Rob was busy gathering ammo boxes and tossing them in a tote bag, when he spotted a large hunting knife and sheath that he quickly strapped to his belt. They were in and out in less than five minutes, and as they boarded the bus Lisa and the other girls, who they found out were named Tiffany and Rose, were either using some of the blankets to try to clean up some of the blood or tending to Yvette. Chelsea just sat in her seat petting Buster, who had come out from hiding and had put his head on her seat, staring at her lovingly. Greg was keeping watch, and smiled nervously when Mace appeared back on the bus. Mace smiled back. “We’re good. Let’s hit the road.
Chapter 21
Mace used the bus as a battering ram to break through any abandoned cars that were in the way to the hospital. He broke the headlights, but had already decided they would find a different vehicle when it came time to leave anyway. The bus had too many haunting memories and Mace wanted to leave them behind as they moved forward. They spotted several survivors along the way, as well as a few infected running through the streets, but decided their best course of action for now was to just get to the hospital and develop the antidote.
Once they made it close to Kaiser they had to abandon the bus about a block-and-a-half short, due to a pileup on El Camino, the main street that the hospital resided on, that they couldn’t clear. They left the bus as quickly as possible, carrying the rifles and tote bags, feeling shortchanged as they had to leave the bodies back on the bus. Rob had rushed ahead without back up to get a wheelchair for Yvette. Before Mace could get too upset he reappeared, doing wheelies down the sidewalk and grinning like a typical goofy adolescent. He left the wheelchair on the sidewalk; running onto the bus and helping Jade and Lisa carry Yvette off. He was all smiles as he saw her. “Yvette, I found some shoes for you. Check ‘em out.” He held up two nurses’ shoes, size 7, her size.
She looked at him strangely. “Where did you find them?”
“They were in a supply closet in the hospital.”
He’d actually taken them off the body of a nurse he’d stumbled across just inside. He was quickly adjusting to life in the new reality. He almost seemed to be enjoying himself.
Power was off in most of the area, but backup generators had kicked on in the hospital, and they entered through the back Emergency entrance. They almost expected to see the hospital operating business as usual, but once inside they saw the familiar scene of mayhem and anarchy.
The floors were littered with hospital supplies and a gurney that had been turned over just inside the entranceway, along with the bloody body of the unfortunate victim who had never been able to receive assistance. A nurse’s body lay bloodied and battered to the right of it, and Mace noticed the missing shoes immediately. He hoped no one else would. A few lights buzzed on and off inside as the light fixtures that housed them were broken.
Mace whispered to Jade to keep an eye out and keep everyone inside as he and Greg went back out to the parking lot. The ambulances they were looking for were parked no more than twenty feet away, and Mace was able to hotwire two of them within a few minutes. Greg hopped in one, driving it to the South side entrance, while Mace drove his North, pulling it as close to the doors as he could. He hopped out and took a quick look around, spotting no sign of life before running back to the rear Emergency entrance doors. As he turned the corner, he saw Greg coming from the opposite side and they shared a brief, wary smile before heading indoors.
Once inside he whispered to the group. “We’ve got to keep very quiet. We have no idea what we’re going to find. Let’s split up into different groups.” He pointed to the end of the corridor.
“Greg, why don’t you and your girls head right at the corner and start checking rooms. If you see anything out of the normal, shoot me a text.”
Greg headed off with the girls he had come with before Mace thought of something and whispered loudly before they were out of earshot. “Turn your phone on vibrate.”
Greg nodded and headed off.
Mace and Rob headed into the emergency room waiting area, scanning the room quickly before heading into the back rooms. Jade stayed out in the hall with the rest of the party. They quickly and nervously pulled back each separating curtain, aiming the guns at anything that could be behind them. Once they proved clear, Mace turned to Rob.
“Watch the back door with Father Jack. I’ll be back shortly. If anything comes up, text me and put the phone on vibrate.”
