Dead, but Not for Long

by Kinney, Matthew

  “I didn’t know he was a pilot,” she said. “He works here as a security guard.”

  “Well, that explains why he didn’t seem to know what he was talking about most of the time,” Reynolds said, rubbing his eyes.

  “You look tired. Are you all right?” she asked.

  He managed a smile but he shook his head.

  “I’m exhausted,” he admitted. “Since this whole thing started, we’ve all been working sixteen hour days and the lack of sleep is wearing me down.”

  “Where do you sleep? Do you fly to a base or something?”

  He nodded. “We’ve set up a temporary base, not far from here as the crow flies. There are a lot of infected around and we have snipers picking them off at the fences all night long.”

  “No wonder you can’t sleep,” she said. “We get that during the day here, but the snipers stop shooting at night unless we need to let someone inside.”

  “It’s a wonder we’re not all insane from this,” he said. He glanced at the helicopter and when he saw that the copilot seemed to be taking a nap, he continued.

  “The noise is bad, but it’s not the worst part,” he admitted. “We’ve lost so many men and women; some in battles with these deadheads and some later, from bites. One of our pilots got bit and managed to hide it but he turned during the night. I woke up hearing strange noises, so I got up to check it out. When I shined the flashlight around, I saw him. He was eating the man in the bunk next to mine. He had ripped off an arm and was chewing on it while I stood there with the light on his face.”

  Lindsey gasped. “That’s horrible,” she said after a moment. “What did you do?”

  “I shot them both in the head,” he said, glancing away. “They were both friends of mine.”

  “Lieutenant Reynolds, I’m so sorry,” she said.

  “Lee,” he said, “and it’s all right. Well, not all right, but it’s all part of our new world, I guess. It’s something we have to get used to.”

  “I can’t even imagine dealing with that,” she said. “We lost a lot of patients and employees, too, but nobody that I was close to.”

  “That part is difficult. And now it’s hard for any of us to sleep. It still bothers me that my buddy was killed in the bed next to mine and I never heard a thing until it was over. Seems like there would have been a struggle, but if there was, I never heard it. And since I slept through that, it makes me nervous about sleeping at all.”

  “Don’t you have a quarantine to keep this from happening?” she asked.

  “Only for survivors that we bring in to the base. Quarantine is waived for us. There are so many of us out there,” he nodded toward the city, “all day long. We’d have to quarantine the whole group and that’s kind of pointless. We have guards posted now, but it’s still hard to sleep.”

  “I don’t think I’d be able to sleep, either,” Lindsey said, shuddering at the thought. She shared a room with Autumn and they always moved something heavy in front of the door at night.

  Reynolds glanced at the helicopter again and shook his head.

  “Speaking of sleep,” Lindsey said, “it looks like your copilot is grabbing a nap while he can.”

  Reynolds grinned. “He’s amazing. He can sleep anywhere. I just keep drinking coffee and do my best to stay alert.”

  “Would you like a cup?” Lindsey asked. “We’ve got some in the cafeteria. Food, too, if you’re hungry.”

  “Real food?” he asked, his eyes lighting up. “I’ve been eating nothing but MREs lately.”

  She looked confused for a moment then said, “Oh, those dried meals in the packages.”

  “Right, Meals Ready to Eat,” he said.

  “You dropped off a bunch of those for us, but we’re waiting until our perishable food runs out before digging into them.”

  “They’re not all that bad. I’m just tired of them.”

  “Well, we have a new cook, Theresa, and she seems to be doing very well, so far,” Lindsey told him. “Snake and his guys were doing most of the cooking, but one of our patients was a woman who had worked in a school cafeteria. She was in surgery getting pins put into her broken leg when the outbreak happened. She offered to take over the management of the kitchen, and she’s doing a terrific job, though she’s in a wheelchair for the time being.”

  “It’ll probably help take her mind off of her recovery and it’s a definite plus for those she’s feeding, too,” he said. “Sounds like a win-win to me.”

