Bill eyed a metal box containing a First Aid kit and some other medical instruments, but they were all out of reach. He would need to let go of the door and that wasn’t an option. The arm twisted and grabbed hold of his sleeve. The door opened a bit more as she used her shoulder, trying to force her way in. Bill pulled on the handle with all of his weight, trying to crush her arm. He could hear the other growls grow louder. There was a sudden banging on the side of the ambulance. His heart leapt in his chest.
Not able to come up with another solution, Bill removed his right hand from the handle and began to punch the clawing arm, trying to dislodge it from the door. The girl began to twist her arm more furiously and blood dripped down the inside of the door, her flesh was ripping, as she continued to work her way inside. The banging on the outside of the ambulance grew louder and the growls more intense. Then, a set of thick, sausage fingers with hairy knuckles, not belonging to the girl, curled around the opening of the door, right above the arm.
Bill winced. Something sharp was jabbing his upper thigh. It took him a second to realize what it was. Keys! he thought. My keys!
He eyed the lump from the key ring in his pocket, and then his fingers that were slipping from the door handle. He returned both of his hands to the handle until he felt he had a better grip, and then, with his right hand, he quickly let go. Reaching into his pocket, he fumbled with the key ring for what felt like an eternity, but in reality, it was only seconds, and then yanked them from his jean pocket. With the car key, he jammed it into the girl’s arm, stabbing her several times. Finally, the girl yanked backwards, her arm pulling free of the door. The door slammed hard on the sausage fingers. He then opened and slammed the door again. The fingers released.
Heart throbbing wildly, breathing erratic, Bill latched the door. He knew it’d only been a matter of minutes, but he’d felt like he’d been struggling with closing that door for hours. Bill scooted backwards until his back was against the wall. The infected continued to pound away on the ambulance. Bill leaned over the bench built into the side of the wall and scooped Benjamin up into his arms. He hugged the little boy close to him. He remembered how his son couldn’t open the bedroom door to get to him. It was as of the fever had destroyed his ability to think. He doubted the infected would figure out a way inside the ambulance now that the door was closed. It was as if the fever drove people to the brink of insanity and then they keeled over and died, but not after taking more people down with them.
At the thought of the dying, Bill hugged the little boy harder. “Please, don’t die,” he begged, tears escaping his eyes. He kissed his son’s forehead. “I’ll get you help, Sport. I promise. Just don’t die on me.”
Chapter 18
Surprised that no one had attacked her, Amanda gathered her courage and peered through the glass doors of the hospital. There were bodies scattered on the tile floor inside. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no infected were closing in on her while she checked out the hospital. Nothing moved. And there were still no sounds of people or traffic. The eerie silence seemed to be affecting her more than the dead bodies surrounding her.
Amanda cupped her hands and pressed her face as close to the glass as possible to get a better look inside. Still, there was no movement. The infected police officer that’d freaked her out last night, was slumped down on the floor, his back against the glass, skin white and puffy, head tilted to the side. Amanda wondered if the patrol car she’d taken refuge in had belonged to him. She pulled on the locked door and shook it. She bent down and tapped on the glass next to the police officer’s head. He didn’t move.
Again, she nervously glanced over her shoulder. Still no movement. She wondered if she should even bother with trying to find another way into the hospital, or just go somewhere else. If she could just make it inside, she could phone for help. She’d also be able to look for Jasper and find a nurse or doctor to consult with about his condition. Surely, they were holed up somewhere safe inside. She doubted that everyone inside was dead. At the thought, Amanda suddenly felt all alone and wanted to hyperventilate. What if everyone was dead? What if she was the last person alive? She quickly pushed the absurd notion from her mind. It was silly to think like that. There was no possible way that everyone was dead, but her. She was freaking herself out. The hospital had been filled with infected people. That’s where they gravitated to for help. Those that didn’t receive help had died. She should forget the hospital and go somewhere safe. Somewhere away from the infected.
Taking small shallow breaths, she tried to force herself to calm down. She needed to concentrate on finding help. A panic attack would only make matters worse for her. She concentrated on slowing her breathing. She looked up and down the street.
What about Jasper? she thought. He might be locked inside. She wearily looked again at the locked doors. The hospital had probably been locked down to try to contain whatever this thing was from spreading. She eyed the dead bodies on the pavement. Obviously, it didn’t work.
Amanda carefully walked down the cement steps. She stood at the bottom and decided she’d walk towards the city, away from home. A part of her wanted to head in the direction of home, but she remembered the traffic last night. Everything on the freeway had been at a standstill. Right now, she needed to find a phone… to find a populated place, with people to help her. Stepping over the bodies, one at a time, careful not to step on one, she kept one hand over her mouth and nose. The smell was growing and so was her nausea. Stepping in something wet and squishy with her bare feet, Amanda cringed. Her stomach lurched while feeling the gooey substance between her toes, and bile rose into her throat. She didn’t want to know what it was or where the substance had been expelled from, or from which body. She didn’t look down to examine it. The last thing she wanted to do was to start throwing up. She eyed a fountain up ahead in front of the hospital and forced herself to move on, carefully watching where she was stepping. There were bodies near the fountain as well. She tried to concentrate on getting to the water. Seeing the water jetting up in the middle of the fountain made her realize not only how bad she needed to find a restroom, but just how thirsty she was.
