Zombies! (Episode 4): The Sick and the Dead
Page 8
Heron shrugged. “We have to follow all of our leads. Defending yourself against a zombie isn’t a crime but whoever fought with her was exposed to the infection.”
“Oh. I see. I don’t know who could have been there. She didn’t really have any friends, not close ones, and her family lives far away.”
There was a pause in the conversation during which Heron was gauging his next question. He could tell by the look on Arrick’s face that he thought they were done. Culph thought the same thing.
But Heron wanted to know more. “Mr. Arrick, can you tell me why you weren’t at work today?” This surprised him. Heron guessed that Arrick was trying to figure out how he knew. “It’s just that we’re searching for someone who may be infected and you took a sick day.”
“I threw out my back over the weekend and took some medication. I tend to take double the prescribed dose… Should I not say that to a policeman.”
“Probably not under normal circumstances, but I’ll let it slide. Is that why you didn't call in sick?”
“Didn't I? Yes, the medication does wonders for my back and wonders to my head." When there didn't seem to be anything else forthcoming, he asked. "Is that all, then?”
Heron nodded. “For the time being.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card with Dr. Luco’s name on it. “I think you should go and see this doctor.”
“But I’m not sick.”
“Well, you’re not symptomatic. But if you saw Suzanna while she was sick, then it probably pays to be sure.”
Arrick took the card and looked at it. “All right. As soon as I get the chance.”
“I wouldn’t wait,” Heron told him.
Arrick put the card in his robe pocket and thanked Heron. Then he turned away from the door and closed it without so much as a good evening.
When Heron and Culph got into the car, Heron said, “I’m sorry, Frank. Going into that apartment was hypocritical and none too bright.”
Culph didn’t respond, more because he didn’t know how. No one had ever apologized to him before.
“What do you think about Arrick?” Heron asked.
“It’s tough to get a read. He looks more scared than anything else.”
“Yeah, he’s definitely scared, but not of the infection. He was scared when he answered the door. Anyway, I guess we’ll see what the forensics team turns up and move on from there.”
Culph shrugged, started the car, and pulled away from the curb.
***
ARRICK shut door, locked it, and slipped the chain into place. He stood in the entryway for a long time, just thinking about Suzanna and what had happened to her. And what had happened to him. He didn't remember much. He knew he had been there with her. In fact, it was he who had gotten her back to her apartment. What he'd told the police was the truth. Just not all of it. He didn't think he'd have been able to pull off a complete lie. As it was, he had called upon what he felt were the proper emotions, surprise and fear, by tricking his mind into believing he didn't already know the things that they told him.
And now he didn't know what to do. He couldn't go for the blood test. He couldn't even begin to imagine what they might find. John Arrick had survived the plague. Did that make him invincible? Or a mutant? Either way, he would be their guinea pig. There would be no more life for John Arrick. Just service like some animal in a laboratory. That scared him more even than the infection itself had.
As he passed the kitchen, he caught sight of a piece of yellow paper on the floor. Bending to pick it up he read the three words, written in his own shaky hand.
BEWARE! ZOMBIE INSIDE!
Somewhere, deep in the recesses of his memory, he saw himself writing those words. He saw himself putting the four mutilated pieces of scotch tape in the corners. He pulled the card the policeman had given him out of his pocket and looked at it. Then he tore both things into tiny pieces and dumped them into the bin.
***
The escalation continues next month as the zombie population grows and a harried police task force must keep the city safe. But who needs protecting from whom? Both Frank Culph and Shawn Rudd must make their choices. Are they good guys or are they bad guys? Check out Sinners and Saints (but mostly sinners) next month.
***
If you like these books, please show your appreciation and make them known to others by reviewing them. A few stars and a couple of kind words puts them in the smashwords spotlight.
Have questions or comments for the author? Send me an email at gnrlwoundwort@gmail.com. You can also look me up on facebook or start following me on twitter. Your comments are always welcome!
Be sure to check out what happens when the Jury starts punishing people for their crimes in past lives and sets their sites on a rabbi who is believed to have been Adolf Hitler in The Book of Revelations, available for free on smashwords.
For an epic (and involuntary) journey through time at a breakneck pace, join Mathew Cristian as he narrates his adventures as a Forty Leaper. Forty Leap is available on smashwords. Read the first half for free.
Herman Delto is his own worst enemy. But is he also the worst enemy of the colonists he's led to a better world? Read Fast Forward, available on smashwords. Read the first half for free.