by catt dahman
She didn’t mention the few, such as her patient, Jana, who had come back to the hospital and who were now comatose. Taking a break from watching them, she made a list for Hagan and told him where everything could be found; he could get another group to gather those supplies for the basement.
It was amazing that no one had complained, yet, about his organization, and he figured it was the chores that kept their minds off what was happening outside. They were glad to have anyone in charge.
A woman, Hagan forgot her name, had made a list of everyone there so the staff could note ages and medical needs. She assigned rooms, as mattresses were put down like in a dormitory, but there was enough room in some of the tiny rooms for people to sleep alone.
When several people trickled in and asked for sanctuary, Hagan okayed it and had the woman put them in rooms on the first floor. He was in charge of not just the army guys, and he wasn’t going to turn healthy people away. But he did tell the woman, whose name slipped his memory, to check each one for bites. No one with bites could come in.
6
In the Neighborhood
Julia’s strong personality lagged when she was finally inside her house; she wiped tears from her cheeks. All over the kitchen, it looked as if a battle had taken place; blood covered the floor, along with flour splattered on the walls, and all kinds of food and trash were thrown on the floor. Of her parents, there was no further sign, but the backdoor was opened, and the blood trail went that way.
Julia gathered her things, stoically saying that they would have to go without her, she intended to see if she could find her family. “I can’t leave my parents like that…wandering around.”
“You can’t just stay,” Beth protested.
Julia shrugged, “I have no choice.”
Len, unhappy with this turn of events, tried to decide what was best. He saw her point, but seeing her parents put down was going to be bad as well. Before he could think, two men across the street waved for their attention; one, a huge bear of a man, an older gentleman carrying a big Remington pointed towards the ground; and his friend carrying a .30.06. Len motioned his team to stay watchful as he and Kim walked over.
“Good-looking gun,” he said.
George turned it and allowed Len a closer look at the smooth walnut finish, glossy with wear, and the blue steel finish, fancy with its scrollwork.
“Man, that’s a beauty.” Len shook his head. “I’ve never seen one so nice.”
Tink winked, “Mine ain’t pretty, but she’s a monster. You military? They aren’t.” He used his chin to point to the people next to the vehicles.
“They’re in training; I’m retired. I was retired, back in business now.” Len introduced himself and Kim; they all nodded to one another. Len explained why they were there and for whom they were looking.
“Oh.” George had a wary look. “Mr. and Mrs. Perez? They just moved in, and I didn’t recognize them. I think she turned him, nasty, sad thing that. In a normal life, I doubt she would have raised a hand to him, but it made her do what she did. I’m sorry.”
“It looked as if she was sick, and he was tending her when she changed,” Tink added.
“Did you…?” Kim asked.
“Yeah, those two and a teen boy from somewhere, and a man who attacked the man’s wife and little girl, and then us.”
“You held them off?” Len was a little shocked and impressed at the ability of these old guys. “All four of them?”
“We had the help of two more of our friends.” George laughed a little. “Until a few seconds ago, one of my friends was above you upstairs with a rifle on your friends. No offense.”
“None taken…sounds smart,” Len said. “I’m sorry you were attacked by my friend’s family and sorrier you had to take them out. Bad business all around. I’m hating this.” Len waved Julia over.
Len introduced her and nodded to George.
“Honey,” George said, “I’m awfully sorry to have to tell you, but your momma and daddy got really sick and were out in the neighborhood with some more people, chasing a little girl and her mama. Scared them and us pretty badly. We tried to get them to stop, but they were mighty sick and unable to quit trying to bite; they were gone, Honey, those weren’t your parents anymore.”
Julia wiped away fresh tears as Kim patted her shoulder and said, “Mom and Dad?”
“Yes. But those weren’t my parents.”
“I’m sure when they were healthy, they were fine people, but they were with a teen boy and a man and very sick.”
“My cousin, Michael, was checking on them. I guess it was him?”
“Maybe so. I’m very sorry.”
“Did you?” she asked now.
