Taking It Back wfotd-2

by Joseph Talluto

  “No trouble,” Charlie said. “Any idea where we are going? If you plan to check every room, three hours ain’t gonna be enough.”

  Actually, I had thought about that. Ellie had told me the designer of the building had a wife who was a nurse. She influenced him enough to make sure there was a decent lounge for the nurses, as well as the doctors. The designer went one further, giving the nurses of the hospital not only a lounge, but a balcony as well. Most of the other staff, especially the doctors, never knew it existed, since they had their own little world. Ellie had said the balcony was her favorite place since she could sit out there and feel the world go by. The balcony faced south and she told me she liked to “pretend she could see our house and watch over her little boy” even though she was at work. If she was anywhere, she would be on that balcony. I braced myself for the possibility that if she was there, she wasn’t going to look good after a summer and winter exposed to the elements.

  “We need to head to the third floor, then look for the nurse’s lounge.” I squirted ammonia down one hallway, then the other. The scent was nearly overpowering and Charlie and I ducked into the stairs. I hoped the ammonia would mask our scent and prevent us from having to fight our way back to the boat. We only had about two hours left before we had to go swimming.

  24

  In the stairs, it was fairly dark, with only a little light filtering down from a skylight on the roof. I could smell death on the stairs, but it wasn’t the decaying smell of the zombies. There also wasn’t any blood smell lingering in the stairs, so I wondered what the story was. I pointed my flashlight down towards the basement and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I looked at the doors and realized the zombies would never be able to breach this sanctuary given the steel doors and small windows. As long as they couldn’t operate a doorknob, we were pretty safe.

  We moved cautiously up the stairs and saw on the second floor landing what the cause of the smell was. A hospital worker had apparently been trapped on the stairs by the zombies, dehydrated, and then died there on the landing. Charlie quickly went through his pockets, but came up empty. “No keys, huh?” I asked.

  “No, but it would have been helpful,” he said, straightening.

  I nodded and we reached the third floor landing. I snuck a quick peek out into the hallway through the window, but it was hard to see anything. The stairs looked out into a hallway, but the only thing I could see was a wall. I really didn’t want to burst out into a floor full of zombies, but I had little choice. Charlie and I held a brief powwow and we agreed that it would be better to blast through the door and kill anything on either side.

  I was going to take the left, Charlie was going to follow me for a step, then take the right as the door closed. I braced myself with my rifle, making sure magazines were within easy reach and unobstructed. I also made sure my weapon light was ready. No point wasting shots in the dark if I could help it.

  Charlie pushed the door open and I slid out, moving forward enough so Charlie could let the door close behind us. Immediately to my front was a small gaggle of zombies, loitering around the nurse’s station. They turned to look at me, then as it registered what I was, they let out a collective moan that sounded like a roar in the small hallway, and started shuffling forward.

  “Fuck you very much, thanks for asking,” I said as I fired into the group. A doctor-looking zombie took the round in his eye and fell to the ground, tripping two more behind him. Another zombie fell from another shot, and a third as it got up from falling. The immediate threat over, I waited for a better shot as Charlie opened up on his side, firing two shots close together, then two more. I would have chastised him for wasting ammo if I didn’t know he had just nailed four zombies. No more firing from his side as two more advanced on me. I put their diseased carcasses down for good, then motioned Charlie to follow me.

  We moved quickly down the hall, passing a bank of elevators. I roughly knew where I was going, keeping to the points of the compass. I had to hit the end of the hallway, then turn south. That back hall should have the nurse’s lounge. It was the only wall that faced south and if my directions weren’t totally screwy, we should be able to find it.

  Coming to a main hall crossway, I looked around the corner and nearly lost my cookies. I had seen a lot of carnage since the Upheaval, but this was unbelievable. It was if someone had thought to insulate the hallway in blood and entrails. The guts didn’t look like they had been merely torn out, they looked like they had been tossed aside after being torn out. Body parts lay everywhere and all of the parts had teeth marks or bites taken out of them. The slaughter was immense. I couldn’t imagine what this must have been like, the screams and moans must have driven anyone witnessing this to insanity.