Rob looked irritated, but kept quiet and just nodded in agreement. Mace was just as irritated at Father McCann, who had refused to carry a weapon in spite of the dire need for protection.
Jade and Lisa were busy gathering protective gauze and tape for Yvette, who was a pale white as she sat in the wheelchair, moaning quietly. They looked through cabinets for painkillers and penicillin, finally finding a bottle of Percocet and some amoxicillin, grabbing both and taking them with them.
Mace didn’t want to leave them in the emergency room, feeling nervous about the security of the rear exit. They continued down the hall, making a left at the end and stopping at the first room they came to. Mace carefully peered inside through the small window in the door. It looked clear, so he entered it slowly, his weapon drawn, scanning the room quickly for any sign of infected. It was the rehabilitation room. There was a universal gym, several treadmills, exercycles, a massage table, and a bathroom. The room was clear.
Mace nodded towards Lisa and whispered, “You and Chelsea stay here with Yvette. You can lock the door. We’ll stick to this floor and be back shortly. If anything happens, Rob is right down the hall.”
Lisa nodded and grabbed Mace’s arm as he went to leave the room, leaning in and whispering lowly. “I’m going to fight to keep my daughter alive. All that’s important to me is that she makes it.”
Mace and Jade both looked at her with understanding. Jade touched her shoulder. “We’ll all get out of this, Lisa. You’ll see.”
Lisa gave her a weak nod in return and turned away towards Yvette, ready to work on patching her up.
They left them in the room and headed further down the hall, checking room after room, their nerves bundled and tight. Mace wasn’t so sure this was a good idea after all. There were too many places for the infected to hide, and he was afraid the situation could get out of hand quickly if they stumbled across any.
As they made their way down the hall, the sterile hospital smell Mace expected to experience was replaced with the smell of blood, death, and fear, filling Mace with an ominous feeling. He had never been a fan of hospitals anyway. They made it to the end of the hall and turned right, where they eventually came to the cardiopulmonary department. Mace stopped at the door, staring inside the small door window, instantly feeling a cold sweat cover him.
Inside were a half-dozen infected, all standing with their heads facing the opposite wall, shaking and trembling dramatically. He couldn’t see their faces but he didn’t need to in order to know what they were. Jade was looking inside a window on the opposite side of the hall, and he waved his hand out at her without moving his vision, eventually catching her eye and sending her rushing quietly over next to him to see what he was looking at.
She was as shocked as he was as they watched the infected inside, trembling but not moving, standing still with their faces almost pressed up against the wall. Mace tried to peek around the room through the window, and accidentally brushed his boot up against the door. One of the things turned its head sideways at the sound and Mace froze as he stared at the expression on its face. It was of pure, unmitigated terror as visions of horror seared through its brain. It was not the look he expected and he stared at it more intrigued then scared.
In their diseased consciousness, the infected were plagued with horrifying images that flashed like a demonic strobe light through their brains. The blood vessels in their eyes had popped, creating an altered, murky vision that was as terrifying as it was maddening. They had a fight or flight mentality and were highly light sensitive; longing to h
ide in the dark to escape, but viciously attack when feeling threatened. They were most dangerous in packs, when a sadistic mob mentality took over and they raged at their existence and all unlike them.
Mace looked at the creature with something close to pity as he examined this new found information. It also helped explain why they could travel fairly free without running into them everywhere.
Mace slowly backed away from the door, grabbing Jade’s hand as he did so. He whispered in her ear, “We need to figure out a way to take them out quietly. I don’t want to create a situation.”
Jade motioned in agreement and whispered back, “What are they doing? They look terrified.”
“I know. We’ve got to use it to our advantage somehow.”
