Survivors in a Dead World

by Gary M. Chesla

  She swung her legs off of the bed as she sat up.

  “God, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck,” Carrie said out loud.

  “That’s close,” a voice said from behind her.

  Carrie clutched her sheet tightly as she strained to turn her head to look in the direction of the voice.

  When she saw a figure standing at a table behind her, she blinked her eyes trying to clear her vision.

  The figure walked over to the window and raised the blinds, blinding her momentarily.

  When her eyes adjusted, Carrie stared at the figure for a moment.

  “Doc, is that you?” Carrie asked.

  “Welcome back to the land of the living young lady,” Doc laughed as he moved around and stood in front of Carrie.

  Carrie could now see the Doc’s face without shading her eyes.

  “Where am I?” Carrie asked.

  “You’re in your room,” Doc replied.

  “Oh shit, the helicopter,” Carrie said. “For a minute I couldn’t remember where I was.”

  The Doc laughed, ”That’s understandable.”

  “Who took my shirt?” Carrie asked as the room and everything around her was now clearly in focus.

  “You needed a few stiches on your arm and back so I had to remove your shirt,” the Doc answered. “It’s over on the chair if you want it back but it is a little bloody. I would recommend you get another clean shirt to wear.”

  Carrie reached up and began to run her hand over the back of her head. She could feel a couple good sized bumps on the back of her head.

  The Doc saw her and added, “Your head had a run in with two cans of soup, chicken noodle and beef stew if I remember correctly.”

  Carrie looked at the doctor with a confused look on her face.

  “When the helicopter hit the brick structure on the roof and came to a sudden stop, two cans of soup from the box of supplies you brought back from Costco flew towards the front of the cabin and hit you on the head,” the doctor said. “Luckily they hit you on the back of the head. If they would have hit the control panel they could have done a lot of damage.”

  “Yea, lucky,” Carrie frowned. “How are Bob, Tom and Jim?”

  “They’re fine,” the doctor replied then smiled. “They have a couple of bumps and bruises, nothing serious. They were more concerned about you. After they carried you in here for me to check you over, I practically had to chase them out of the room.”

  Carrie looked at her shirt over on the chair and then down at her bare front, “I’m sure you did. It’s a wonder they didn’t insist that I get a complete physical.”

  The doctor smiled, “Do you want your old shirt or would you like me to go get you a clean one. I believe you brought some clean ones back in with the supplies from Costco.”

  Carrie grinned, “A clean one would be nice, I can’t remember how long I’ve been wearing that old blue thing.”

  Before I do, lay back on the bed for a minute,” the Doc instructed.

  Carrie lay back down, still clutching the sheet to her front.

  The doctor came over and looked in her eyes and examined the stiches in her arm, “Your eyes look clear which is a good sign and these six stiches should be able to come out in week.”

  Carrie nodded.

  “Now there is a bloody spot on your jeans above your knee that I would like to examine to make sure it is nothing serious before I let you get on your way,” the doctor added, “so I will give you a choice. You can remove your pants or I can cut off the pant leg.”

  Carrie studied the doctor for a minute.

  “I have two questions first,” Carrie said looking suspicious.

  “OK,” the Doc smiled.

  “You’re a real doctor, right?” Carrie asked. “You’re not playing games with me are you? You know, just to get me out of my pants.”

  The doctor laughed.

  “Young lady, I worked over at McGee Woman’s Hospital for thirty five years. I had six months to go until retirement when everything went to hell. I’m also an old man in case you hadn’t noticed,” the Doc said.

  “Sorry Doc,” Carrie blushed. “Besides the dead, I’ve run into more than a few devious characters over the last year that liked to play doctor.”

  “I’m sure,” the doctor smiled, “and your other question.”

  “Did we bring back any jeans in that load of supplies?” Carrie asked.

  “I believe I saw some jeans when they unloaded the bags out in the hall,” the doctor replied.

  “Then I’ll take my pants off,” Carrie said as she raised her butt and slid her old jeans down. “I’d kill for a new clean pair of jeans.”

  Carrie rested her head on the bed while the Doc examined her leg.

  “You have a small cut but it won’t need any stiches. It will be sore for a few days but I’m happy to say it is nothing to worry about,” the doctor said.

  “I also have to confess, even at my age, I can still appreciate a woman with a nice pair of legs,” the doctor added.

  “I could tell,” Carrie thought to herself. “Your hands have been examining a lot more than my knee. I’m sure you have been appreciating a few other things this morning too.”

  “This was weird,” Carrie then added out loud.

  “Excuse me,” the Doc replied.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a doctor or have let myself be examined,” Carrie grinned, “at least without putting up a fight.”

  “I’ll go get you some clean clothes and a few Aspirins,” the doctor said as he turned towards the door. ”If anything is still hurting later come and see me.”

  “Thanks Doc,” Carrie said as she sat up and dropped her feet to the floor. A slight shiver ran through her body as she now found herself sitting there wearing only her panties.

  The doctor opened the door.

  Bob and Tom were waiting at the door.

  “Hey Red, how are you doing?” Bob yelled in to the room.

  “Wow! You look great!” Tom said.