  “I agree,” Lindsey said. “I’m always happy when we can find jobs that people enjoy doing.”

  “Snake was handling the kitchen before? He seems to be a busy guy,” Lee said.

  “Yes and now that he’s off kitchen duty, it’s giving him more time to help Jack out with security. Things are starting to fall into place. We’ve gone from having a handful of people handling everything to having about 80% of the residents working. Between the survivors who have trickled in, the recovered patients and the visitors who were present at the time, we’ve got quite a workforce.”

  “You’re doing better than most others,” Lee said. “You’re the only group of survivors that hasn’t asked to be evacuated yet.”

  That surprised Lindsey and she was curious to learn more about the others. She was about to ask when Reynolds spoke first.

  “You know, maybe I’ll take you up on your offer of a meal. I skipped breakfast today and I wouldn’t mind a bit to eat. I don’t even care if it’s out of a can.”

  “How about homemade lasagna?” Lindsey asked. “That’s what Theresa posted on the whiteboard outside the cafeteria today. She figured it was something she could keep warm so people could eat whenever they find time. It’s hard to get everybody to sit down at a meal together, as you can imagine.”

  “Lasagna?” Reynolds asked, eyes growing wide. “I think you just said the magic word. I love lasagna.”

  “You’re not the only one. This morning I kept seeing the bikers wandering over to the kitchen area, just to catch a whiff of the sauce while it was cooking. I have the feeling it’s going to go fast.”

  Lee walked over and said something to the copilot, who nodded and went back to sleep.

  “As long as I make it quick, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Reynolds told Lindsey. “We haven’t had a break yet today, so I’ll take mine now.” He nodded toward the helicopter. “He’s just going to sleep.”

  Lindsey took Lee down to the kitchen where one of the bikers was pulling a giant pan out the oven as a woman in a wheelchair watched.

  “You’re just in time,” said Theresa. She was a stocky woman in her mid-forties, her long brown hair tied up in a bun.

  “Grab a couple of plates and help yourselves. No salad to go with it, unfortunately, but we did fix some canned green beans.”

  “Thanks,” Lee said. “How did you break your leg?”

  “Skydiving,” she said, motioning for the biker to put the lasagna on one of the counters.

  Lee glanced at Lindsey, who shrugged.

  “Seriously?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “It’s not like I’m a newbie, either. It was my thirty-third jump. I just landed badly for some reason and that was all she wrote.”

  “Wow,” Lee said, shaking his head.

  “Get yourselves some food,” Theresa said, nodding toward the doorway. “I hear the bikers out there. Won’t be much left once they get to it.”

  Lindsey and Reynolds thanked her and dished up their food, finding some coffee to go along with it. They took a couple of seats at a table in the cafeteria and Lindsey couldn’t help but notice the stares. In the new, changed world, strangers could be trouble. It bothered her, but it was something else she’d have to get used to.

  As they ate, they talked about their pasts since it was easier than talking about the present. The time passed quickly and when they were done with their meals, Lindsey finally asked the question that had been stuck in her head for the last day.

  “You said that the surviv
ors who had been bitten were separated from the others,” she started. “What do you do with someone that’s been bitten? We’ve only had one of those cases since the initial outbreak here.”

  “How did you handle it?” Lee asked, holding his cup out for a refill when one of the teens on lunch duty walked by with a coffee pot.

  Lindsey noticed how effortlessly he had avoided her question and she wondered why he had done it.

  “The nurse waited until the man reanimated then shot him.”

  “Wow, tough nurse,” Reynolds said, raising an eyebrow.

  “It was Keith. He was in the military,” she said.

  “Keith? The big guy? He’s a nurse? I’d laugh but he’d probably squash me,” he stated. He stalled for a few more moments as he looked into his coffee.

  “The ones who have bites are taken to our temporary base,” he finally said, his eyes dark and haunted. He kept his voice down as he spoke. “We have to keep them cuffed in the back of the helicopter during the ride, in case they change mid-flight. At the base, we take them to an area that we call the compound. They’re kept as comfortable as possible until they die and they are not given the opportunity to reanimate.”

