“This isn’t gonna work. Maybe you toothpick hoes can do this but I got curves.” Hector said as his body hung from the hole in the ceiling. His legs kicked back and forth while Trinity and Rebecca pulled him by his arms with every bit of strength they had in them.
“Shut up and think thin.” Rebecca said. With another powerful tug and well timed jiggle from Hector, the large man was pulled up into the ceiling. Trinity carefully sat down on a large black pipe and wiped away the sweat that was on her forehead. Hector stood still along the thin metal that held the tiles in place.
“Just jump onto the pipe.” Trinity said
“Fuck that. I’m just gonna stay here and wait for the cops.” Hector said as he slowly put his hands out trying his best to stay balanced and think light thoughts. Trinity rolled her eyes,
“Get on the fucking pipe. You’ll be fine.” Trinity said. Hector stared at the black pipe and then looked at Trinity who nodded. The large man leaped and landed chest and gut first onto the metal. Rebecca walked along the thin metal and then slowly swung her leg over the large black metal pipe. “This pipe runs over the ballrooms and to the back office, we can get down right in front of security and get the fuck out of here.” Trinity said.
“How do you know this?” Rebecca asked.
“I had to help run wires for the lighting when the Long Horns had their benefit here.” Trinity replied.
“Oh yeah, the day that the speakers died and we put some up in the ceiling.” Hector said with a smile, “You were the the smallest” He said.
“Whatever, so we get the fuck out of here and call the cops.” Trinity said.
“Why don’t you just use your cellphone.” Rebecca asked.
“Damn, why didn’t I think of that. Yeah can you pass it to me Bec?” Trinity asked.
“Yeah where is it?” Rebecca replied.
“In the fucking ballroom with those things. Now let’s go.” Trinity said. She stood up slowly on the pipe and started carefully moving along the black metal, she got about four steps before she heard Hector softly ask,
“What about Christian?” Trinity kept her head forward and focused on her foot placement. One in front of the other, slow movements that kept her holding her breath in with every slight tremble. She didn’t want to think about Christian not in that moment because Trinity knew one of two things could have happened to him. One he found a way out and was safe, which meant he left her behind or he was dead. Neither outcome put a smile on her face. Rebecca screamed,
“Oh fuck!” Hector shouted, Trinity turned around just in time to watch Hector’s legs smack into the soft white tile cracking it in half and sending it tumbling down into a group of ravenous guest below. Hector’s legs swing back and forth in the air as his hands held onto the cool black pipe for dear life. “Help! Oh sweet saint Mary! Help!” Hector shouted. The cries pulled more attention to Hector’s soft and sweet hanging body. He kicked at clawing hands as his body dangled in the air like a sinful piñata. Trinity and Rebecca grabbed a hold of Hector by the armpits and started pulling,
“Come on Hector!” Trinity shouted.
“Come on Trinity!” Hector shouted and looked into Trinity’s hazel eyes, “Yeah, yelling helps no one.” Hector’s eyes went down towards the pit of blood covered guest that were all clawing at his heels, his eyes went up to Trinity and he laughed,
“What the hell are you laughing at?” Trinity asked.
“I’m a buffet.” Hector laughed and Trinity rolled her eyes as they pulled him back onto the pipe. The trio stared down at the upward turned glares.
“What the hell Hector!” Trinity shouted. Hector rolled his eyes,
“Don’t blame me, blame Becky with the good hair for knocking me over.” Hector said. Their eyes fell upon Rebecca and she looked away,
“There was a spider.” She said softly. Trinity closed her eyes and sighed before turning back around and continuing down the pipe. Rebecca watched as Trinity’s feet lined up ever so carefully with the black metal, while her own trembled with every slight movement,
“Why are you so good at this?” Rebecca asked.
“I took gymnastics for a while.” Trinity replied. Hector’s feet landed with a thumb along the pipe, he knew everyone was being palate about it, but the pipe shook just a bit every time he stepped on it. His eyes stayed glued to the black metal as he said,
“A while? Mired! She did it from pre—k to college.” Trinity smiled and nodded.