  “Out!” the doctor laughed, “You can talk to her when she gets dressed and comes out. Give her a break will you guys.”

  Bob winked at Carrie and grabbed Tom by the back of his shirt and they disappeared back out into the hall.

  The Doc closed the door.

  Carrie finished dressing and walked out of her room.

  “Hi Red,” Bob said from where he was sitting on the floor. “We were worried about you. I about crapped my pants when I saw that can hit you on the back of the head. But when I saw the size of the dent in the can, I knew you had a hard head and should be OK. We had to throw the can away though, it was damaged too badly to use.”

  “Real funny,” Carrie said as she rubbed her head.

  Carrie moved over to Bob and slid down to the floor next to him, “That was a rough landing. I’m glad you guys are OK too.”

  “You did a nice job getting us back to the hospital,” Bob added.

  “Thanks,” Carrie said. “How is the helicopter? The last thing I remembered was seeing the cracks spreading across the glass in front of me on the front end of the chopper.”

  “The front glass has cracks all through it, but the worst part is that the right skid collapsed when we hit the roof,” Bob replied. “We were lucky we didn’t roll off the roof.”

  “Shit,” Carrie exclaimed, “will it still fly?”

  “It will fly but I’m not so sure how it will land,” Bob answered.

  “Can you fix it?” Carrie asked. “As long as the engine is working I can set it down real easy.”

  “As long as that damn engine doesn’t cut out again,” Bob laughed. “I’m going to try to brace it up with some boards from one of the tables. I don’t have any torches to weld it properly. A soft landing will be all it can handle. If we have to come in hard again we will be in trouble. It would probably roll over.”

  “As long as it will hold up on a soft landing,” Carrie said looking concerned. “If the skid gives out when
the engine is running and we roll, the blades could hit the pavement and rip the chopper and us apart.”

  “I know,” Bob replied. “I’ll do what I can with what I have to work with. Either way I think the helicopter is going to be a problem.”

  Carrie leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

  “My head still hurts like hell,” she said.

  “The Doc wants to have a meeting in a bit,” Bob said. “Do you think your head can handle a boring meeting?”

  “The Doc gave me some Aspirins. They should kick in soon,” Carrie replied. “Besides, if the Doc wants to have a meeting, he would get me there whether I wanted to come or not. He has a way of making you do what he wants.”

  Bob looked at her.

  “He has quite the bed side manner,” Carrie smiled, “he had me out of my clothes faster than any guy I have ever known.”

  “I noticed that Red,” Bob smiled, “but don’t tell anyone I noticed. I don’t want to end up living out on the street with the dead.”

  “Your secret is safe with me,” Carrie grinned, “besides, you’re our only mechanic. We can’t toss you out.”

  Bob laughed.

  “Come on, help me up so we can go to the meeting,” Carrie groaned.

  Bob helped Carrie to her feet.

  They hadn’t walked more than a few doors down the hallway when Carrie stopped.

  “I heard something,” Carrie said as she stood still and cocked her head.

  Bob frowned, “Yea, I know.”

  Carrie looked at Bob, “What do you mean you know?”

  “I don’t like it and I know you won’t like it either,” Bob said.

  “Like what?” Carrie asked.

  Bob sighed, “Cover your mouth and nose with your shirt and follow me.”

  Carrie followed Bob. They hadn’t walked down the hall more than two more doors when the groaning sounds started to get louder.

  Bob stopped at the next door and looked at Carrie. “I still recommend you cover your nose, but it’s your call.”

  He opened the door.

  Carrie gagged at the stench that came from the room and assaulted her nose, followed by loud groaning. She quickly grabbed her shirt collar and pulled it up over her nose.

  Carrie’s eyes grew large as she looked inside the room and saw two of the dead strapped down to hospital beds.

  When the dead saw Bob and Carrie they began to struggle frantically to get loose from their restraints.

  One of the dead creature’s hands broke off and fell to the floor, but the groaning creature didn’t seem to notice.

  It continued to glare at them with its milky colored glassy eyes, snapping its teeth as if it thought it was close enough to bite into them.

  Bob pushed Carrie back out into the hall and closed the door.

  “What the hell was that?” Carrie asked.

  “The Doc’s new project,” Bob replied. “He will tell us more about it at the meeting.”

  “He expects us to sleep with those things only a few doors away from us,” Carrie said horrified.

  “I knew you wouldn’t like it,” Bob added.

  “Is he crazy?” Carrie said getting worked up.

  “He will explain at the meeting,” Bob said.

  “He better,” Carrie added. “Can we vote on this? I don’t want those bastards anywhere near me.”

  Bob and Carrie walked into the room where the group was to have their meeting.

  Tom looked at Carrie and got a big smile on his face.

  “That looks like the smile of a man that just saw me wearing nothing but a sheet,” Carrie thought, “The pervert.”

  Then Carrie laughed to herself.

  “As everyone can see, Miss Jenkins is going to be fine,” the doctor announced.

  Everyone smiled and told her they were happy to see she was looking better than when Bob had carried her in to see the doctor.

  Carrie was surprised by all their sincere comments. It had been a long time since anyone had been concerned about her for her own sake and not just saying they were concerned for what it could get them.