As they stood there trying to come up with a plan, they both jumped as Mace’s cell phone began to ring. He quickly grabbed it, his heart in his throat, opening it as quick as he could, cursing himself for not putting it on vibrate as he had instructed everyone else. Jade was almost panicking as she pulled out her weapon, and as she brought it up the infected burst through the door, their eyes wild, and their shrieking echoing throughout the hall. Mace dropped the phone and Jade opened fire as the infected came at them. From throughout the hospital they could hear the echoing calls of infection, as the knowledge of their intrusion spread through shrieks of frenzied declaration.
Jade knocked two down with shots to the head, while Mace was barely able to get a shot off before he was slammed by one into the wall. He had shot it in the chest but it continued to scream and gnash its teeth. His elbow was pressed against its throat, keeping its mouth away, but his pistol was forced down by his side. He shot anyway, hitting it in the foot and it screamed in fury, wrenching at his leather jacket as it stumbled backwards.
Jade kept firing as the others moved towards her, and Rob came tearing around the corner with the 12 gauge lifted, screaming for her to get down so he could take a clean shot. She dropped and he fired, blowing a hole in the face of the one nearest Jade and dropping it to a heap.
Mace was able to lift his gun when the infected moved back a few inches and he put it against its face and pulled the trigger, blowing its teeth out the back of its skull. Jade kept firing from a crouched position, and the three of them blew a large number of holes into the remaining two infected.
Mace was desperately checking himself for scratches or bite wounds thinking he had been infected when they heard shots ringing out on the other side of the hospital. They immediately started running back towards the emergency room entrance, eager to ensure its security and make sure Lisa, Chelsea, and Yvette were still safe. The shrieks were still echoing through the hallway, horrible in their intensity, but so far none had appeared or attacked.
Chapter 22
After Lisa heard the first rounds of gunfire she ran to the door, making sure it was locked. She caught a glimpse of Rob running past through the door window and pulled the pistol from her purse, unsure what to do. Her mind reeled as she started pacing the room. If the others had been killed, waiting here would be a mistake. On the other hand, trying to run with Chelsea and a wounded Yvette didn’t make much sense either.
She pressed her face up against the window, trying to peer as far as she could in both directions when a bloody hand slapped against the window, sending her jumping back. She heard a monstrous shriek as Tiffany’s gnarled face pressed up against the pane, disfigured from infection and bleeding profusely from an open gash on her forehead. Blood poured down the bridge of her nose into her mouth, and as she screamed, her blood spat all over the pane, dripping down and blocking Lisa’s view. The door handle started shaking violently as Tiffany raged to get inside, and Buster started barking loudly as Lisa trembled, tears escaping her lids from fright and confusion over what to do next.
Gunshots erupted outside the door and the handle stopped shaking, and she could hear a muffled thump as Tiffany’s body collapsed to the hallway floor outside. She stood completely still, waiting to hear what would happen next, and then jumped as more gunfire erupted and her ears were filled with the awful sounds of the infected. She thought she could hear Mace yell out in between gunshots, and she grabbed Chelsea and moved back to the rear of the room, pressing up against the bathroom door and shrinking to the floor, clutching Chelsea close while Yvette held her head in her hands and yelled from her wheelchair for the noise to stop.
All of a sudden it did, and they sat in the silence of the room, their hearts pounding in anticipation of what was to follow. They could hear the continued shrieks and moans of the infected, but they sounded more distant, more far away, like a threat not yet realized. Then came three knocks on the door, followed by three more, and Lisa thought she could hear Rob’s voice shouting for her to open the door.
Lisa moved towards the door, holding the .38 in her hand, and moved her hand up to release the lock. Yvette said quietly “wait” and Lisa briefly turned her head towards her before turning back and clicking it open.
The door opened and Rob stood there holding the 12 gauge, smiling as his eyes fell on Yvette. “Got em all. They got Greg and those girls, but we got em alright.” He nodded towards the direction they had originally gone. “Lots of screaming down there, but so far none’s come out.” His eyes gleamed as he continued. “We’ll get them too, you can count on it.”
