Marionette Zombie Series (Book 7): The Forgotten Place

by Poe, S. B.

“Yeah, I mean since he’s probably gonna die anyway. You decide if you want to try.”

  “I think she expects me to try.” Raj said nodding towards the bedroom door.

  “Don’t worry about her. It’s your call.”

  “Even if I said okay, I don’t have what I need to do it with.”

  “What do we need?”

  “I need a hospital but short of that I need a scalpel or extremely sharp knife, like a modeling knife, a suture kit at best or a sewing kit at worse. Oh god this isn’t going to work.” Raj shook his head.

  “Get it together if you’re going to do this.” Bridger said. “If not?”

  “You’re right.” Raj took a breath. “And I’ll need a saw.”

  “A saw?” Lori turned.

  “For the bone.” Raj said. “And I’d like to have some kind of anesthesia.”

  “We can us this.” Lori said as she snatched the bottle of whiskey from inside the cabinet. “There’s two or three more in there.” She said.

  “Let me see that.” Bridger took the bottle from her. “Nice stuff.”

  “That won’t work.” Raj said.

  “Can’t you just get him drunk like in the movies?” Lori said.

  “Sorry, didn’t go to movie medical school. I did go to Duke medical school, and they taught me that too much alcohol causes alcohol poisoning. And if we got him drunk enough to do what I need to do, he’d probably die. We need something else. Lidocaine would be best. The big guy in there…” Raj started.

  “Vernon.” Josh added.

  “Yeah, Vernon, he said there was a doctor’s office inside the barricade.” Raj finished.

  “We just came back from there. Grabbed those bandages over there.” Lori said and pointed to the pile on the table.

  “Was there more stuff?” Raj asked.

  “Probably. We didn’t look too hard. Didn’t really know what to look for.” Josh said.

  “Well, we do now. Show me.” Raj said.

  “Hey, hey.” Bridger said. “Before you go, hand me another one of those bottles. I know someone across the street that could probably use a drink.”

  “She shouldn’t be drinking in her condition.” Raj said.

  “She’s dying. That’s her condition. If she wants a drink, I’ll give her a drink.” Bridger said as Lori handed him a bottle. “Besides, I might want one too.”

  Violet came down the hallway from the back of the house. She glanced in each room finally arriving at the office just as Bridger headed out the front door. She looked around the room and then looked at Josh.

  “Have any of y’all seen Peter?”

  “Peter?” Raj asked.

  “My nephew. I’m trying to remember the last time I saw him. Emma Grace and Vernon haven’t seen him either.”

  “We’re heading back to the doctor’s place. We can look for him on the way.” Lori said.

  “Okay, thanks.”

  Lori grabbed the backpack and shouldered the shotgun. Josh led the way. Violet and Raj followed behind. They all turned as the screen door behind them opened again and Vernon came trotting out.

  “Y’all wait up.” Vernon called. “You find Pete?” He asked as he got to Violet.

  “No. We’re going to look now.”

  “I’ll help.” Vernon said.

  Emma Grace stood at the window watching as the group walked away. She turned and went back into the bedroom.

  “What’s going on Emma Grace?” Cody asked as she sat down on the bed.

  “There’s a bunch of people here and they are all trying to help you.” Emma Grace said.

  “Do you really believe that?” Cody leaned back on the pillow.

  She didn’t answer.

  6

  Heavy Lifting

  Jahda stood on the porch looking at the deadun on the ground. A garden trowel stuck out the side of its head. She swung the door open and stepped inside. When the flashlight swung across the wall, she could see the splatter of blood and brains. She shined the light a little lower and saw the old woman lying on the floor. Her eye was shot out. Jahda stepped back out onto the porch.

  “Yeah, we’ll skip this one. It’s gonna need maid service.” She said as she closed the door.

  Martin and Ham stood in the yard watching. Jahda joined them and they walked to the house next door. Charlie and Jennifer came out the front door.

