The word reverberated throughout the house. Eric and the kids heard the desperate cry from the basement and ran upstairs. Cheri was on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably while Miguel stood with his hands buried in his face. Hearing the kids approach, Cheri did her best to regain her composure. Wiping her tears, she turned to the kids and pulled them into her arms.
Miguel had been trying to stay unemotional. When the disease had infected the University, he and several others had barricaded themselves in the biology lab. Amongst the group were a couple of biology professors. They were in agreement that this illness was probably transferred by bodily fluids, which could very well include blood, saliva, sweat, and tears. Exposing his family to any of these was a risk he couldn’t take. He wanted desperately to say goodbye, to give them one last hug. But watching Cheri break down made the tears begin to flow. Now he was poison. He cursed himself for being weak. He cursed himself for not picking them up in his arms enough when he was healthy. Now, it was too late. He knew he would never hold them again. He started to shake more violently and he knew that he had waited too long. Stumbling to the door, he looked at his family one last time. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Cheri held the kids tightly and shook her head.
“Please, don’t go,” she begged him. “There’s got to be something we can do.”
He shook his head no, turning a pale white, and stumbled to his truck. Starting the ignition, he slumped over the steering wheel and stepped on the accelerator. Eric, Cheri, and the children ran outside to see the truck weaving back and forth along the dirt road. Marie looked up at her mother and asked, “Is Daddy coming back?”
Cheri didn’t answer and as badly as Eric wanted to reassure the child, he had no reply. If their father came back, it wouldn’t be a joyful reunion.
They watched helplessly as the truck sped down the country road, kicking up a cloud of dust behind it. After weaving from side to side for about half a mile, it sharply turned toward a drainage trench and then disappeared from sight in the cloud of dust that obscured it.
Cheri started to run toward the truck.
~*^*~
~17~
“I have a few suggestions with the schedule,” Keith said. “I think we should keep the night shift to a minimum and let these poor patients actually try to get some sleep during that time. We can use the empty rooms for staff to sleep in and we can all be on call. This way we’d only have to worry about two shifts, not three. I think we could get by with one nurse for the night shift if we do this.”
There was a bit of discussion amongst the doctors and Dr. Chan, the cardiologist, finally stood. “None of us doctors have been involved in the details of scheduling for the nursing staff. We’ll stay out of that and just work out our own rotation between the four of us.”
Dr. Sharma tugged at his lab coat and whispered something.
Dr. Chan glanced back toward where Dr. Doune was standing. “So there are five of us, apparently, if Dr. Doune won’t mind helping us out.”
Nick shrugged. “I’ll help. We can talk about the schedule when the meeting is over.” He had no problem with helping but it would be on his terms whether the others liked it or not.
Keith added, “We also have no dietitians and no cooks, though Snake and his crew have offered to help with that. There are several other jobs that also need to be filled. If some of the patients or visitors are able to help, talk to me, Jack or Snake and we’ll find something for you to do.”
Jack walked to the front as the crowd began to disperse.
“If I could have your attention for one more second, Snake brought up a valid point. When night falls, this may be one of the only buildings in the area with power, thus one of the only buildings that is lit up. This will be a beacon for survivors all over the area if there are any. Some of these people may come in with wounds, scratches and cuts. You get the point. We need to have an area of quarantine for these people where we can observe them and make sure they don’t infect the hospital population.”
“We could use the ER,” someone suggested. “It’s going to be empty for a while.”
Jack nodded and said, “We also need to know a little about this epidemic, so we know how long to quarantine, who to quarantine, etc. I’m no medical professional, but it seems like this would be the perfect facility to study this epidemic.”
“I’ll oversee that part,” Dr. Doune said at once. “It will be difficult with the tiny, outdated lab we have, but I’ll do what I can. I’d need an assistant or two that could help out. They wouldn’t need to be there all the time but I’d need someone available to do some running around so my time can be spent on the research.”
The lab was a sore subject with Dr. Doune. The hospital was small and there was much debate over how to use the limited space. There had been a battle over downsizing the lab in favor of a maternity and pediatrics ward and Doune had fought it, tooth and nail. The opposition had argued that most of the lab work could be outsourced but that the neighborhood needed the maternity and pediatrics wards. He had disagreed, pointing out that the new hospital, which was less than a mile away, had both a modern maternity facility and a top rate pediatric department. Having those same departments in St. Mary’s was redundant and a waste of space, in his opinion. He’d been overruled.
Autumn was eating some mashed potatoes at a table with Lindsey, half listening to the conversation. Her hand shot up when the doctor mentioned testing. She was sure this would involve blood, and flesh.
“That sounds cool! We’ll help!”
Lindsey stopped chewing and looked at Autumn.
“Unless you’re just way too busy,” Autumn added sarcastically.
“I don’t think it’s an appropriate job for a girl your age to be doing,” Lindsey stated.
“What, you think I’ll faint at the sight of blood? You heard him. We’ll just be running around getting stuff.”