“Yes, Honey, those were their bodies. They were gone…the parts of them who were your parents. We released them is all…they wouldn’t wanna be chasing little girls and hurting people.”
Len waited for her anger, but she smiled.
“Thank you. Thank you for setting them free and giving us the closure.” She took a deep breath, “Where are they? The bodies?” She wept.
“Waiting to be buried,” George told her, “but you are not going to see what’s not them anymore. I mean it. No viewing today or any day.”
Len and Kim heard an amazing strength in George’s words.
After a lot of discussion, they decided Benny would stay with Gina, Katie, and Julia on the porch while Kim, Thurman, George, and Tink stood guard.
The rest helped to dig a deep hole on the front lawn, wrap the bodies in sheets, and watch the vehicles. Some were unable to help much and sat with Julia on the porch.
Beth re-bandaged Gina’s bite, noting the reddish-purple color around the mark; the green, smelly pus leaking; and the severity of the pain. Gina was feverish and pale. Smudges beneath her eyes were now deep bruises, and she moved with a pained gait, her joints screaming. “I got sick so fast.”
“Sorry, if I’m hurting you.” Beth had used a full bottle of hydrogen peroxide on the bite, letting the bloody, stinking foam flow down into the sink’s drain, then swabbed the area with cream, and added tons of gauze for padding and soaking up the fluids.
“It hurts around it bad, but the bite is numb now. I guess as it infects more skin, it causes the pain. It was a tiny bite.” Her entire arm was now red, more purple and green above and below her elbow. The bite had spread open, gone mushy, and was now raw and open, the size of a palm.
“Keep it immobile,” Beth made a sling, “not sure what else to do.”
They had both seen the discoloration spreading past Gina’s shoulder and along her back. “Thanks, anyway. I feel rough.”
“We’ll get you fixed up; don’t worry.”
“Thanks, but I doubt there’s anything you can do for me.”
When the grave was finished, all four bodies were side-by-side, buried, the rich earth smell finally covering the smell of the bodies. The rest stood around uncomfortably, with Kim, Len, and Tink on nervous guard.
No one knew what to say; everyone looked at one another. People passed away, and there were family gatherings, a time for a comforting process and for closure with support. These people had been sick, then had been shot, and now had been buried, but it had been only a few hours. Grief was blocked by shock. Dealing with death should be a process, and being thrown into situations, where loved ones had to be put down like rabid animals, was beyond comprehension.
Finally, clearing his throat, Warren said a few words, asking for peace for the dead and strength for the survivors. He hadn’t thought to ask about religion, so sudden were the events, so he just muttered through, figuring it didn’t matter what was said, only that something had been said. Julia, weeping, prayed aloud, grasping the hands of Gina and Katie.
Tink, off to the side of the huge, rough old man who looked as if he could eat nails and spit them out his ass, began to sing “Amazing Grace” in a rich baritone. Voices joined him after a bit, saying goodbye to their own family and friends. When it was fi
nished, Julia kissed Tink’s cheek to his embarrassment.
“Vaya con Dios,” Julia said to the graves. Len came to help her as she glanced around, unsure of what to do or say next.
All four men said they wanted to go to the hospital with the other survivors when they were invited.
With help, Gina got things for Katie while the rest helped the four other men gather everything from the basement; the large amount of stockpiled food and ammo was staggering. George said he was somewhat of a “city survivalist.” They filled two SUVs that George and Tink owned and then a third that belonged to Thurman.
Len shot one of the shamblers while he worked, a man they called a ‘Red Zed’ that had been ill.
“You get your stuff?” George asked Gina.
“No, and we need to talk about it.”
“I’d rather we didn’t.”
She shook her head, reaching for his hand. He and Kimball sat next to her. “I’m sick, and I don’t wanna be one of those things.” She cried quietly. “I don’t wanna hurt Katie or anyone or wander around.”
“Aw, Gina,” George said sadly.
Gina called for Beth. “You can tell them I’m getting sicker and fast.”
Beth nodded. “I’m no medical expert, but the infection is moving really fast. She said it was a tiny puncture; it seems to have spread like lightning.”