  “This one is good.” Charlie said.

  “Great, y’all can take that one. We’ll take the next one.” Martin said.

  “Does this feel right to you?” Charlie asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess.” Martin said.

  “I guess it just feels like we’re stealing or something. I know we’re not, but still.” Charlie said.

  “We’re not doing anything wrong. We’re not.” Jahda said. “We’re surviving and we’re not hurting anyone doing it.”

  “You’re right.” Charlie said. “You’re right.”

  Kate stepped out onto the porch of the next house and walked down the sidewalk towards them.

  “How’s she doing?” Martin asked.

  “She’s resting.” Kate said. “She complained the bed was too soft. She wanted to lie on the floor.” She smiled.

  “I’ll go check on her as soon as we get settled.” Martin said.

  “Evelyn is gonna stay with her until she goes to sleep. Listen folks, the sun is going to be going down soon, I say we find a house or two we can sleep in and start figuring out who lives where tomorrow.” Kate said.

  “This house is good to go.” Charlie said, pointing to the house over his shoulder.

  “We’re about to check the next one.” Martin said.

  “That shall not be necessary.” Cameron hobbled up to the others. “Whilst you were endeavoring to explore yon house, I endeavored to explore this one. It is well made and acceptable for our needs.”

  Bridger came out of the big house and looked across the street. He saw them all standing at the end of the sidewalk talking. For a brief moment it all seemed normal. The houses lining the street needed some serious yard work but other than that he could imagine this being an early summer afternoon in a world he remembered. His neighbors would gather in the common area of the condo complex he lived in and hang out. Occasionally a grill would be brought and burgers cooked and everyone would seem to be enjoying themselves. Bridger watched from his window because he told himself he wasn’t a group kind of guy. He looked down at the bottles in his hands and started walking.

  “Evening folks.” He said as he hefted the two bottles aloft.

  “What’s that you got there Bridger?” Charlie asked smiling.

  “Little hair of the dog.” He handed one of the bottles over.

  Tilly sat down on the roof of the firetruck and looked at the creek below. The water swirled as it flowed around the bridge pilings. The rocks on the bank were strewn with garbage and bits of clothing. The far bank was thick with overhanging trees and bushes that formed a green wall on the shore. The bridge was littered with cars, barbed wire and other debris. Her eyes followed the cable up to the first stanchion. She could see the ropes dangling.

  “I told you.” Ed said.

  “How did they do it?” Tilly asked.

  “Looks like they just used the boom, down to load em, up to hold em.” Ed said.

  “How’d they catch em?” Scott asked.

  “Vernon can tell you, he helped do it.” Devin replied.

  “And this is the only bridge across this creek?” Tilly asked.

  “For ten miles either way. Maybe more.” Ed said.

  “What are those buildings?” Tilly pointed toward the large outline on the other side of the creek.

  “The old Weaver Mill.”

  “Weaver Mill?”

  “It’s a textile plant. Shut down ten or twelve years ago. Most everything else went then too. A couple of trailer parks down the road a bit and then nothing till Mississippi.” He said.

  “Mississippi?”

  “About thirty
miles straight ahead.” Ed pointed across the bridge.

  “Good to know. Let’s head back.” Tilly said as she jumped down from the truck.

  They walked down Mercer Street and came to the edge of the barricade. As they turned towards the setting sun, they saw another group crossing the street ahead of them.

  “That’s Raj.” Tilly said as she shielded her eyes. “Let’s go see what they’re doing.”

  The other group went into the back of an old office building. Tilly and Scott followed them inside.

  “I’ll just wait out here.” Ed said. “That’s Doc Hardy’s office, it always gave me the creeps.”

  “Fine.” Tilly said. She stepped inside. A voice called out.

  “PETER, is that you?” Violet asked.

  “Sorry, just us.” Scott answered.

  “Did y’all see a little boy? About this tall,” Violet held her hand out, “brown hair. Shit what am I saying. Ain’t no other kids around here.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I haven’t seen him since last night.” Devin said.