When Amanda reached the edge of the fountain, she sat down on the cement wall and dipped her hands into the water, splashing it on her face. The water was cold and rejuvenating. She was wondering if she’d get sick if she drank some of it. Maybe just a sip. Was the water chlorinated like pool water? She wasn’t sure. They must add something to the water to keep it from being riddled with algae and bacteria, she thought. Deciding against drinking it, Amanda swung herself around and plunged her feet into the water. She wanted to wash off whatever that gooey excrement was that she’d stepped in. She walked around the inside of the fountain, feeling the smoothness of the navy blue tiles beneath her feet. She froze, when she noticed a woman’s body floating on the other side. Quickly, she scrambled to the cement ledge and climbed out. She thanked her lucky stars that she didn’t chance drinking the water. It was bad enough that she’d splashed it on her face.
Looking around, Amanda tried to figure out where to go from here. All she knew was that she needed to get out of here. Get away from the bodies. The amount of infected people that’d been trying to obtain help for themselves, and their loved ones last night, was unbelievable. It broke her heart. All these people were so desperate for help. Just as she had been to find help for Jasper. Now they were all dead. No one could help them. Tears pricked at her eyes as she continued to work her way over, around, and through the maze of bodies. She wondered if all hospitals were like this one. Had they all been swarmed? Were they now filled inside and out with corpses?
To her relief, Amanda eventually made it to a side parking lot near the hospital. She let out a deep breath, unaware of the fact that she’d been holding it for so long. She noticed that the amount of bodies had lessened the further she moved away from the hospital. That was a good sign. It meant she was moving in the right direction, away from the infected. She
wondered if she’d soon be stricken with whatever the hell this virus was, and lose her mind. Chances were pretty good that she’d get sick too. She pressed her wrist to her forehead as a precaution. As far as she could tell, no fever. Her skin was still cool and clammy from the fountain. Amanda generally caught every little thing going around. If someone even sneezed in her general direction, within a day or two, she’d begin sneezing, too. She’d always tease that she’d live forever because her body would eventually become immune to everything, since she’d already caught everything.
Again, Amanda’s mind drifted to Jasper. She’d been in close proximity to him while he was ill. In fact, she was quite surprised she hadn’t become sick already since she’d been cooped up with him in her apartment when he first came down with a fever, and then later in the car on the way here, she’d been breathing in his germs. Maybe she’d get lucky. Amanda glanced back at the hospital. Why would she believe that God spared her life and not these other people? She was no one special. There was no reason for her not to become one of the unfortunates.
Amanda stopped by a young Birch tree in the lot, tied to a stake, anchoring it to the ground. Feeling a bit lightheaded, she grabbed hold of the trunk and steadied herself. She stood there for a moment, catching her breath while studying the cars parked in the lot. From what she could tell, they were all empty. She then peered into a silver sedan parked closest to her and tried the handle. It was locked and there were no keys in the ignition. Not that she really expected people to be dumb enough to leave their keys in the ignition. She just kind of hoped that with all of the commotion last night, people would have become scatterbrained.
Maybe she should try each of the cars in the lot. See if anyone left their keys behind. She might get lucky. But then again, she might just be wasting her time. At this moment, she really wished she knew how to hot-wire cars like her cousin, Ricardo, but she never paid attention to how he did it. She had been what most people would refer to as a wild teenager. One of her favorite past times had been going for joy rides with Ricardo, in cars that he stole, on the weekends. She, herself, never had stolen one, but she had loved the thrill of the ride all the way until they got caught. That’d been enough to scare her straight. Well, almost.
Being that her cousin had been eighteen at the time, he hadn’t faired too well. She had only been fifteen, and was lucky. She’d gotten off with a slap on the wrist and some menial time doing community service. However, seeing what her cousin had gone through had been the wakeup call she’d needed to put life on track.
Amanda thought back to her troubled youth and how stupid she’d been. Even when she’d straightened herself out, she still managed to muddle everything up. She was always doing stupid things, or hooking up with people that were doing stupid things. Her mind drifted to Jasper. Her relationship with him was a prime example of stupid. Not that she wanted anything bad to happen to him. She prayed that he was all right. But she knew he wasn’t good for her. She knew he was a cheat and a liar. Why she continued to see him was beyond her knowledge. Right before all this craziness happened, she’d planned on breaking it off with him. She was going to tell him good-bye for good. They were in the middle of an argument about his ex when he’d gotten sick. She couldn’t leave him when he was sick.
Amanda worked her way through the parking lot, peering into the windows of cars, until she reached a sidewalk. The plan was that she’d follow the sidewalk until she found someone to help her. That and shoes would be nice, she thought. She’d seen a lot of available shoes on the dead people, but couldn’t get herself to take a pair. Even though they obviously wouldn’t be needing them, it just didn’t seem right to take them. That, and the thought of wearing shoes that were on a corpse, creeped her out.
