by Katz, Gayle
“Thanks, Dave,” Dr. L says. “We have to continue our rounds. Could you stay here with Charlie for a few minutes and just watch him? I want to make sure he’s all right.”
“Sure thing, L,” Dave says as he pulls up a chair and sits down. “I’m not gonna complain when the boss wants me to take a break.”
As we leave the happy-go-lucky orderly to his babysitting detail, we move to the next room, where Dr. L and I visit with a young woman who’s conscious, but she appears to have some nervous and quite disruptive facial tics.
“How are you doing today, Shelly?”
“F-Fine, D-Doctor L. H-how are y-you?” she replies. As she speaks, it looks as if her jaw is having trouble following along with her words, like it’s moving involuntarily. And it keeps happening over and over again. It’s as though she’s chewing on something that isn’t there.
“I’m doing well, Shelly. I want you to meet Jane. She’s shadowing me today. She’s from the local high school and she thinks she wants to be a doctor someday.”
“N-Nice to meet-meet y-you.” Shelly’s neck is jerking uncontrollably so she can’t keep eye contact for long.
“Nice to meet you as well,” I reply, keeping a smile on my face to keep the mood light.
“M-Maybe y-y-you can help-p D-Doctor L f-figure o-out wh-what’s w-wrong w-with meh-me?” She tries to smile, but her face contorts into a creepy smirk instead.
“I’ll do my best,” I tell her as I watch Dr. L check her chart. He takes out his stethoscope and walks to the other side of her bed. He gently takes her arm and puts the flat side of the instrument onto the inside of her wrist and listens. He then checks her blood pressure.
“Can you lean forward, Shelly?” he asks. “I want to check your breathing.” With his help, she scoots forward. “Inhale deeply for me, all right?”
She inhales.
“Go ahead and exhale.”
She complies.
“Again.”
She inhales again, but this time she coughs a phlegmy, deep bark.
“Exhale.”
There’s that disturbing cough again.
“Inhale one more time for me,” Dr. L says.
She concurs. Her breathing goes back to normal this time.
“You did good, Shelly. Ring the buzzer if you need anything, all right?”
“OK, D-Doctor.”
We take our leave from Shelly, exit her room, and begin to walk farther down the corridor. Right before we make it to the third patient room, there’s an ear-piercing scream.
Chapter 3
________________________________________
“AHHH! Help! Somebody! Help us!” a woman shouts.
Dr. L runs down the hallway and I follow close behind. As we arrive on the scene outside of a nearby patient room, we find a flock of frightened employees hiding behind the nurses station and a young woman in a cloth gown on top of a nurse. The woman on top is half naked and biting viciously at the nurse’s neck. The nurse on the floor isn’t moving. I pray she’s just unconscious and not dead. Blood is splattered on their clothing and quickly pooling underneath both of them.
Dr. L grabs the female patient by the waist and pulls her off of the nurse. Her mouth is clamped onto the nurse’s neck. She isn’t letting go.
“Jane! Go to the janitor’s closet behind the nurses station,” he orders. “Grab a broom or a mop. Anything with a long handle and come back. Hurry!”
I take off, run behind the nurses station, and fumble through the closet. I find a broom, grab it, and run back to Dr. L. “Here!” I shout.
“Good! Now see if you can slide the broom handle in-between her mouth and the nurse’s neck. Don’t get too close.”
“OK!” I say as I try to poke the long broom handle in the small open area between this crazy woman’s teeth and the nurse’s neck. “It won’t go!”
“Push harder,” Dr. L replies. “Don’t worry about hurting her. We just need to separate them.”
With all of my strength, I get a better grip on the broom handle and, with my shaky hands, jam it into her jaw. I hear a cracking sound from the wood hitting her teeth. At the same time, the crazy woman looks at me with her wild eyes. She finally releases the nurse and then reaches out for me. Scared, I drop the broom and back up immediately. At the same time, Dr. L is able to pull her away.
I look at the nurse’s neck and see her huge gaping wound. The bite is grotesque and still bleeding profusely. The patient’s mouth is plastered with blood. It covers her entire mouth and drips down her chin and neck. I’m overwhelmed and frozen in place watching the scene unfold. I begin to smell her blood wafting over me. I think I’m going to be sick.
“Get her out of here! Now!” Dr. L commands. Some of the medical staff leave the safety of their station, rush over, and surround their wounded colleague, quickly wheeling her away on a gurney.
The patient is still flailing around in Dr. L’s arms. Her arms and legs feverishly kick and flail as she tries to break free from his grasp. Her jaw is chomping constantly, attempting to lock onto his arm.
“Jane, grab the broom handle at both ends and push it into her mouth so she bites down on it!” he says.
I do as instructed and grab the broom again.
“Stick it in her mouth, but don’t let her bite you.”
“Uh-huh,” I choke out, fearful of what may happen if she’s able to latch onto me. With all my strength, I shove the broom handle into her mouth so she can’t bite Dr. L, me, or anyone else.