  His eyes grew distant for a moment and he told her about having to pull a child from the arms of her parents so that she could be taken to the compound to die.

  “I don’t think it’s something that I’m ever going to forget,” he said.

  There was silence for a moment as he was lost in his thoughts and Lindsey wasn’t quite sure what to say.

  “Do they always die?” she finally asked. They were no longer getting any news reports, and what they had heard before the blackout was inconsistent.

  “Always,” the Lieutenant said. “There is a 100% fatality rate for the infected so far.”

  He glanced at his watch and told her that he had to go.

  “I really enjoyed sharing this meal with you, Lindsey,” he said, offering her a smile. “I just hope I didn’t depress you with our less than cheerful conversation.”

  “It’s fine,” she said, returning the smile. “I was the one that started it, anyway. I guess we’ll all have to get used to the serious, grim conversations since I’m sure there will be plenty of them. In fact, I have more questions if you have time one of these days.”

  “Lunch again tomorrow, maybe?” he asked with a smile.

  “That sounds great,” she said, standing. “I look forward to it.”

  “I’d better run,” he said. “I’ll see you again tomorrow, God willing. We’re going after a large group of survivors on the west side of town.”

  “Good luck,” she told him, knowing that every rescue operation was fraught with danger. “And if all goes well, you can always have another of Theresa’s magnificent home-cooked meals.”

  “That’s just the incentive I need,” he said, waving as he turned to leave.

  Lindsey watched him walk away, hoping that his mission the next day would go well. She made a mental note to ask Snake and his buddies to keep the pilot and the others at the base in their prayers. They needed all the help they could get.

  ~*^*~

  ~22~

  For the next two days, Lt. Reynolds and his copilot continued to show up with survivors and supplies. Eric always tried to be there when the helicopters arrived so that he could “talk shop” for a while, as he put it. The pilots tolerated it, but it was clear that they were growing annoyed with him. Jack always tried his best to find something for the guard to do, but Eric often managed to sneak away to the roof when he heard the helicopters coming in.

  The newcomers were smoothly integrated into life at the hospital though space was starting to be a problem.

  Lt. Reynolds ate and talked with Lindsey both days while his copilot caught up on sleep. They had grown close in a short time, finding it easy to talk to each other. After lunch the second day, Lindsey walked the Lieutenant up to the roof when it was time for him to go. Halfway there, he took her hand and gave her a smile, which she returned. She tried to ignore the rapid beating of her heart, telling herself that she was acting like a teenager. When they reached the roof, he turned to her and gave her a tentative kiss. She didn’t stop him so he did it again, holding her a little closer. After a few moments, she pulled away with a sigh.

  “Lee, there’s something I have to ask you,” she said. “I noticed that you wear a ring.”

  “Yes,” he said, lifting his left hand to look at it. “I was married and my wife died.”

  Lindsey blinked, surprised.

  Lee saw the look on her face and shook his head.

  “No, not because of this,” he motioned to the city around them. “She died of cancer two years ago. I like to think I’m over it now, but I haven’t been able to take my ring off yet, so maybe I’m not.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t even imagine how difficult it would be to lose a spouse.”

  “It was,” he replied, running a hand over his short dark hair. “My friends didn’t get that part, and they kept trying to find someone for me. I finally gave in and started dating a few months ago. It just felt so fake, like I was playing a role. I dated three different women and it was the same with all of them. I’d be sitting there eating dinner with one of them, forcing a smile, struggling to find something to talk about and wishing I were somewhere else.”

  “Do you wish you were somewhere else now?” she asked with a slight smile.

  “No, I don’t,” he admitted. “I’ve truly enjoyed these last few days. I’d ask if I could take you on a real date but I don’t see that happening. I guess we’ll have to make do with our lunches together.”

  “I think that’s the best we can do in our current situation,” she admitted, giving his hand a light squeeze.

  “Reynolds? You ready to roll?” the copilot called over to him.