Kim asked, “What can we do, Gina?”
“Katie will need a godmother and godfather to look to. Will you and George take care of my baby girl?” She choked out the last words, begging Beth with her eyes.
“I will, Gina. I’ll do my very best,” Beth promised. George nodded.
“We’ll all protect her,” Kimball spoke.
“And you can trust a Blue,” George said.
Kim looked at him quizzically, “I’m a barely-making-it private investigator, boring and simple.”
“Then how’d you know what I meant?” George asked, “I’ll eat my boxers if I’m wrong on your being a former cop.”
“Well, I guess you don’t have to eat underwear,” Kim said, getting slight smiles from Gina and Beth. “Former. How’d you know?”
“You can smell it. Didn’t you smell it on me?”
“Yeah, but you told us that you guys had all been cops. I didn’t know it showed on me.”
“It shows even if you’re quiet about it, and Gina, that means you have five cops looking out for Katie.”
“And Mark is…was training to be a deputy, plus Len, and Hagan, he’s with us at the hospital as a security guard, and we have a few military guys there, too. The ones who made it,” Beth explained.
“It sounds safe. And some nice women?”
“Some very nice ones. Julia and Misty are super; no one can replace a mama, but we’ll watch out for her, and she’ll find whom she wants to fill in for you, and we’ll talk about you, and we won’t let her forget you.” Beth was crying.
“Keep her safe. She deserves a chance, and please don’t let her get hurt, God, she needs me, and I had to get bitten.”
Kim glanced around. “Len’s getting antsy to move. Maybe you can go with us and decide this later.”
“I doubt Len is gonna let someone sick go along. I’m sorry, Gina, but that’s a fact,” George said. “One of us can stay back with you; I will, then go alone, later.”
“I’ll stay,” Kim offered. “We both could.”
“And what if a bunch comes along like before, only more?” Gina asked.
“Then we put them down,” Kim said. “These four fellows did a fine job, so I figure we can keep safe.”
“I hurt; my whole arm throbs. And inside, I feel weak and cold; it really hurts,” Gina said. “I can’t stand the pain much longer, but I think it’s all going numb anyway…which is even worse. My head feels fuzzy, like I can’t think about things long. They drift away like wisps.”
“You’re feverish.”
“It’s more than fever. My head feels angry, hard to explain, but it feels as if sometimes I just want to run screaming, tearing my hair out…and…well, it feels really angry in my head.”
She jumped as they heard Len and Tink shoot several times.
Len asked Mark to ride with Thurman and provide protection for Warren’s SUV with Jeri, Rita, Ben, and Tom.
Benny was to follow with Misty. George, Tink, and Len, would follow with Kim, Beth, and Katie. Len was ready to be the bad guy, but an infected person was not going to threaten the entire group.
Benny asked for a few moments.
They got Dallas ready to go as they ran nervously from room to room.
Benny showed Gina what he had left for her on the polished oak table in the dining room: a bottle of pain killers and a tall glass of clear liquid filled with ice, sparkling, as it danced about a fat, fragrant wedge of lime. “Gin and tonic.”
“Wait a minute.” Kim scowled.
“She’s in pain,” Beth said simply, but she shook her head, “but not alcohol…Oh, my God, Benny…”
George rubbed Beth’s back, “Shhh.”
“Adapt or fail.”
Gina gave Beth a hug and told her to stop worrying.
“You’re sick, and I’m the one you are all comforting now.” Beth sniffled. “I understand, I think. I guess. But this just sucks. It sucks bad.”
Benny called to Katie, and the little girl and her mother sat down to talk.
George turned gentle eyes to both. “This thing we call Red doesn’t care about religion or race or age. It makes people sick without caring who we are, who loves us, or whom we love. Whatever this new virus is, it only cares for replicating itself…multiplying ‘cause that’s what it does; it lives to re-produce itself and win so it can be at the top.”
“We’ve been killing viruses for years.”