In the process of doing it, though, a few of her teeth come loose and fall onto the floor. For a second, I stare at them. I want to help people, and I just failed on my first day.
Dave the orderly rushes in and helps Dr. L wrestle the woman down to the ground. She’s screaming at the top of her lungs, her arms and legs still thrashing about wildly. They try to get her back into her room, but it’s a fight because she’s got a death grip hold on the doorframe. Dave holds her as tight as he can while Dr. L pries back her fingers. Eventually, they drag her back into her room and strap her down. Even secured to her bed, she’s still going nuts.
Dr. L runs out of the patient’s room and returns a moment later with a syringe. “I’m going to sedate her,” he tells Dave. “Acting like this isn’t going to help anyone.”
As he injects her, Dr. L asks Dave, “Did she bite you?”
“No, I’m good. You?”
“Just a scratch. Nothing serious.”
“Maybe you should get that looked at?”
“I’m a doctor. I think I can handle it.”
With the ruckus over for now, I lean against the doorframe and sink down to the floor, shaking. All I can do is stare at the now dark red, almost black, pool of blood coagulating on the hallway floor. When I look the other way, I see the crazy patient, now sedated and unconscious. And the smell—the putrid smell permeates every square inch of the clinic. The odor is foul at best and getting worse.
With so much happening, I didn’t even notice Mrs. Jones and my friends scattered around the scene watching everything unfold. They look scared and confused, but I don’t have the energy to explain what happened, not that I know myself. Anne in particular has her hand over her mouth like she’s going to throw up. Sounds like a good idea.
I get back up on my jelly legs and run to the bathroom, but the rancid smell of blood follows me. I can’t get away from it. I check each stall to make sure I’m alone and then lock the door behind me. I open one of the bathroom stalls, drop to my knees, and vomit into the toilet. I see remnants of the egg sandwich my mom made me for breakfast floating in the toilet. I start to cry. That woman almost bit me. I vomit again.
Medicine might not be the path I’m destined to go down. My parents are going to be so disappointed in me. Hell, I’m disappointed in myself, too.
There’s a knock at the bathroom door.
“Jane?” It’s Mrs. Jones. “Jane? Are you in there?”
“Yeah,” I answer.
“We’re go
ing to cut our trip a little short. I think we’ve all had our fill of this clinic for today. Can you open the door?”
I stand up, rinse my mouth out as best I can, and open the door for her.
“Dr. L said you did a great job today,” she says.
“That’s good,” I reply.
“Are you all right?”
“I think so. Just a little shaken up, I guess.”
“Considering everything that happened today, that’s pretty good. Why don’t you come along and join us on the bus? We’re going to get everyone home.”
Chapter 4
________________________________________
Back on the bus, I’m sitting alone, still shaking.
Mrs. Jones sits down next to me. “Do you want to talk about what happened today?”
“No. Not yet. I think I just want to chill out and forget about it.”
“OK, but if you need to talk, just know I’m here for you.”
She gets up and leaves me alone as she tends to other students.
With the seat now empty, I stretch out my legs, lean my upper body against the side of the bus, and close my eyes, which are dry, burning, and have seen some crazy things today. If I close them for just a couple of minutes, it might help me relax.
I clear my mind of everything and consciously try not to think about anything. I feel myself calming down. Then something changes.
I see myself in the hallway at the clinic. The lights are dim and I’m alone. My breathing starts to get faster and my pulse begins to race.
Suddenly, I hear a shrill howl. Which way is it coming from?
I whimper and cover my mouth so whatever is out there doesn’t hear me. I quiet down.
The screams are getting louder. They’re all around me. I want to run and escape, but I don’t know which way to go. I have to do something. I have to get out of here.
I run ahead to see if there’s an exit, but there are no doors. I continue down the hallway and hear the screams again. They’re even louder so I turn around and go back the way I came.
To my dismay, I run straight into the crazy woman from earlier.
She’s taller and hovering over me. Her hair is all greasy and matted down. Her face is pale and scarred. Her mouth is still dripping with the nurse’s blood. And her eyes look dead, covered in a haze of some sort.
I back away from her slowly so as not to startle her. As soon as I’m out of arm’s reach, I bolt down the hallway, frantically looking for an exit. I stop and try every door I find, but none of them open. Dammit!
Farther down the corridor, losing hope of finding an exit, I feel someone watching me. I turn around and it’s that woman again. Crying, I bang on one of the door windows in the hopes of breaking it, but no luck.
I try to duck around her, but she catches me in her claws. She knocks me down, and I see her blackened and bloody teeth up close. Holding on tight, she chomps down on my neck.
I scream and wake myself up. We’re still on the bus. Mrs. Jones is sitting next to me again, trying to comfort me and find out what’s wrong.
“Are you OK?” she asks. “What happened?”
“I’m sorry. I-it was just a dream. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. When we get back to school, I’ll call your parents to pick you up. Maybe going home on the bus isn’t a good idea today.”