“Wow. ” Rebecca said, there was a moment of silence, nothing was heard other than their footsteps and the random moans and screams that were getting more distant as they moved along the pipe. Trinity knew this moment of silence well, it always happened right before someone asked her, “So, why did stop?” Rebecca’s question was natural, everyone who ever asked it had every right to. Yet, just because it was an innocent question, didn’t make answering it any easier.
“I shattered my knee in a car accident. Put me out for a year and half. When I got better, I just didn’t have the taste for it any more.” Trinity replied.
“Why-“ Rebecca felt a tap on her shoulder and when she looked back Hector was dragging his finger along his throat. “What?” Rebecca asked, she turned her head back toward Trinity, she could see the light of the hallway coming through a broken ceiling tile. “Why didn’t you go back?”
“We were coming back from a tournament when we got hit by a drunk driver, head on.” Trinity said, her eyes lined up with the shining light that was blasting through the crack in the tile. Her hand went up to her eyes as she tried to fighting the stinging sensation that was building up. “I made it out a live, but my parents didn’t. My mom was on life support for a few days, but there wasn’t anything they could do and my dad died on impact.” Trinity looked down at the cracked tile and then looked over at Rebecca, “It didn’t matter anymore.” she said softly. Trinity leaned down pulling up the tile before jumping down through the ceiling. Rebecca stood there staring at the opening,
“Nice job Becky.” Hector said.
“I didn’t know.” Rebecca replied.
“Yeah, yeah. My abuela died when I was six, maybe later we can talk about that.” Hector said.
“Shut up.” Rebecca replied. She slowly started to lower herself through the hole, she could feel Trinity’s hand’s helping her down onto a chair.
“Oh wait, maybe we can talk about slavery to lighten the mood.” Hector said with a laugh.
“You’re an asshole.” Rebecca said before disappearing into the light. Hector walked over toward the hole, he stared down at the two women and then nodded his head.
“This is how I’m gonna die.” Hector said.
“You’re not gonna die. I got you.” Trinity replied and Hector laughed,
“Y’all just get out of the way. I don’t wanna explain to the cops why I killed some girls with my ass.” Hector said.
“Just lower your-“ Trinity’s words were cut short as she heard footsteps slowly making their way behind her. She spun around with her gun pointed, only to see Vince’s eyes staring down her barrel. His hands shot up and Trinity sighed, “Damn it, Vince. You almost got shot.”
“Sorry.” Vince said. His hands came down and he looked around. “What the fuck is going on?” he asked. Hector slowly came up with his wrapped hand,
“A space virus is turning all the Gringos into zombies!” Hector shouted. Trinity turned around to look Hector in his hazel eyes. The large man shrugged, “What, y’all got any better explanations for what’s going on?” Hector looked at the trio and nodded. “That’s what I thought. Space zombies it is.”
“We’re not calling them that.” Trinity said as she cautiously made her way toward the hallway. She looked down the hall to see Mark’s dead body lying on the dirty green concrete floor, just staring up at the lights. Trinity closed her eyes. “Let’s go.” she said as she continued down the hallway toward Mark’s office. Hector and the other’s followed behind her. Beyond Mark’s office was the door to the loading dock and bey
ond that was the employee parking lot. Freedom was only a few short steps away. The group cautiously moved down the hallway, doing their best to keep watch for any of their bloodthirsty co-workers. As Trinity got closer to the exit sign her heart started to calm but the sight she saw from the corner of her eye, caused her heart to stop beating all together. Trinity stopped cold and she felt Vince’s chest rub up against her back.
“Sorry.” He said with a smile and Trinity rolled her eyes,
“What’s up?” Hector asked. Trinity pointed at the motors in Mark’s office, all their eyes scanned over the black and white screens. It took only a moment for Hector to see it. “Christian?” Hector asked softly. Trinity nodded, Hector’s cousin was standing in the middle of a hall, with his hands up and a gun pointed in his face. “Fuck!” Hector shouted.
“Calm down.” Trinity said.
“Fuck you mean, Calm down!” Hector shouted. “We got to go help him.”