  Charlie bumped me with his elbow. “Down the hall movement.” He turned on his light and aimed down the way. “Aw, hell.”

  I flicked on my light and looked for myself. “Dammit,” was all I had to add to the conversation.

  At the end of the hall was a sign that read “Welcome Friends!” It was brightly painted to alleviate the fears of the admitted patients. As I looked at the advancing horde, nothing could have prepared parents for what had actually happened. It was a children’s ward and the little victims were headed this way, looking for revenge.

  “No time,” I said to Charlie as he let out a breath to begin firing. He stopped himself just in time. “We’ll deal with them on the way out.” I squirted some ammonia to keep the scent off and we passed the hallway of horrors.

  Rounding the corridor corner, I popped a zombie lurching towards the junction, his glowing eyes like beacons in the dark. My bullet entered his right eye, blowing his slightly glowing brain all over the wall behind him. A chorus of little moans answered the shot and the sound gave me the chills.

  “Found it!” Charlie said, opening he door. He jumped back as a zombie fell out, it must have been leaning against the door. Charlie quickly stomped the Z in the head, killing it. He looked over at me with a slight grimace on his face, but a quick check with my flashlight showed the Z wasn’t Ellie. I shook my head and Charlie’s shoulders sagged a bit in relief.

  As I moved towards the door, another sign got my attention. ‘Medical Supply’ was on the door and I opened it to find a virtual cornucopia of drugs and supplies. Charlie looked over my shoulder and said, “I’ll get what I can, the doc can sort it out later.” He grabbed a sheet from a nearby room and began placing boxes of supplies in the center.

  I moved into the nurse’s lounge and quickly scanned it for additional surprises. There weren’t any and I made my way through the couches and chairs to the balcony doors. I opened the door and let in a great deal of sunlight into the lounge.

  On the balcony, there were several tables and chairs, all of them empty. My heart fell as it looked like Ellie wasn’t out here. I was going to have to leave without closure after all. I turned back to the door and looked over to the corner of the balcony. A chair had been overturned and it looked like something was in the corner, hidden by the chair.

  I walked over, and as I got closer, I saw a body was in the corner. Hoping against hope, I approached the body, the light of the sun blocked by the floors above.

  I reached out a hand to move the chair, and I was surprised at how nervous I was. I pulled the chair away and looked down at a small body. It was curled up on its side, seeming to be sleeping. One look at the skeletal arms and head and I knew this person had been dead for a long time. The elements hadn’t been kind, wasting the body away to a thin, dried out skeleton. I stood up and was about to walk away when something sparkled at me. I knelt down and pulled the left hand closer. When I got a look at the ring on the finger, I dropped to my knees and took off my goggles and mask.

  “Oh, Ellie.” The ring on her finger was the little wedding band I had bought when I had no money and worked part time to get extra cash for her ring. It was a small diamond, but Ellie had told me at the time that it looked big to her and that was all that mat
tered.

  I gathered her into my arms as I knelt there and just held her for a moment. It didn’t matter that she was dead, that she was just skin and bones. It mattered that I had lost her, that my world had been turned upside down. But I lived and our son lived and part of her would always be alive in him. “I kept my promise, Ellie. I kept your baby safe. You probably know that, but I just wanted to tell you. He’ll grow to a fine man. I promise.” New tears fell on her face as I cried. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m so, so sorry. Please forgive me.” Sobs racked my body as I held her close, shaking the two of us.

  25

  After a long moment and a deep breath, I gently laid her down and put my mask and goggles back on. I took her wedding ring and engagement ring off and put them in my breast pocket. They were for Jake when he wanted to get married. His mother would have approved. I picked Ellie back up and brought her into the lounge where I wrapped her in a blanket and laid her down on the couch. I had no intention of bringing her out, but I did intend to bury her as I left. As I stood up, I thought I felt a gentle touch on my cheek and my heart inexplicably felt lighter. I immediately knew I had done the right thing and I also knew I was forgiven.