Lindsey had never felt comfortable around Dr. Doune. There was nothing she could pin down, but there was something about him that made her nervous. She hated the way he looked at her. Not like he was undressing her with his eyes, but like he was filleting her. Autumn was right, though. She wasn’t that useful right now and it would give her something to do.
“Well, Doctor,” she asked, “can you use us?”
“You’ll do,” Dr. Doune said. The girl was undoubtedly a patient, so she might have health issues, but if she got sick, he’d just find someone else to take her place. The woman worked in the hospital though he wasn’t sure where. He’d seen her before and was quite sure she wasn’t a nurse. He searched his brain and was able to recall seeing a name tag on her once before. Physical Therapy; so she had to be fit from working with patients. Perfect. He didn’t think that she would be the type to complain about hard work.
“I’d like to start getting set up right after the meeting.”
He pulled out a small notebook and began to jot down some notes. Looking up, he said, “I heard that you were able to detain one of the infected persons on the third floor. I’d like to examine him since he may be able to give us some clues as to the nature of this outbreak.”
“Uh, that might be a problem,” said a voice from near the doorway.
Doune turned to look at the biker, waiting for an explanation.
“I kind of finished him off,” he admitted.
“I’d still like the body,” Doune said. “It won’t be quite as helpful but it’s better than nothing.”
“Well, I kind of tossed it out the window. Sorry,” the biker said, sheepishly.
Doune sighed and turned back to his notes.
“Anything else?” Jack asked. Nobody replied, so he announced that the meeting was over. Some of the attendees immediately left to get back to their stations, while others began to talk amongst themselves. Jack approached Lindsey as she was finishing her lunch.
“Can I see you privately for a second?”
“Sure,” Lindsey said, getting up from her seat.
&n
bsp; “Hey!” Autumn yelled. “No secrets!”
“Adult stuff,” Jack replied.
“Oh, gross,” Autumn said, turning her attention back to her meal.
“I’d like you to keep an eye on Dr. Doune, if you don’t mind,” Jack started. “The guy’s a genius, but the board has investigated him a few times for unethical behavior. Never pinned anything on him, but you may want to watch him. If you see him doing anything questionable, tell me or Keith.”
“Sure,” Lindsey assured him. “Honestly, the guy gives me the creeps.”
“You’re not alone,” Jack said as he walked away. He pretended not to notice Doune watching as he left.
Nick Doune had noticed the little discussion between Jack and Lindsey. He was used to it and had an idea what the security officer was saying; the usual warnings about his lack of ethics. In general, ethics were nothing more than a hindrance to his work, in Nick’s opinion, but he was careful not to step over the line. The last thing he needed was to end up in prison with a bunch of lowlifes. Of course, things had changed now. The old rules might quit being relevant before long and if that happened, it would open a whole world of possibilities to him.
Stepping over to Lindsey, he said, “Well, if Jack is done warning you about me, we can get on with our business and see about getting the lab set up.”
Lindsey started to speak but Autumn interrupted her.
“Do we get to dissect anything? I can’t wait to take biology in high school. We’ll get to dissect a frog. I saw a dead frog once, well, kind of. It got run over by a car, so there wasn’t much left of it. It was cool. You could see its guts and everything! Can we dissect a zombie?”
The child had potential, Dr. Doune thought, raising an eyebrow. As long as she didn’t talk all the time they should get along just fine.
“Exactly what I plan to do,” he told her. “And I have no problem with you assisting as long as you follow my rules precisely. The last thing we need is to have you accidentally infect yourself and to create another little ‘zombie.’ You’ll see,” he added, “frogs are quite boring compared to humans.”
Lindsey and Autumn followed Dr. Doune to the lab next to the ER while Jack went outside to check on the fortification progress. Two men were quickly laying block in the window openings and several people were bringing in more cinder block and mortar. The glass main entrance had already been closed off, making a metal side door the new entrance. Occasionally a shot would ring out and a body would drop in the parking lot.
“Must be running out of food,” Snake said, approaching Jack. “They’re coming more frequently and I’m seeing a lot more of them in the streets. Glad we’re well-armed now.”
“Once we get this finished, I suggest we pull the snipers,” Jack replied. “If this thing lasts as long as I think it might, we may need to go easy on our ammo.”
“I’m with you, Dude,” Snake answered, “no reason to keep shooting if we’re all closed up.”
Jack looked at the parking lot for a moment in contemplation. “Maybe this is a stupid idea, but how hard would it be to wall in the parking lot?”
Snake thought about it for a moment. The hospital walls already covered two sides, so it would only take two walls, though it was a large area.
“Moose, come here for a minute!” he yelled to the big biker that was doing most of the masonry work. When Moose had first joined Snake’s posse, his name had been Tom. Since Moose’s tall stature and thick build coupled with his blond hair reminded Snake of Moose Mason in the old Archie comics, he was immediately given the moniker. When Snake had learned that the man worked as a mason, he had found it even more fitting.
Moose scraped the mortar off his trowel and walked over.
“Yeah, Boss?”
Snake asked him the question Jack had posed.
Moose paced off the parking lot and came back to scribble some notes down. He had a little trouble with the math, which was not his strong point, so Snake helped. After some discussion, Snake nodded and turned back to Jack.