The ground was cold and hard under her feet. Amanda crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. She wasn’t shivering due to the cold. The morning sunlight was burning through the fog and she could feel the warmness beginning to caress her skin. She was shivering against the horrors surrounding her. Nothing felt real. It was as if she was trapped in a bad dream and couldn’t wake up. This isn’t real, she told herself. It can’t be. It just can’t. Knowing full well that this was real, tears trickled down her cheeks. She was lost, alone, and feeling helpless.
***
From behind, Ellie watched as Mike easily cut through the desert foliage. The distance between them grew as Ellie’s pace slowed down. She didn’t say a word. She was too tired to speak. She kept quiet and followed. Her stomach grumbled and Ellie pressed her hands to the dull aching pain in her gut. Not only was she tired, hungry, and thirsty, but she was feeling faint. Probably from dehydration. Ellie’s body wanted to stop, to sit down and rest. But her brain told her to press on. Not that there was anywhere to sit down anyway. Not comfortably. Besides, her legs were being scratched up enough walking through the desert. The last thing she needed was to sit amongst the prickly mass of plants.
Mike looked over his shoulder at her. “You okay?”
Ellie forced a smile. “Yup.”
“Just making sure,” he said, slowing his pace, waiting for her to catch up. “Don’t want you to pass out on me.”
Ellie didn’t answer. She wasn’t about to admit to him that she just might pass out. She didn’t like feeling weak.
“Then I’d have to carry you,” Mike continued, searching her face.
Ellie forced herself to grin again. “Yeah, we wouldn’t want that.”
“We’re almost there,” he encouraged.
Ellie nodded.
They came up along the side of the property. A chicken wire fence encompassed the sand and tumbleweed backyard. Ellie followed Mike around the fence towards the front of the house. They walked across a makeshift gravel front yard, infested with weeds. The gravel crunched underfoot as they approached a cement front porch. When they reached the front door, Mike knocked. There was no answer. Mike knocked again and waited. Still no answer. He also rang the doorbell.
“Looks like no one’s home,” Ellie stated the obvious.
Mike raised an eyebrow at her. “Looks like it.” He walked over to a window to the left of the door. He knocked on the window. “Hello! Sheriff! Anyone home?” He waited for a moment and then placed his hands on the window, trying to move it. I didn’t budge.
“Well, now what?” Ellie asked, staring in the direction of the highway.
“We find a way in,” Mike said, walking past her. She followed after him.
“Isn’t that illegal?”
Mike turned and looked at her over the rims of his aviator sun glasses. “What do you suggest we do?”
Ellie pursed her lips before answering, “You have a point.”
Mike walked around the small stucco house to a gate. He unlatched it and entered the chicken wire fenced in backyard. He tried another window. Locked. He then found a faucet with a hose attached near a sliding glass door and nodded at it. Taking his cue, Ellie grabbed the hose and turned on the faucet. To her relief water sputtered and then flowed from the hose transforming the sand beneath her feet into a thick paste. She kept her hand on the end of the nozzle, feeling the water temperature; at first, hot, and then cool. She put her lips near the nozzle and drank until her stomach hurt, not even noticing Mike prying open the sliding glass door and entering the house.
Ellie was switching off the faucet when Mike stuck his head out the door. “It’s empty,” he said.
“Oh,” Ellie waved the hose at him, “did you want some?”
“Got a drink from the sink,” he said and disappeared back into the house.
Ellie dropped the hose into the sludge that’d formed in the sand and followed Mike into the house. It was dark inside, and significantly cooler, even though it was warm and stuffy. She stepped into a small living room with an old sofa that was littered with newspapers, a coffee table piled high with a jumbled mass of magazines, and a small box television set, propped up on a beat up oak table, across from it. An acrid scent lingered in the hous
e. Ellie waved her hand in front of her nose. “God, what’s that smell?”
“Don’t go into the bedroom,” Mike warned, opening the fridge in the small kitchen. Ellie eyed the closed door to her right.
“And what’s left of the food in the fridge isn’t looking too great neither,” Mike said. “No electricity, plus already rotten food, doesn’t make for a pleasing experience.”
“Is someone… is someone in there?’ she asked, still staring at the closed bedroom door.
“Someone was in there.” Mike closed the door to the fridge and began searching the cupboards. “Don’t open the fridge. Not good.”
“Was…” Ellie repeated.
“Was,” Mike said.
“Man or woman?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“Man.”
“Was he old?”
“Older,” Mike answered. “Why?”
“I don’t know.” Ellie shrugged. “Seems easier to accept, I guess.”
Mike didn’t say anything to that.
Knowing the source of the smell made Ellie’s stomach lurch. She pressed her hand to her mouth and closed her eyes. When she re-opened them, Mike had his arm around her, guiding her to the sofa. He cleared the newspapers from one of the cushions and motioned for her to sit down. “Here. They’re a bit stale, but edible.” He handed her a box of saltine crackers and then set a red plastic cup filled with water on the coffee table. “Eat.”
Ellie wrinkled her nose and frowned at him. How was she supposed to eat while breathing in the disgusting odor of a rotting corpse?
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