eyes and the ugly pallor of the dead. I barely noticed the gaping wounds that marked their bodies as they moved towards us.
We backed into a tight circle, trying to keep an eye on both sides of the corridor. "Any ideas would be welcome, guys." I joked, trying to calm my panicked breathing. I could hear Emma sobbing quietly behind me.
"Nothing for it but to shoot our way through this group, I reckon." Jim said dryly, nodding at the figures ahead of us. "A handful of them, a handful of us. Seems a fair fight."
B1 laughed a bit hysterically. "Oh yeah, real fair."
Jack suddenly spoke up for the first time since he'd received his injuries. "Someone take my gun." He held it out towards us. "My arm is...burning. I, I don't think I can shoot." I noted with alarm the flush in his cheeks. Ken stepped forward and took the gun, checking it in a surprisingly professional manner. "Let's do it."
"Wait!" I cried. Crossing the hall, I opened the janitor's cupboard and pulled out a broom. Holding it at an angle, I snapped it with my foot and handed one half to a startled Emma. I quickly removed the broom head and smiled grimly as I wielded the jagged piece of wood like a dagger. "Now I'm ready."
7
As I plunged my stake through the eye of an old lady, I experienced a moment of pure surrealism. How did a day that started out with porridge and babies become about fighting for my life? How could I, who had never killed anything bigger than a cockroach, be driving a stake through another human being? Reality came crashing back as the old woman collapsed at my feet, only to reveal another creature behind her. As its blood-stained hands reached hungrily for me. I screamed involuntarily and scrambled backwards into Jim's broad back. Swinging around quickly, he immediately assessed the situation and shot the zombie charging me as casually as if he were playing a carnival game. The zombie went down like a piece of lumber, giving me a few precious seconds to regroup.
Emma cried out and I saw that one of the creatures had grabbed her by the hair. Her eyes were wide with terror as she clutched her stake and struggled to turn around. Without thinking, I jumped over the fallen zombie and launched myself at the creature. We crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs. With desperate strength, I forced its head away from me while I struggled to sit up. Releasing my hold suddenly, I grabbed my stake with both hands and plunged it with all my might through the eye of the zombie as its teeth bared in anticipation. Blood and viscous goo splattered over my hands as the body stilled under me.
"How are we going?!" Biggs yelled as he blew a hole through the head of another zombie. Around his feet lay a growing circle of bodies. It felt like we'd been struggling with these zombies for hours but it must have only been a few seconds. Jim coolly responded. "Almost clear on this side." A few feet away, B1 and B2 surged forward, blasting zombies with gusto, as Ken followed closely behind, supporting the injured boy with one arm.
Glancing back, I saw the first of the zombie horde coming around the corner. A young woman in shorts, most of her left thigh and chest missing, ambled towards us. Oh God, a toddler moved unsteadily on little legs beside her, both arms chewed off. A woman in a nurse's uniform, her face so messed up that I couldn't tell if I knew her or not, followed. In another thirty seconds or so, the horde of tearing hands and teeth would be upon us.
"Guys!" I yelled in warning, my heart thumping so hard that I fleetingly wondered if there was a limit to how much terror a heart could bear.
"Out of bullets!" B2 called out as he flipped his gun around and viciously pistol whipped a zombie away from him.
"Move it!" Biggs yelled. I scrambled to my feet and saw the way ahead was clear. A few zombies continued to stagger out of the wards towards us but we could make it past, if we were quick.
Grabbing Emma's hand, I raced down the hall towards the stairwell, dodging the outstretched arms of the remaining zombies. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ken and B1 carrying the injured boy alongside us. I could hear Emma's labored breathing as we ran determinedly towards our only chance of freedom. Finally, the stairs beckoned just a few feet away. A quick look over my shoulder showed the boys close behind - and immediately behind them, the pressing horde.
Emma and I reached the stairs and paused to let Ken and B1 through first with the injured man. As we turned to follow them up, a scream rent the air. I jerked around to see B2 being dragged into the horde. Teeth descended upon him and started tearing chunks of flesh from his body. He screamed again in agony and terror.
"Do something!" Emma shouted desperately. Wordlessly, Jim turned around and took careful aim. A shot rang out and B2's cries abruptly stopped. As Emma stared at Jim, aghast, he shoved her up the stairs. "Go." We turned and ran up the stairs as the zombies reached for us.
To our relief, the stairs slowed the horde's implacable onslaught, allowing us time to reach the next floor safely.
"Which way now?" B1 puffed. Jack was looking pale and spaced out as he hung limply between Ken and B1.
I nodded to the right. We hurried quickly but cautiously down the hallway. There was no sign of violence but the heavy silence was forbidding. As we reached a corner, I pointed to the right and whispered. "There it is." Midway down the hallway, I could see the stairwell to the roof.
As we quietly moved off, I suddenly noted where we were and stopped in my tracks. The others paused and looked at me quizzically. I felt sick to my stomach as I realized what I was going to do. "I'm sorry, guys. I have to check on the children's ward. If there's a chance that any of them are still alive..." I tried to swallow the lump of fear in my throat. "I'll catch up with you as soon as I can."
Trembling, I clutched my stake hard and headed down the left hallway. My brain screamed at me to turn around and I wanted to, God knows, but I just couldn't live with myself if I left helpless children to the mercy of those monsters making their way up the stairs.
"Shit." I heard quietly behind me, and turned to see first, Jim, and then Biggs and Emma hurrying after me. "Let's make this quick."
B1 looked at us incredulously. "Are you kidding me?" He tried to whisper harshly. "We haven't got time for this!"
As I neared the entrance to the children's ward, I slowed and strained my ears for any sign of movement within. Nothing. I felt Jim's breath in my ear. He nodded at Biggs who swung past with his weapon at ready. My heart sank as he sucked in his breath quickly. I followed him as he slowly entered the ward. To my surprise, I saw the whole group was still with me, even though B1 was glaring at me furiously.
My heart broke. Bed sheets lay bloody and tangled on the beds and strewn across the floor. A sob escaped my lips as I saw a broken, torn body lying in a cot. Its head had been ripped off its little body.
"Okay, can we go now?" B1 whispered too loudly. I nodded wordlessly. As I turned to go, I heard something. A rustle. I held my hand up abruptly as I strained to hear it again. There! In the bathroom.
"It's one of them!" B1 said, raising his gun. The men lined up their weapons as I ran forward and pulled at the door. It was locked but there is always a reverse lock for staff access. I flicked it and pulled open the door. There, huddled in the bathtub, was a girl, maybe 8 years old. Her eyes flew up to mine in terror as she scrabbled back against the smooth edge of the bath.
I flew forward to soothe her. "It's okay! See, I'm normal, like you." I stuck my stake in my belt, grabbed her hand and pressed it against my warm cheek. "See?"
The fear dissipated from her eyes as she searched my face. Then, she flung herself at me and buried her face in my neck.
"Can we go now?" B1 demanded edgily. I picked the girl up in my arms and we headed for the doors.
"Too late." Jim murmured, flinging up a hand to halt us. He peered around the corner and pulled back quickly. "They're here."
8