“Yes, and this virus doesn’t intend to die. We can’t beat it; the men who could have beaten it died. And it’s so set on reproducing that it makes us get up from a semi-death and attack people we care for so it can spread. I know and you know it’s just a virus…but doesn’t that sound cruel and intelligent? Evil?”
“It isn’t smart; it’s a virus.”
“Seems it is smarter than we are. It’s taken out most of the human race, all but for a few of us. And we’re complaining now, but what about when the rest rise up and start coming after us? It’ll come until we’re all gone, if we let it.”
George watched Katie, crying in her mother’s arms. “What kind of evil makes a momma fear biting her baby girl? And she will, once she turns.”
“But it isn’t a thinking virus.”
“How do you know, Kim? What do we know? In my mind, it’s an evil, selfish son of a bitch. I wish it were a man I could fight and tear to pieces. I tell you this: I will be damned if that evil thing makes me turn on friends and help it reproduce…I won’t be a part of that.”
“Jesus, help us,” Beth whispered, “me neither.”
“When I know how things are going, I’m gonna go out on my own terms. I refuse to let the cock-knocker win. I’ll go out on ‘George’s terms.’” He used a finger to point at his own chest.
“But she’s alive.” Kim complained. He sounded less sure.
“But we know she’s going to turn; no, don’t shake your head at me; we know. It’s her choice, and she has made it. ‘George’s terms’ are that she gets to decide. I’d support you the same. It’s what is right. It’s what makes us human.”
Kim looked miserable, “But I hate it.”
“So do I, son, but it is what it is; isn’t that what kids say these days? Beth is right. It sucks. I hate the virus, and if anyone made it in a lab, I hope he or she burns in hell. I hate him, too. I hate having to have my own terms or standing by that poor woman in this. I hate a lot. But that hate will ruin us if we let it. I suggest we do like in a war…we don’t hate…we do our job, stand by what is right, execute the enemy with extreme prejudice, and move on as best we can. We are Americans, son, and we are gonna damn sure act like it.”
&nb
sp; “Amen.” Len had walked in. “I may steal that speech.”
“Well, you can, but it stays ‘George’s terms.’” He looked sad. “I wanna take credit for making a pact to take out that evil, whatever it is.”
“Agreed.”
“Too much, too fast.” Beth sighed. “I can’t get my head around one thing before there is another.”
“Please come get Katie. I’m feeling worse,” Gina called.
Beth and Kim had to take Katie from Gina amid screams and kicking, but Gina grimaced in pain now, already swallowing pills and washing them down with gin and tonic. With a squeeze of their hands, she whispered incoherently, walked out to the backyard, and lay on a chaise. She smiled at the sky as she swallowed pills and drank. She looked peaceful. Kim came back to watch her, ready when it was time, but George said he would do it.
“Len…we have a problem.” Misty ran in, her face contorted with fear. “There are zeds headed this way.”
“How many?”
“A bunch.”
“What…a half dozen? A dozen?”
Misty looked at him, baffled. “No… a bunch.”
Len sighed. She was not good at Intel. “More than a dozen?”
“About fifty, Len.”
“Stay with her, George.” Len spun, running to the front yard, “Beth, take care of the little girl. Kim, inside…if any get past us…”
Kim barked an okay, although if they got past all them, he wasn’t sure what he, Beth, and George would do. Len locked Dallas back in the downstairs bedroom, warning him to stay quiet. He got a doggie “woof” in return.
“Major!” Julia was calling from the front.
At the end of the street and heading right towards them, was a crowd of moaning, angry people. Some had surrounded a home, and a few had entered, with a few stumbling back out, fresh blood covering them; two more joined them in a minute, chewed almost to pieces, following, adding to the ranks.
In seconds, a man ran from his house too late, tripping and falling as zeds grabbed at him. He had run too close to the group without a weapon, carrying only bags with clothing and food, rolling out. Several immediately bit into his neck, ripped at his stomach, and in a frenzy, tore off an arm, amid biting at his elbow. He wailed, rolling around the slick, blood-gored ground, unable to get to his feet.