“To hell with that, let’s go get the cops. They can help him.” Vince replied.
“Nobody was talking to your hobbit ass.” Hector said.
“Excuse me? You wanna rephrase that Hector? Or do you want to start looking for another job?” Vince asked. Hector stepped forward, he was towering over Vince now, he held his bloody wrapped hand close to his chest,
“Are you fucking stupid or something? All that work shit is out the window. I’m done with this place. The only time I’ll be saying Eastman Hotel is when I’m suing their asses in court!” Hector shouted. Trinity quickly got between the two men and placed a hand on both their chest.
“Everyone just calm the fuck down!” She said. Trinity’s hands dropped and she looked into the eyes of the group. “You guys can go, but I’m not leaving him behind.” She said softly. Hector nodded,
“We’re not leaving him behind.” Hector agreed. Trinity’s eyes went over to Vince, who’s glare was fixed on the double doors that lead to freedom. Trinity’s hand went on his shoulder and she nodded,
“Just go.” She said softly. Vince looked over at her,
“You two are fucking crazy. Come on Rebecca.” Vince said. Everyone’s eyes fell upon Rebecca’s wavy blonde hair as she stared down the empty hallway. “Rebecca! Let’s go!” Vince shouted. Rebecca turned around to look at the group,
“Mark’s gone.” She said softly. There was no hiding the wave of fear that set up camp in her voice. Trinity pulled out her gun and looked down the hallway. All their eyes turned towards the empty hall, with it’s pale yellow walls and ugly green concrete floor.
“Space zombies.” Hector said softly.
“We’re not calling them-“ Trinity’s words were cut short by a blood chilling scream that ripped away from Rebecca’s lips. The trio watched in horror as Mark’s teeth shredded the soft layer of Rebecca’s light pink neck. Her body swung from side to side in his arms like a rag doll until they both collapsed to the floor. The screams started to turn into gargles as Mark’s teeth ripped through Rebecca’s wind pipe.
“Fuck this!” Vince shouted and he darted for the double doors as they opened he could see his large black pick up truck parked right in the middle of the parking lot. His foot passed over the threshold and hit the dock for only a moment before a loud screech pulled Vince’s attention to the smoking area. The kitchen crew stood off to the side. Vince’s eyes locked with their gray glares, the giant black man in the center pointed at Vince. “Chef?” Vince said, his one time bowling partner and wingman was now one of the many infected that were running through the hotel. A loud blast was heard and while it meant the end of Mark, it was nothing more than the starting pistol for the kitchen crew as they came racing towards Vince. The short round man spun around and took off down the hallway towards the service elevators. Trinity watched as he raced past them without a word, but the moans and screeches that followed him was enough notice for her to grab Hector’s arm and follow down Vince’s path.
“Keep moving.” Trinity shouted. Their frantic footsteps were drowned out by the screeching, the moans, and the madness that was quickly gaining behind them. Hector’s hand shot out and he pulled down a rack of dishes blocking off the hallway behind them. He turned around and smiled,
“Fuck you, zombie aliens!” He shouted. His smile faded as he saw a bloody figure slowly shuffling around the corner. She was far behind the pack that was clawing and pushing at the large dish rack that was jammed between the narrow hallway. Dark red blood flowed from her neck quickly turning her white blouse into a hauntingly crimson outfit. Her gray eyes lifted from the floor and locked with Hector’s. Her jaw opened wide and a loud screech came from the corpse that was once a bubbly vibrant blonde coffee barista. Hector put his middle finger in the air and shouted, “Fuck you too, Becky!” As Rebecca sped down the hall, Hector took that as his sign to reunite with Trinity and Vince who had entered the elevator. The elevator rocked as Hector leaped in, as the doors slowly closed they watched the metal rack get over turned by the mass of infected and leading them was a blood covered Rebecca. Hector watched her crawling and screeching all the way to the elevator until the metal doors finally closed.
“What the fuck is going on!” Trinity shouted.