  After the flood of comments to Carrie died down, the doctor continued.

  “I talked to Bob and we decided to call this meeting today,” Doc said.

  Everyone looked at the doctor as he spoke. They didn’t have very many meetings with such as small group. They usually just waited for Bob or the Doc to decide on something and pass the instructions along as to what everyone was supposed to do. Meetings were reserved for only very serious situations and everyone waited anxiously to hear what Bob and the Doc felt was so serious, beside the fact that they were surrounded by the dead, which everyone was already well aware of.

  “Due to the fact of the problems we have had with the helicopter, we feel we needed to talk and make preparations,” the Doc continued. “If the helicopter problem ends up being unsurmountable, we figure we have about two or three weeks of food left. If we are unable to use the helicopter to get more food, then we have two options left. We can leave or we can stay here and starve to death. I for one don’t want to stay here and starve to death.”

  “How bad is the helicopter?” Ed, one of the five college boys asked.

  “I’m not sure yet,” Bob replied. “The biggest problem, other than the engine problem which everyone is well aware of, is the right skid has collapsed. Without the skid, landing the damn thing is going to be a problem. Even if I can brace it up with something, I’d be leery about trusting it. I’ll do what I can but at best we will be even more limited in what we can use it for.”

  “How would we leave without the helicopter?” John, a tire salesman and Jim’s friend asked. “The dead have us surrounded. There are too many of them in the city for us to go anywhere?”

  “Bob and I were talking,” the doctor answered. “Unless anyone else has another idea, the only way out of town would be by using the river. The dead can’t follow us into the river, they can’t drown but they can’t swim either. If we could get to the river we could float out of town. The dead would try to follow, but they would either walk on the bottom or more probably get swept away by the currents.”

  “How would we get down to the river? John asked.

  “Tom, I thought you and your college buddies could go through the hospital rooms and find cords and ropes to make us a line of some kind. We might be able to repel down the hillside and get down to the river. It would be difficult and a long shot but it would be a lot easier than trying to go out on the streets,” Bob said.

  “A rope ten floors long is going to be hard to put together,” Tom said.

  “It won’t have to be that long,” Bob smiled. “I’m sure we can get down to the second floor and barricade ourselves in a room down there long enough to get out through a window. Then we just have to figure a way to get across the Boulevard of the Allies and down over to the cliff.”

  “OK,” Tom nodded, “You’re right. It’s not going to be easy.”

  “It won’t be easy, but it would be better than staying here and starving,” Bob added. “I’m not giving up on the helicopter. I’m still hoping I can patch it up enough to still be able to make short runs to get food.”

  “If you can patch it up enough to keep using it for short runs,” Jim asked, “couldn’t we get off this hospital in short trips? Like maybe take us all to Costco in two trips. Then maybe make another hop to somewhere else from there? Couldn’t we get out of here like that?”

  “If I can fix the skid so that we feel it is reliable again, that still wouldn’t work. Like we talked about before we wouldn’t have enough fuel. If we could get everyone out to Costco, where would we find fuel for the next leg of the trip? We haven’t been able to fly out further than Costco to know if there is anywhere else out there to refuel,” Bob replied.

  “If we decide we have to use the river, couldn’t we use the helicopter to take us down over the river and drop us off?” John asked.

  “That would be a lot b
etter than climbing down a rope and trying to fight our way across the road,” Tom added.

  “If the chopper is unreliable and we decide it is too dangerous to take it out to find food, but it still flies a little, we could do that if we decide we have to leave on the river,” Bob replied. “But it is still a good idea to have the rope plan as a backup.”

  “OK,” Tom replied, “Me and the boys will see what we can do.”

  “I’m going to work on the skid and hope for the best,” Bob said. “I’m hoping that I can repair the chopper so it will still be able to make short trips for food. That will at least buy us more time.”

  “I was hoping you would have been able to figure out the engine problem,” Jim said. “I would sure like to be able to get away from here. Sooner or later we are going to have to leave, one way or another. Even if you can fix the skid, we are going to eventually run out of fuel.”

  “Yea, I know,” Bob sighed.

  “What about the helicopter over at Allegheny General?” Carrie asked.

  “Too many dead around it,” Bob replied. “You saw that yourself when we flew by there the other day.”

  “What if we could get them off the pad?” Carrie asked.

  “How would we get them off of that pad?” Bob asked. “They have been staggering around on that pad for a year. I don’t think they are going anywhere. Those bastards are like the ones down on Carson Street. They just keep wandering around in circles but don’t go anywhere.”

  Carrie thought for a minute, “If there were a few hundred of the dead on the roof across the street and I would stand on the edge of the roof here and yell at them, what would they do?”

  “The crazy bastards would walk off the roof trying to get their hands on you,” Tom laughed, “especially if you weren’t wearing anything but a sheet.”

  The other guys all started to laugh. Apparently Tom had made the rounds to tell everyone the sight he had seen earlier today. By now she thought the story would have changed to her trying to unsuccessfully cover herself with a tiny pillow case or a wash cloth instead of a sheet when Tom walked into her room and saw her. After all he was a typical man. Men all had active imaginations.