  “Get busy living,” I said to no one in particular. Patting my pocket, I headed for the door just as Charlie burst in.

  “We gotta go and we gotta go now!” He panted, stealing a glance at the door. He was carrying a huge sack over his shoulder like a kick-ass, zombie-killing Santa Claus. He looked down at the couch. “Did you…”

  I nodded. “I found her. I’m good.”

  “Are you bringing her with us.?” Charlie asked.

  I shook my head. “No, but I’m going to make this place her funeral pyre. It killed her, now I’m going to kill it,” I said, the rage building inside.

  Charlie put a hand on my shoulder. “You’ll die in that mood. Get your head on ‘cause we got trouble.”

  “What are you talking about?” I calmed down slightly.

  “Those zombie kids are on the loose and they are fast. I saw one of them move quick enough to be considered running,” Charlie said.

  That was bad news. Fast zombie children in the dark was a literal nightmare come to life or unlife, as the case was.

  “Fuck it, let’s move,” I said, swinging up my carbine, with Charlie doing the same.

  I moved into the hallway and headed back towards the stairway. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw several pairs of glowing eyes moving quickly behind us. They weren’t running, but they were darn faster than any zombie I had seen before. I paused for a second at the corner and snapped a shot at the gang, blowing a small head apart and causing others to fall as they got tangled up in the falling body.

  “Move, move, move!” I yelled to Charlie and we both sprinted down the hall towards the stairs. On the other side of the hall, other small shapes were advancing rapidly. High-pitched moans reached my ears as we made the stairs. Charlie threw the door open and dashed inside, the big bag of supplies knocking me back a step. I pulled the door shut as the first little zombie slammed into the door, managing to get an arm wedged in the opening. The grayish arm grasped wildly, trying to get purchase on something. I pulled hard on the door as half a dozen little hands grasped the edge and started to pull. I braced myself and put a leg up on the door jam, pulling desperately. I could hold it closed, but the arm prevented me from closing it completely.

  Not sure what to do to resolve the situation, I was relived when a large arm holding a handgun appeared in front of me and aimed through the door opening.

  “Pardon,” Charlie said as he fired several rounds, the shots echoing up and down the stairwell. The owner of the arm was thrown back against others and the brief respite allowed me to close the door completely. Severed fingers dropped down on the floor. I slumped against the door and caught my breath as little clawed hands scratched against the small glass window in the stairwell door.

  “Thanks, man,” I said as I followed Charlie down the stairs.

  “Told you they were fast,” Charlie said.

  “No kidding. That would explain the carnage. Wonder why they’re fast, but the adults aren’t.”

  “No idea. I’m still getting used to the glow-in-the-dark eyeballs.”

  We reached the ground floor and moved quickly. I stopped again at the janitor’s closet and grabbed some liquid soap. Charlie and I ran down the hall and burst out into the sun at the top of the ramp leading to the landing, which led down to the dock and the missing boat.

  Both Charlie and I looked at the dock, then each other, then the dock again. Tommy and Angela were nowhere to be seen.

  I immediately thought the worst, that Angela had fooled us all and had killed Tommy and taken the boat. I had no proof, no signs of violence, nothing. I looked at my watch and we were a full hour early, so Tommy would not have taken off with the bad news.

  Charlie must have been having the same thoughts I was, he was gripping his rifle so hard it shook

  I could hear him muttering, “…hunt her down…long as it takes…”

  I thought about it for a minute, then gave up. I had something else to do. I walked down the sidewalk towards the door by the dock. I figured it was a maintenance shed and after a minute jimmied the door. I pulled out an empty gas can and poured the liquid soap into it. I dug around and found an old, greasy rag and tied it around the handle. Moving back to the ramp dock, I knocked on the small fuel tank that was used to refill the ones on the ferry boat and was gratified to hear gas inside. I took out a hollow spike from my pack and a small ball peen hammer. I chose a spot near where I thought the gas level was and used the spike to punch a hole in the tank. Gas spilled out through the tube and I quickly moved the can into position to fill it up. Once it was finished, I let the gas spill out of the tank before retrieving my spike. I washed it in the canal before replacing it in my pack.