“Zombie Aliens,” Hector said as he got to his feet, “One bite and you’re turned into a flash eating monster!” Hector shouted. Trinity’s gazes fell upon Hector’s wrapped up hand and that pulled Hector’s attention to it as well. The two of them stood there in silence for a moment before Vince shook his head,
“That’s dumb, they can’t be aliens, they’re human. They would just be normal earth zombies.” Vince said. Hector looked at Vince and softly said,
“I hope they eat you next.”
Chapter 7
“Sit.” Neil said. His gun pointed at a blood stained bed and Christian shook his head,
“No thanks, I think I’m good standing.” Christian said. Neil scoffed, and then shoved the gun in his waistband,
“The virus can’t live outside of a host body.” Neil replied.
“That’s good to know, but I’m still not sitting in someone’s blood.” Christian said.
“Who sent you?” Neil asked.
“What?” Christian replied.
“It’s a simple enough question, who sent you? Who are you working for?” Neil asked.
“Vince?” Christian said puzzled.
“They were after him. After us, I thought we could-“ Jeremy’s words were cut short by his father’s deep sigh,
“No, Jeremy, you didn’t think! You never do!” Neil shouted.
“Damn, this Girgo is an even bigger ass than I was.” Christian turned around to see Jorge leaning against the hotel window. Jorge smiled and pointed at the arguing Cosgroves boys, “They remind you of anyway?” Jorge said. Christian stared at his father for a moment before he softly said,
“It’s not his fault.” The all too familiar wave of belittlement and arguing pulled a tone out of Christian that he hadn’t used since his father’s death, “Cut the shit! I said It ain’t his fault!” Christian shouted. Neil’s glare fell upon Christian and the gun came up once again. “If you’re gonna use it…” Christian took a step forward and let the barrel of the gun rest against his chest, “then use it.” Christian said.
“Mijo grew some balls.” Jorge said with a laugh.
“Pull the trigger or tell me what the fuck is going on?” Christian said. The cool metal of the gun shook in Neil’s hand for a moment before it dropped down to his side. His fingers ran through his salt and peppered hair, giving it a tug as he said,
“None of this was suppose to happen…” the sobs broke in and out the silent moments, that were popping up like infectious weeds in a dead garden as Neil told a hellish story of space, fear, and deception. “We told the world he died on a routine space walk, but there was nothing routine about it.” Neil said, he rested his head on the wall and closed his eyes, “Two days into our exploration of the Mars surface, we found something. Something that had no business being there.”
“What?” Christian asked.
“A canister, about as big as a trash can.” Neil said, his eyes rolled, “We told him not to open it, but he just kept saying how big this would be for mother Russia.” he said.
“What was in it?” Christian asked.
“A gas, unlike anything we’ve come in contact with before, it some how got into his suit. All we could hear was screaming. We rushed to pull him back into the ship but it was too late.“ Neil replied.
“He was Dead?” Christian asked.
“Yeah, for five hours he was clinically dead.” Neil said softly, “Then he woke up and he was feral, vicious. He was-“ Neil’s statement was cut severely short by a loud screech coming from beyond the bathroom door.
“Wasn’t this Gringo married?” Jorge asked. Christian’s head turned to look at his ghostly father before he softly said,
“Where’s your wife Mr. Cosgrove?” Christian asked. The Cosgroves looked at each other for a moment and then an odd sound started to fill the room, a wet loud smack, like slapping a soaked towel into the wall.
Smack, Smack, Smack.
“You son of a bitch.” Christian said softly. His eyes locked on Neil and then he slowly started moving forward.
“I told you something ain’t right, Mijo. You need to get out of here!” Jorge shouted, but much like when he was alive, his orders fell on deaf ears as Christian grabbed Neil by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
“You bought it back with you!” Christian shouted.
“We didn’t know, we thought we were fine. We were quarantined for two months, they couldn’t find anything wrong with us!” Neil replied. Christian shook his head,
“Bullshit, you knew this morning. When I found you in the bathroom, you knew shit was going south!” Christian shouted.
“I have it under control.” Neil said.
“Do you? Because that mob that chased us, seemed pretty out of control to me.” Christian replied.
“Zombies.” Jeremy said softly.
“What?” Christian asked.
Patient Zero Page 6