  “I think we should go look at the church. He might have gone over there.” Violet said.

  “Why?” Devin asked.

  “That’s where his mother’s buried.” She turned to go out the door.

  “I’ll come too.” Vernon said.

  “I think they got this, I’ll help.” Devin said. They walked out the door.

  Tilly watched as Raj pulled open some of the drawers of the filing cabinets against the wall.

  “What are you doing?” Tilly asked as Raj looked around the rest of the office.

  “I need a surgical kit, some lidocaine, a syringe and and…” Raj started.

  “Hey, hey, what’s going on?” Tilly said as she grabbed his hand.

  “Sorry. That man back at the house, I am trying to help him but I don’t know if I can.”

  “Help him how?”

  “I need to take that tourniquet off and when I do, I am going to have to cut away the dead tissue and sew it up.”

  “Can you do it?”

  “I think so, if I can find the right stuff.”

  “Well let’s get to looking.”

  Tilly and Raj went into the first exam room while Josh and Lori ventured further down the hallway. Raj opened the tall cabinet against the back wall and rummaged through the shelves.

  “This will work. Look at this.” He turned to Tilly. “Suture kits, syringes. There are even a couple of cauterizing pens in here.” Raj grabbed a couple of each. “We need to get all this stuff, we could use it.”

  “How about this stuff?” Tilly asked as she slammed the butt of the gun against the lock on the small cabinet beside her. The door swung open.

  Raj went over and looked through the vials. He found several ampules of lidocaine but what made him smile was the amoxicillin suspension powder. If he managed to pull off the amputation, he might need it.

  They walked back into the hallway and turned to see Lori coming towards them. He stuck out his hand full of items and Lori swung the backpack off. She unzipped it and put the things inside.

  “We need to show you something.” Lori said.

  They walked to the other end of the hallway and Josh stood at the door. The door was one of those old office doors where the top half was glass. It had been faux frosted with some kind of peel and stick plastic and Josh had pulled it halfway off. As Raj and Tilly approached, he pointed through the glass.

  “What’s that?” Josh asked.

  Raj came over and looked through the door at the waiting room beyond. He could see several high-back chairs with little tables covered in magazines. A couple of fake leather couches and an island station for a receptionist. In front of the island, just inside the door they were looking through, he could see what Josh was pointing at. The little plastic information plaque on the glass case said

  ‘Surgical Amputation Tools c.1864

  From the medical kit of Dr. William Leonidas Hardy, C.S.A.’

  Raj turned, looked at Josh and smiled. Josh just raised his eyebrows and pointed again. Raj looked further into the room and saw the deadun.

  “Just one.”

  “Yeah, that we can see. There aren’t supposed to be any in there.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “That girl, Violet, she said this was the end of the barricade. That room out there is supposed to be blocked up.”

  “Apparently it isn’t. We need to fix it.” Tilly said.

  “My thoughts exactly.” Josh said.

  “So now what?” Lori asked.

  “We go fix it.” Tilly said.

  She nodded at Josh and he turned the handle. He swung the door open into the room. Tilly stepped beside him as the deadun became aware of their movement. It lunged for them, knocking over a chair as it fell. Tilly dropped down with the tip of her knife and drove it into the side of its head. Pop. She looked up as another came around the receptionist island. Josh stepped forward a fired one round. The back of the things head splattered against the wall, leaving a dark spot that oozed slowly towards the floor.

  No others came. Tilly walked around the partition and could see the broken window. A deadun had wedged itself onto the shards of glass and plugged the hole. Its struggle only drove the broken glass deeper into its flesh. She stepped over and delivered the knife to its head. Pop.

  “Well, we can’t leave it there.” Josh said.

  “We need to find something to cover that window.” Tilly looked around. Her eyes widened as she looked at the partition she was standing against. “If we can find a way to secure it, this would work.”