  “Just a second,” Lee replied. He turned his attention back to Lindsey.

  “Every time I leave, I wonder if I’ll see you again,” he said. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but I think about you a lot.”

  “I think about you a lot, too,” she admitted. “And you’ll see me again. We’ll both be fine.”

  “Well, I have something to look forward to each day now,” he said, kissing her again. “I’ll see you again tomorrow, probably around the same time.”

  “I’ll be here,” she said with a smile, letting go of his hand as he turned to walk away. She watched as he took off. When he circled the building and waved at her, she waved back. Even after the helicopter was no more than a speck in the sky, she stayed on the roof, not ready to go back inside just yet.

  There were a dozen iron patio chairs on the roof, built to withstand a strong wind. Lindsey wandered over to one of them and sat down to look over the city. The smell was putrid and the moaning of the undead was disconcerting, as always, but her mind was elsewhere. For the first time in a couple years, she had found someone that she was genuinely interested in, and it happened to be in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Talk about lousy timing, she thought. Odds were high that one or both of them wouldn’t survive long, unless something changed, and she had little hope for that. She knew that the smart thing to do would be to distance herself from Lee and not allow any more feelings to develop between them. It would be best for both of them. He didn’t need to be distracted by thoughts of her during the day and neither of them needed to lose someone close. In this new world it might be best not to form close ties, though it was probably too late for that. She’d already grown to like him and for that matter, those at the hospital had become like family to her. She had plenty of close ties now. She watched buildings burning in the distance and listened to a few scattered screams throughout the city. Maybe this truly would be the end of mankind, but Lindsey decided that if it was, she was going to savor every remaining moment she had. If she and Lee could only see each other for an hour a day, she would enjoy that time. She stayed outside another hour before finally going back inside to
check on Autumn.

  In addition to the twenty or so recovered patients, there had been almost thirty visitors in the hospital when the outbreak had happened, and most of them were now also working. Even the children were given undemanding jobs, such as helping with kitchen cleanup and giving Ernie a hand with some of the janitorial services. It was rare now that Ernie was seen without a group of children tagging along behind him as well as three or four adults that would be supervising once he was done with the training.

  “I see you have some new help,” Keith told him.

  “My trainees,” Ernie said, giving the younger man a smile. “I’m almost ready to turn them loose on their own now.”

  “You’re a good teacher,” Keith said, remembering his own first day at work, when he’d been hired to help Ernie after school.

  The old man chuckled. “Well, I’ve raised four kids of my own and I have a dozen grandkids now. I guess I’ve just had a lot of experience.”

  “That you do,” Keith said. After the death of Keith’s mother, Ernie had always been around to keep him steered in the right direction. More than once, Ernie had had a serious talk with him when he’d been going through tough times as a teen. When Keith’s grandmother had suggested the military, Ernie had backed her up on the idea and had helped to convince him to enlist. Keith was forever grateful for that. Many times over the years, Ernie had acted as a surrogate father to him and had even gone to his graduation from college, looking as proud as any father there had looked.

  “What about your kids, Ernie?” Keith asked, not sure if it was a good idea, under the circumstances. “Are they still all up north?”

  “Yes, thank God. All in the Traverse City area,” he said. “I talked to my oldest boy yesterday and he’s been in touch with the rest of them. I let him know what’s been going on here and told them to get ready in case it spreads. They wanted to come to get me but I nipped that idea in the bud real fast.”

  Keith patted the older man’s shoulder and said, “Maybe we can get you to them once things settle down here.”

  “Maybe,” Ernie said.

  Ernie had immigrated to the United States from Scotland as a young boy, settling in Alma, Michigan with his family. His wife, Annie, had come from the Marquette area and they had met as children on Mackinac Island, where both families had been visiting for a vacation. They had become pen pals and had kept close contact with each other throughout their childhood. The year they graduated from high school, they both took summer jobs on Mackinac Island, working at one of the large hotels and staying in the dorms. It was the best summer of Ernie’s life and he had proposed to Annie on their last day on the island.