Jade entered the room and Lisa felt a bit more at ease. “Are you alright?” she asked, and Lisa nodded in affirmation.
“Just a little shook up. We couldn’t tell what was going on.”
Jade looked at her mournfully. “We lost Greg, Tiffany, and Rose, but I think we’re safe for the moment.”
Lisa nodded sadly. She didn’t know how any of them could continue to survive.
Mace found Father McCann in the emergency room hiding behind one of the curtains, trembling badly.
“I was an old fool not taking a gun. I’ve put everyone at risk by not helping to fight. I’ll take one now if you’ll let me, and I think I need some Depends.”
Mace nodded, laughing despite himself at the joke. “Okay, but just don’t shoot me by mistake.”
Father McCann showed Mace his hand, which was trembling profusely. “I’m shaking so badly I can barely stand. It’s more likely I’ll shoot myself in the foot.”
“Well, that’s okay. You’ve got some big ass feet. Just keep the gun aimed away from me.”
Mace gave him half a smile before heading out of the emergency room. They found the rest of their party out in the hallway, all except for Rob.
Jade looked around. “He was just here. I don’t know where he could have gone?”
The shrieks continued, muffled and distant but continuous. Suddenly they heard another gunshot.
“Rob.”
Mace looked at Jade before heading in the direction of the shot. “Stay here with them. I’ll be right back.”
Mace took off towards the gunshot with Jade nervously looking around. She didn’t want him going alone, but wasn’t sure what to do.
A series of shots followed, each one followed by about the same period of silence, about 15 seconds. As Mace grew closer to where Rob had gone, the volume of the shrieks rose, and he could feel himself getting anxious, not wanting to get caught blindsided again. He caught up to Rob as the latest shot went off and Rob was exiting a patient’s room. Rob saw him and smiled. “It’s all sick and old people. They’re in bed. They can’t get up but they still got messed up. I’m taking care of it.”
Mace looked in one of the rooms and looked away quickly. Sure enough, the infected had attacked the sick and invalid lying in their beds, infecting them and turning them into diseased and sidelined patrons of hell. As much as it sickened him, he knew the best course of action would be to put them out of their misery. He joined Rob, and together they took out the remainder of the invalid infected, each taking one side of the hallway until the job was finished.
They returned after a few minutes, with the remainder of their own party looking worried and ex
hausted. Jade had a questioning look on her face but Mace just shook his head. “You really don’t want to know.”
She just nodded, looking briefly at Rob, who had the same twisted grin on his face she had seen earlier, the one that had turned her stomach. She looked back to Mace. “What now?”
“I think we should just secure the back door and get some sleep. We’ll go in shifts. As far as I can tell, there are no more infected in here. The gunshots would have drawn them out. I want to make sure no more get in. We’re all fried and need to catch up on some sleep.
He looked to Father McCann. “Then we get to work on the antidote.”
Chapter 23
They were able to find the key that locked the emergency door entrance in one of the drawers of the nurse’s station. After a little more searching, they were able to find the key that locked the elevators. While Mace took first watch keeping an eye on the door, Rob and Father McCann made sure the women all found empty patient rooms and settled them in for some much needed rest.
Chelsea slept with Lisa, with Buster curled up at the end of the hospital bed, while Jade slept in the same room as Yvette, making her as comfortable as possible. Yvette was wiped out by the pain medication and snored loudly within minutes of lying down.
With everyone resting, Mace, Rob, and Father McCann started gathering bodies, putting them in the X-ray room for the time being until they could be disposed of in a better manner. After they had gathered all the bodies, twenty-seven in total from around the first floor, Rob and Father McCann headed off to find a place to sleep.
Mace felt bone tired, and decided to go back to different hospital rooms where he’d seen supplies to keep him awake and occupied. He dragged a waiting room table in front of the emergency door and placed a few glass vases on top of it to help alert him if someone were able to get through the locked door.
Mace of the Apocalypse Page 11