  I took the can and ran it back inside, taking a moment to make sure the coast was clear. I planted the can near the stairs at the far end of the hall and pulled out a small book of matches. I pulled out a match and stuck it in between the other matches, then placed the book under one corner of the rag. I pulled another one and lit it, then lit the outside match. I sprinted down the hall, leaping the zombie pile Charlie and I had created earlier. Behind me, I could hear a small hissing sound as the matchbook caught on fire. I moved around the ramp wall and sighted the now-burning rag with my AR. I aimed slightly lower and fired. Nothing happened, so I figured I missed and tried again. This time, the can blew, and the fire lit the escaping gasoline nicely. The soap helped it to cling to everything it touched and soon the entire back hallway was on fire. Black smoke billowed out the ramp opening and escaped to the sky.

  I admired my handiwork for a second and walked back to the dock to stand next to Charlie, who was watching me with interest.

  “So that was what the soap was for,” he said. “Nice one. I’ll have to remember that.”

  “Learned it from an outdoor magazine,” I said.

  Charlie said nothing.

  The fire burned well, spreading quickly in the hospital. Smoke began filling the air and on the second floor, a window had blown out, and flames were licking the sides of the building, trying to get to the third floor. I sat down on the dock and removed my squeeze bottle of kerosene and my pickaxe. Squirting a little kerosene on the blade, I lit it and watched it burn for a minute, flaming red as the virus burned. I dunked it in the canal to put out the flames. I did the same to my boots, an awkward exercise, but after practicing for a while, we had gotten pretty good at it. Charlie did the same for his weapons and boots.

  “What do we do about getting back home?” Charlie asked, adjusting the sack on his shoulder.

  I looked up the canal. “Take the boat, of course.” Tommy was moving down the canal at a decent clip, steering the pontoons over to the landing. Charlie and I stepped over and onto the boat, with Charlie unloading his burden at the rear. I plopped down into a chair and leveled a ga
ze at Tommy, who seemed remarkably unfazed.

  “Finish your business?” he asked innocently, steering the boat away from the landing and heading back down the canal. I looked back and saw flames shooting out of the windows of the nurse’s lounge.

  Rest in peace, Ellie. I thought. Rest in peace.

  I nodded, then fixed Tommy with a stare. “Any particular reason why you decided to go for a cruise down the canal and leave Charlie and I to fend for ourselves?” I looked over at Angela. “I thought maybe you were a good liar and I was going to have to hunt you down.”

  Angela looked scared and Tommy looked hurt. “I know how it looks, but I think you’ll forgive us in a second.” Tommy nodded to Angela, who handed me a piece of paper. Curious, I opened it and stared. I looked up.

  “What…where…how did you?” I was stunned into near silence. Charlie came over and I handed the note to him and he looked at Angela and Tommy as well.

  “I can’t take credit. Angela found it,” Tommy said.

  I looked over at Angela. If she had ever needed to prove her worth, she had just done so and in spades. “Tell me,” I said.

  Angela smiled and said, “It was by accident, really. I was standing over on the edge of the canal and a piece of paper floated by. It had writing on it, so I fished it out and saw it was a survivor note, like the ones families used to write when they were escaping sieges.”

  I stared hard at her and Angela shrugged. “My grandfather was a survivor of the siege of Stalingrad when he was six years old. His mother wrote a note in the hopes they would be found by his father. People wrote hundreds of these notes, hoping someone would find them and be able to reunite with them later.

  “Anyway, I showed it to Tommy, who thought we should head upriver a bit to see what we might find. We figured you all wouldn’t be out for a bit and if you were you would just wait a minute.”