“No. No. I’m fine. Really, I am. I promise.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Chapter 5
________________________________________
Back at home, it’s dinnertime and my folks are asking about my day.
“So? How was the field trip to the clinic?” Mom asks.
“It was…uh, strange.”
“How so?”
“So many sick people.”
“That sounds about normal. What did you think you’d find in a clinic or a hospital?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. Today was just a shock to my system. I didn’t expect it.”
“Anything you do for the first time is scary. When you go back, you’ll be able to cope better.”
“Go back?”
“Of course! You’re going to be the first doctor in the family. You can’t give up after one strange experience, as you call it.”
“Ummm. I don’t know about that. Listen, I’m finished eating. I’m gonna go upstairs and get some sleep. I’m exhausted.”
“Wait, honey…” Dad says.
I rush upstairs to my room. I don’t want to hear anything else from them right now.
***
I brush my teeth and hop into bed, snuggling up under the covers.
Maybe Mom’s right. I can’t let one strange day throw me for a loop. Dr. L looks as though he enjoys his job, and he’s trying to help people get better. His job certainly isn’t easy. Other doctors and medical professionals transfer the cases they can’t solve to him. Every day is a challenge, and my guess is that he’s never bored. And if he’s part of the team that one day cures cancer, that would be a life-changer for so many people suffering around the world.
I fluff my pillow and turn on my side. With both hands under my pillow for support, I fall asleep.
I’m sitting across from Dr. L. This time I’m wearing a white doctor’s coat just like his, although mine is shorter in length.
“Now that you’ve examined the patient, what’s your diagnosis?” he asks me.
I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what he’s talking about. “Uhhh…”
“What’s your diagnosis, Doctor?” he asks again. “Without your diagnosis, the patient will die. You don’t want that, do you?”
“No. Of course, not.”
He’s looking at me. I stare into his eyes. Something is definitely wrong.
“Look!” he says.
“Look at what?”
“Here! Where she scratched me!” His face starts to twitch. “What should I do?”
“I thought you took care of that,” I say. “Let’s get someone to look at it.”
“No! They’ll only run tests and strap me down. No one can help me now.” His jaw starts to make a clicking sound.
“You don’t know that.” My breathing gets faster. I get up from my seat and start to back out of the room.
“Where are you going?” he asks.
I bolt to the door, but it’s closed. I try to open it. No luck. It’s locked. I lean my head against the door and close my eyes.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he says.
He gets up from his seat and slowly slithers his way over to me. Frightened, I turn around. He’s an inch from my face. He inhales deeply and then exhales in my face. His breath smells worse than awful. I think I’m going to throw up.
His head jerks forward. I try to protect myself by putting my arms in front of my face. His teeth bite into my arm.
I scream myself awake.
***
I’m back on the floor in the school infirmary at college. The nurse is waving smelling salts under my nose. Yuck. The smell of ammonia mixed with a hint of lavender is not my signature scent, much too overpowering, but I guess that’s the idea.
“There she is,” the nurse says.
“Wha-what happened?” I ask, coming out of my fog.
“I was trying to take your blood for the college health assessment. You passed out. We couldn’t wake you up. You scared the hell out of us,” she answers.
“How long was I out?”
“Just a couple of minutes. You’re OK now. Don’t worry.”
I sigh, dejected from being so squeamish. “Has anyone else passed out like this?”
“A few people… I guess you’re not going premed,” she jokes, trying to lift my spirits.
“Probably not,” I reply.
I look up and see what seems to be the entire staff of the school infirmary looking down at me. What a way to start off my freshman year at college. I’m so embarrassed—mortified is more like it.
“C
an you get up?” the nurse asks.
“I think so.”
“Don’t over do it,” she says, helping me up. Then, to someone else in the crowd of people staring at me, “Someone get her a wheelchair. We want to make sure she doesn’t fall down again. The last thing we need is her hitting her head on the floor.”
Flustered, they lift me into the chair, roll me across the room, and get me onto an exam table. I then turn to the nurse, “Did you get the blood sample? Are we done here? I’d like to go now.”
“No. Quite the opposite. We’re just getting started.” A sly smile creeps across her face.
“Oh no.”
Thank You
________________________________________
For reading the prequel to the Jane Zombie Chronicles series!
I hope you enjoyed reading it. If you did, I'd love for you to check out the official first book in the Jane Zombie Chronicles series, Closed Campus.
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Also, I encourage you to tell your friends, family, and anyone else who would enjoy a good zombie story!
Again, thank you so much for buying my book and supporting me!
Best,
Gayle
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CONTINUE THE ADVENTURE
SNEAK PEEK! Below is an excerpt from the first book in the Jane Zombie Chronicles, Closed Campus.
Just then Jayce starts to freak out on the couch. He’s moaning. Crying. His body is flailing and contorting in a variety of odd positions worse than any seizure. It can’t be comfortable for him.