“We can do it. We’ll need a whole lot more supplies but it sounds like the place they got the block and mortar from had plenty more. Moose thinks he can teach a couple of the guys to help lay the block and the others can help mixing the mortar and carrying the block around. We’ll also need some of them to keep the dead back.”
“We may not even need it if this gets resolved soon,” Jack said, “but I’d like to have a plan in case it doesn’t.”
“Just say the word if you want to do it,” Snake said.
~*~
“Wonderful,” Doune said, looking around the lab.
The room had been thrashed, with microscopes laying on the floor in pieces and other equipment destroyed as well. Someone had made an effort to clean the blood off the walls and floor, but it was going to need a lot more work.
With the help of Autumn and Lindsey, the room was cleaned and sanitized to Doune’s strict standards. Lindsey had been a little surprised when the doctor had helped. To her, he seemed like the type that would think himself above menial labor.
“We’ll need an operating table,” Doune said, running a hand through his hair as he paced the room. “And restraints, as well as surgical tools. If the two of you can find a table, I’ll go up and get the tools I’ll need.”
Without waiting for an answer, he made his way to the top floor, where he had a small office he used when he was at the hospital. He opened his notebook on his desk and began to gather the tools he’d listed, checking each one off as he did so. The last thing he grabbed was his laptop before closing his door again.
“Doctor, can you check on one of your patients?” a nurse named Amelia asked him before he had the chance to leave.
Sighing, Nick took a few minutes with the man before ordering a change in medications.
“What happened in this meeting?” Amelia asked, having opted to stay with the patients.
Doune gave her a quick summary, anxious to get back to his research.
“Don’t you forget about your patients,” she said sternly. “I know how you get with your research.”
“Amelia,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“And don’t you roll your eyes at me, Mr. Brain Surgeon. If you don’t come back to check on them in a few hours, I will come down and get you. You know I will.”
“Dr. Brain Surgeon,” he said. Amelia was the best surgical nurse that Doune had ever worked with, so he tolerated behavior from her that he wouldn’t accept from others. He had a hard time keeping nurses since he tended to offend them on a daily basis.
“I’ll be back. I promise,” he said. With the help of one of the CNAs, he gathered up the rest of the items he needed and took it all down to his new lab.
~*~
“Wait!” Eric yelled.
Cheri stopped and looked back at Eric. Her face carried an expression of total hopelessness and Eric felt a rare spark of compassion well from deep within him. He could see just a bit of the truck as the dust settled far down the road. He looked at the children, their faces flush with fear, and he decided that he was tired of being a coward.
Cramming himself into his recently compacted police car, he headed down the road and stopped a few yards short of the truck. He got out and cautiously surveyed the scene, one hand reaching to check for his pistol stuck snugly in his belt. The vehicle had caught the drainage channel on the side of the road and had rolled several times before settling on its roof in the ditch.
Eric pulled the pistol from his belt and raised it cautiously in front of him, knowing that Miguel could well have become like the others. He made his way carefully down the small hill to the truck. Stooping over, he peered through the shattered glass. The broken glass was covered in blood, but there was no sign of Miguel.
Standing upright, Eric breathed a sigh of relief until he heard the guttural moan and felt the hot breath on the back of his neck.
~*^*~
~18~
“Perfect,” Doune said, when he sa
w the operating table and the straps. He looked at Lindsey and said, “Why don’t you lay down and we’ll try out the straps, just to make sure they’ll work.”
Lindsey shuttered to think what would happen if she complied. Sure, Autumn was there, but Lindsey was beginning to wonder about her, too. She imagined herself with her chest cut open and Autumn gleefully commenting, “Look! I can see her heart beating!”
“Not a chance,” Lindsey said, abruptly declining the Doctor’s request.
Dr. Doune put the restraints in place so that they’d be ready when the time came. He turned to look at Autumn and said, “Assuming you’re old enough to read and write and can do it legibly, can you add a few things to my list?”
He pulled out the notebook he always carried and handed it to her.
“I can write pretty good, but the spelling may not be perfect. If you want perfect, you can hire a secretary.”
Doune mentioned several additional items that were needed from other areas of the hospital and Autumn wrote them down.
“With the resources that are available, most of my research will just be observational, unfortunately,” he commented. “Perhaps at some point it will be possible to bring back some equipment from my private lab, but until then I’ll be spending a lot of time watching the infected and studying their behavior.”
“How far away is your lab?” Lindsey asked.
“A couple miles from here,” he replied, “on the outskirts of the city.”
When Autumn was done, she put the list down and looked at Dr. Doune.
“My mom and dad died in a car wreck a few years ago. Do you think they’re zombies now? If they are, maybe we could figure out how to cure them.”
“Do you have any idea what they’d look like by now?” Dr. Doune asked her. “Believe me, you wouldn’t want them tucking you into bed at night.”
“Zombie parents wouldn’t scare me,” Autumn said expressionlessly. “You should have seen some of my foster parents.”
She got a rare grin from Nick for that one. Just as he’d thought before, the child had potential.
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