  “On it.” Josh said. He turned and walked back down the hallway. She heard the glass breaking as he walked away. She stuck her head around the partition.

  Scott was holding the flashlight while Lori stood next to Raj with a pistol flipped around in her hand like a hammer. Raj reached into the display case and pulled out the items. He held the little handsaw up and smiled.

  “That work?” Lori asked.

  “Oh yeah, that works.” Raj said. He smiled at Tilly.

  Josh and Lori walked ahead of them. Tilly watched as Lori occasionally bumped her shoulder into Josh.

  “So sweet, young love.” Tilly whispered to Raj.

  “So gross.” Scott whispered from behind.

  “You’ll figure it out one day.” Tilly looked back at him.

  “Pass.”

  Raj walked with his head down, looking over the crude instruments in the moonlight. The saw was much like a small camping saw. The serrations more precise but not much, sawing through wood and bones are similar processes. There were several surgical knives, but he doubted they were sharper than the scalpels he had found.

  “Are you ignoring me?” Tilly asked.

  “Huh?” Raj looked up at her. “Sorry.”

  “I’m kidding. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, just looking at this stuff, thinking about what I think I am about to try to do.” Raj said. “Kind of got me thinking a little extra, that’s all.”

  “Hey I love you, you’ll do fine. Okay?”

  “Yeah, okay.” They walked together back to the big house in the center of town.

  7

  What Comes Next

  Bridger and Kate sat on the porch in a couple of rocking chairs. Evelyn leaned on the bannister of the spindled railing lining the porch. Kate stood. Josh and Lori came down the walk and she met them halfway. She turned to Raj as he followed behind.

  “Did you find what you needed?” Kate asked.

  “I did actually.” Raj said as he held up the backpack.

  “So now what?” Bridger asked.

  “I need to go and talk to him. I need to make sure he knows what comes next.” Raj said.

  “You’re not going to try to do this now are you?” Evelyn asked.

  “I don’t know. If he is strong enough, it would be better to do it now. The longer we wait the weaker he will get.” Raj said.

  The sou
nd of footsteps came from down the street and they turned as Devin, Violet and Vernon came towards the sidewalk.

  “Any luck?” Scott asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Luck? What are you talking about?” Kate asked.

  “Her nephew…” Scott started.

  “Peter. He’s just a kid.” Violet said.

  “What’s wrong?” Bridger asked.

  “He’s missing.” Vernon said.

  “Missing? Since when?” Kate asked.

  “I saw him last night outside Cody’s room. Haven’t seen him since.” Vernon said.

  “So last night?” Bridger said. “Do you think he would have tried to leave the barricade?”

  “Oh no. He’s terrified of them things. His friend was torn apart in front of him. He wouldn’t leave.” Violet said.

  “Well he has to be here somewhere. Let’s start looking.” Kate said. “Raj who do you need to help you.”

  “Tilly, Vernon and Devin.” He pointed at each of them.

  “The rest of us will start looking. Team up.”

  “What if one of us finds him?”

  Kate looked around.

  “Come back here and ring that bell.” Kate pointed across the street. Vernon and Violet glanced at each other.

  Raj sat at the end of the bed watching Cody’s reaction as he told him what needed to be done. He had explained the risks involved with what he would do and what the risks of doing nothing were.

  “So either I die today, maybe or I die tomorrow, for sure.” Cody said.

  “Well maybe not tomorrow.” Raj said. “But soon.”

  “And you think you can do this?” Emma Grace asked.

  “It’s fairly straightforward. The hardest part is closing it up and I know how to do that.” Raj said confidently.

  “It’s gonna hurt like a bitch ain’t it?” Cody asked.

  “I’ve got some local anesthesia so it won’t be as bad as it could be but yes, there will be some pain. And more while it heals. We found some antibiotics which will help to prevent an infection but we don’t really have anything for pain management.” Raj said.

  “Probably need to ride out to the MedClinic.” Cody chuckled.

  “Sorry?”